Hey Leon, Don't sell yourself short! Gutters can be a pain in the butt! Bid it at what you think you have to have to cover your expense time an over head? Prices are different every where you go! Feel your customer out an go with it! You will learn from your mistakes trust me.
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Gordon Caldwell, Owner Operator of Central Ky Roof Cleaning ,Central Ky Roof & Exterior Cleaning
What should you charge a customer when he only wants the fascia and gutters cleaned?
Quote it at the cost of cleaning the gutters, then rinsing the entire house, and then bleachwashing, then plant washing, etc...or quote it with a disclaimer that the remainder of the house WILL be streaked & you are not responsible for that, etc...
You cannot quote exterior gutter cleaning only. It's like quoting to wash the hood of the car, only the hood.
Jeff makes a good point. I usually have a few answers for those that just want one part of something cleaned. I get calls for "one side of my house has green stuff on it" all the time.
-First, if there is algae, mold, mildew, etc on one part, it is there on other parts. We are treating your home to kill these organisms, we need to treat the whole home.
-Second, if part of the home is left uncleaned, the part we did clean will get dirty again much faster.
-Third, half or more of what you pay for is getting two guys and a truck there, and getting set up to start working. There should be very little difference in price between cleaning the exterior gutters and soffits and cleaning the gutters, soffits, siding, trim. Itemize but encourage them to have you do the exterior windows as well, they will be left water spotted. Also did you do the roof? If not quote him that as well. If you did the roof, I would give a discount but still push the entire siding job.
-Fourth, have a minimum. Mine is $400.
-Lastly, I explain that we are professional cleaning company that provides a better, premium service compared to most people in our industry. We don't leave things part way cleaned.
Most people, especially good target SoftWashing customers, react well to this reasoning.
I usually find this out from a customer on the phone when the lead comes in. That way, if they are insistent, and just want someone to come do their gutters only for $99 or something ridiculous, I don't waste my time or theirs. I politely tell them we are a premium service, and that there are plenty of people out there who will probably do what they want in their price range, please do yourself a favor and check their insurance, and thank you, keep us in mind next time.
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Chad A. Eneix, President, Water Dragon Inc. chad@waterdragoncleaning.com
