August focus: Domestic Cleaning Service

Keep Good Records!

If you give an estimate over the phone remember to write it down next to the client’s name, address and phone number. If you forget what you said when you were on the phone, the client may try to argue with you about your fees, so make sure that you write down everything that was said by both of you. You can then correctly remind them of how the conversation went, and you will have an assurance that will be lacking if you can’t remember what was said.

Please see the next few upcoming articles to find a Terms of Business and a Service and Commitment form that you may copy and send to your clients so that they know what you expect of them when you perform their work. They are helpful tools that will safeguard you against being taken advantage of by your clients, but these documents also place you in a position of responsibility to live up to what is written in them as they will set a standard that you are expected to perform to. It would be wise for you to study these forms so that you are aware of what the client will of you for the different levels of service if you send them out. If you can deliver what is listed in these forms they will help you become very successful and will protect you from many of the situations that will arise.

There are definite advantages in sending your clients your own version of these forms, as the information contained in them will inform them that there are divisions in the levels of service and that some services are charged at a higher hourly rate than others. These forms will aid you in your negotiations with your clients, as quite often they will ask you to do anything and everything for the cheapest possible rate that they can get you to work for. If you separate the services into Maintenance services and Spring-Clean services, and you do not do Windows unless the client pays you to do them as a job within themselves, then you will earn more money overall. Besides, why should you work your fingers to the bone doing Spring-Cleaning when the house quite obviously hasn’t been given a good, thorough clean for quite some time, and you’re only getting paid the same hourly rate as the lighter cleaning that you normally do in a well maintained home? You can easily charge and receive a higher hourly rate for work that is tougher and dirtier.

When a client asks you to do Window Cleaning, refer to the upcoming article on Window Cleaning and follow the guidelines contained there. If you don’t mention that they are paying anything up to $50 or $60 per hour for their window cleaning, they actually won’t realise that this is the rate you are charging. Windows are cleaned only every three, four, six or twelve months, and because of this they are quoted as a job rate, not an hourly rate. If you estimate high per hour, then if there are aspects of the job that delay the speed at which you work you will still earn good dollars per hour, all things considered, and your average earnings will still be quite high.

Exercises

1. Design your own version of the documents that you will send to your clients. Place you own name at the top and throughout, and bring them to class.
2. Memorise the different tasks so that you can begin to separate them into different levels of service. This will allow you to charge higher for some services than others.
3. Set up a record keeping system that allows you to follow-up on the work that you have done for your clients. Have a system that records their comments about your work and also lets you know when to call and book them to have their window cleaning done again.
4. Memorise the window cleaning rates so that you can estimate roughly what rate you will charge your caller when they book your services.

You can read in next article about: Documents that you can Send or Give to Clients