Ok, I know at least here we aren’t in the heat of the gutter cleaning season but the few requests i get i was thinking of changing the way i do things, instead of simply giving out a price for the whole job and cleaning one way (great service) for doing their gutters since most seem to be cheap I was thinking of offering two services and charging by the foot to allow for the people who want to pay less and get less and those who want the excellent service.
Basic Clean, $1 a foot which would include the basic clean out and downspouts, plus bagging the debris and leaving the bags behind for them to dispose of.
V.I.P Service $2 a foot which would a complete clean out, hose everything 100% clean, take a photo as proof of the cleaned out gutter, debris and bag removal, flushing out the downspouts, any minor gutter repair and removing downspouts if needed to unclog.
All the above would have an extra $50 ladder change per story on anything taller than a ranch.
Do any of you offer something similar to this or just quote a price and do all the above regardless. We hear stories of people in the area that just blow out the gutters and leave the debris all over the ground and then don’t bother to unclog the downspouts. We want to still offer a better service than that at the basic but at a price they are more willing to pay… Thoughts?
I break down any and every little portion of the service that we do, with repetitious phrasing, so it sounds more like a competitive advantage.
(every car has ABS brakes, but people remember the ones that the salesperson TOLD them does)
I did do a test of “Fix the Pitch” as part of the service.
But found it better to just upsell the repairs.
No extra charge for second floor, but then again, I really try not to tell what my per foot charge is, in the first place.
The only differentiation I currently make is if I bag it or drop it. I’m thinking that like with my window pricing I might just figure bagging into the price as well as rinsing the gutters, not the downspouts only. Still, there is a significant time difference between dropping and bagging. Something to think about.
Whatever you do, make sure it has real value to the client and doesn’t hurt your reputation.
In my opinion, just cleaning out downspouts and not touching the other gunk in a rain drainage system doesn’t really have much true value. Downspouts get superficially clogged very easily. Thus, one storm could knock all the left over debris right back onto the hole. Overtime, gutters may get weighed down and/or rusted out and last a lot less time because your client chose your cheaper service multiple times.
Clients may like the idea of a cheap alternative, but later they may comma calin for real value.
I may feel this lacks the same value as you feel blowers lack. And leaving junk at all on someones lawn just doesn’t seem good for business.
Downspout limitations are why I offer covers and why, during a cleaning, I flush everything, not just scoop.
The basic clean would include cleaning all the gutters and checking out the downspouts, however, only if they requested the vip service would it include taking the downspout off to unclog which at times you have to do.
I just thought for those cheap gits out there that just want a quick clean out this might be a cheaper option for them, most people know if they have major problems going on whereby they have downspouts that over flow and would like everything washed out which then takes much longer.
Why don’t you find a level of service you’re comfortable selling. For example, every gutter clean includes debris bagged and removed, all downspouts rinsed and cleaned. Then when the job is done, explain to them that you also rinsed all the gutters out while you were there and swept all debris off their roof as well. Charge them what you would for all the services. Promise them the original ones. When the job is done, you have under-promised/over-delivered. Think they might remember how you went the extra mile for them while on the job site while in reality you made the profit you planned for and built good will?
Because if i did all that and charge for my time they wouldn’t want to pay it they think anything over $100 or $150 is a lot for someone just blowing the leaves out of their gutters and when they call and you explain to them all the above and it will be $200 or more they aren’t interested 90% of them. I have offered all the above previously before deciding on whether to try this idea.
I’m not going to do all the above regardless of good will for $120 or something like that and spend 2 hours or more on the job fixing gutters, taking off downspouts if i need too, washing out the gutters pulling a hose around the house and moving the ladder over and over when most here don’t want to pay the price so in order to increase the number of gutter cleanings i get just thought about offering the cheap version, clean out the gutters, clean out the downspout (unless clogged and they opt for the vip service) and seeing as they are opting to pay for the basic version should make them happy.
Trust me, I would love to offer all the above like I have done in the past but there are far too many who don’t want to pay for the time involved.
I appreciate all you guys feedback here. We all know there are plenty of tight wads out there, well just thinking this level of service might suit those and those that want a vip professional gutter cleaning will pay extra.
For those of you who estimate gutter cleaning by the foot do you go out and measure and give them the estimate ahead of time or tell them the per foot price and then they book/or don’t and if they book measure before/after the job is done and bill them that amount?
we hand remove debris, bag up (leave for them to dispose of)then flush w/water and make sure every dwnspout is running. We take apart spout if needed and reassemble…always suggest gutter guards if needed…scoop,bag,flush,guard. We [B]start[/B]at 1.00 ft. Then take into consideration all the extra work, height,whether we can get on roof or have to move ladder every few feet. Theres great money in gutter cleaning, not my fav thing to do, but…we charge accordingly. Weve done a lot of gutter jobs this year so far, got 3 tomorrow…
It’s weird. I don’t get many gutter jobs during the summer, but I’ve got one tomorrow, one Tuesday, and one Thursday!
I do like Acclaim’s and Sam’s idea of starting with a price for the complete package (roof cleared and debris removed from yard).
There’s research that suggests that offering multiple service “packages” allows you to sell your typical service at a higher price point.
Make your typical service a package, call it the “Deluxe Package.”
Outline clearly everything thats in it.
Charge whatever you want to for it, but don’t break it down to “per foot.” Just tell them a total. If it’s 100ft of gutter and would typically be $130, then put “Deluxe Package – $165” on the estimate sheet.
Then make your “Ultra Premium Package.” Add your “hand removing debris, removing bags, disassembling downspouts as needed, etc, etc.” Then, price that one at $275.
The idea isn’t to have anyone bite on that one. The idea is to use that one to make your “low price” (still higher than it typically would be!) seem VERY reasonable.
Thats how I price window cleaning, soft washing, etc now. Try it.
geez…you have 2 ways by the foot or by the guesstimate… we go 1 per ft…we don’t check the gutter…if it is full itsucks but still make good money…if it only a couple of spots the we really make good…but if they don’t need anything done, yes i am honest and tell them and only charge a 50 check fee
Actually good ideas you guys have given me for improving on how I do things, will have to try it out and go from there in terms of the response I get and whether I lose money or make money, I do like the package idea
Glad you like it! I stole it from few people… Have heard several guys say they use it, but the one that tipped me over the edge towards it was Curt at 5 Star.
The thing is, your base service immediately can be more profitable. And if someone DOES pick the highest service (and some will) then you are SUPER profitable!
I measure and charge according to level of neglect to the gutters. I’ve had some that require minimal clean out and I charge $1 per foot as I’m also looking to sell a window cleaning package. (I don’t charge for not cleaning, so if a 40’ section only has 10’ of debris I charge the 10’ rate.)
A couple of places to get a good look at what’s in the gutters with one or two movements of the ladder and I can see it is full of debris and charge accordingly. (Anything over one story is $2 per foot). I bag the debris and put it in their trash receptacle or leave for them to add to their weekly trash pick up. If I have to cart it away and dispose of it then I charge for that. To avoid this charge they need to have me clean it out more often so it doesn’t reach this level of neglect, or purchase gutter guards. Two large homes I did last week had all pine needles and oak leaves 4" deep with worms and roaches. Neglect! I put it all around the shrubs as mulch, and the worms are good for the soil; but their yard allowed for that.
There again, neglect and maintenance have different costs involved.
