setting up to clean

LittleVoice

OK - you just aren't seeing what I'm suggesting.

I know some places will take longer than others. The people with those houses will know it. So you price the job to start with at the rate which fits the time required.

If you continue working there, it should get easier to clean (not that difficult places will become as easy as the places which required less effort to start with because of the way the people who live there live). So it should take you less time to get it to the same standard. On that basis, you then get paid less because it takes you less time. But if you have presented your charge to the customer for the result and not the time involved then you continue to charge the same and thus make more money per hour worked. This encourages you to improve what you are doing.

If you charge only for the hours you work, the only way you get an increased income is by working longer hours. If you can work smarter (ie getting the finished product in less time), you can either get the same income from fewer hours or can take on more work and earn more in the same number of hours.

If that still doesn't make sense, I'm sorry.

picklepick

I understand what you're saying, I just dont think in practice thats going to work. A lot of my work is from referrals from current customers. When i get a referral its because of the price I charge. I think some people may be offended if I quote them a lot higher price than theyre friends. They might think they have a really clean house, when it quite clearly isnt. I also need to charge by the hour, so my customers can easily see the comparison between me and other companies that operate in my area. All the large franchises and agencies operate an hourly charge.
It also means that Id have to go to every new customers house in advance of my first visit to offer quotes. I often get last minute calls from people on the day or day befpre they want me to go for 2 hours, to have a quick spruce up. In that instance your suggestion wont work.

I think ill stick to my tried and tested method.