Roof cleaning

[Steve]

Dan, In your guide, that we are still in the process of getting online here, you talk about how a pressure washing company must be aware of the 'perceived value' of power washing. What should a power washing company do when the perceived value of power washing is $50 to $150 an hour but they are able to perform their power washing jobs faster and are charging more? How does a power washing company combat that? They may invest heavily in equipment that allows them to do a large job better and faster, yet it seems there are customers who may fire them because they are doing the job 'too fast.' What should be done?

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[robgee05]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by Dan Swede Here is part one pages 1-7 of my pressure cleaning contractors training manual. The main problem I seem to have with moss is reaching peaks. Im looking at putting a new trailer package together this year. The heated systems seem pricey but they would certainly have a great effect I'm sure. Will rinsing roofs with a heated system facilitate cleaning faster? Do you recommend an enclosed trailer to limit wear due to weather.

[Dan Swede]

Originally Posted by Steve

Dan,

In your guide, that we are still in the process of getting online here, you talk about how a pressure washing company must be aware of the 'perceived value' of power washing.

What should a power washing company do when the perceived value of power washing is $50 to $150 an hour but they are able to perform their power washing jobs faster and are charging more?

How does a power washing company combat that? They may invest heavily in equipment that allows them to do a large job better and faster, yet it seems there are customers who may fire them because they are doing the job 'too fast.'

What should be done?

When pressure cleaning large flat areas like driveways, sidewalks, parking garages, you should always use High-Speed Surface Cleaner instead of a standard trigger gun wand. High Speed Surface Cleaners like our Blue Thunder or Hydro-Twister are the equivalent to a lawn mower to landscaper. Using a gun and wand only is like using a weed eater to mow a football field.

Pressure washers size matters, to me a 13 HP Honda 4000 PSI pressure washer used for commercial pressure cleaning is like a landscaper using 20” push mower to mow huge commercial properties. Yes, the pressure washer will clean, just like the 20” mower will cut grass, but it is slow and definitely not practical to use as a viable income stream.

The best-kept secret is the pressure washing industry is that high volume (GPM) pressure cleaners can clean up to three to four times faster then high-pressure low volume units.

The higher the volume the better, we recommend going to a 27 HP (8 GPM @ 3000 PSI) or even a 31 HP (3500 PSI @ 9 GPM) hot water pressure washers.

We have clients that can pressure clean concrete at up to 17,000 Square Feet Per Hour. Our Blue Thunder Surface Cleaner is design to clean up to 2500 Square Feet Per Hour on tile roofs.

Think of investing in a high volume pressure cleaning system the same way you would think about investing in a 72” riding lawn mower, instead of a 20” push mower. It may be more expensive but you get a faster the return on your invest by completing all your jobs in a fraction of the time.

Link to my Youtube video that shows hundreds of mobile pressure cleaning system that we have designed and sold in the past. Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2klin700YZM or cut & paste in your browser window.

[Steve]

Very interesting!

In your pressure washing guide you were talking about:

Be aware of the "perceived value" of Power Washing. Normally it is between $50.00 to $150.00 per hour. When doing bid jobs and your earnings substantially exceeded these figures, expect problems from being paid to the customer accepting the quality of your work. I had one instance where a trucking company was extremely satisfied with the quality of the work from a High School Student Mobile Power Wash Contractor Cleaner washing their trucks for over a year. The trucks were washed on the weekends and he employed other students to help with the work. They thought he was a shinning example of what all young men should be.

The Student was abruptly fired when the Terminal Manager checked the time sheets from the Guard Shack and discovered that the Student was earning over $300.00 per hour! The quality of his work no longer mattered. His "perceived value" of a High School Student doing Truck Washing was not $300.00 per hour. Many Contract Cleaners have learned this lesson the hard way!

What should a pressure washing business owner do when they can get a job done fairly quickly, but in the eye of the customer, it becomes too quickly. If this happens, the customer then feels the pressure washing company is charging them too much, based on their 'perceived value'.

How can a pressure washing company combat this and get the job done quick but not too quick and get fired because of it?

[robgee05]

1. Cost involved in business. Machinery, fuel, manpower, water recylcling and diposal charge to get rid of and grease or oil thats cleaned up, travel time, marketing, cleaning and maintaing equipment and of course insurance. Most of us here know these thngs can eat up half of your $300/hr quickly Im sure Dan can tell you a good set-up can easily be upwards of 20k, and worth every penny when you want to get things done fast and right.


2. Possible envy on the part of the manager who may have been only making $20-30 an hour himself. LOL

Originally Posted by Steve

Very interesting!

In your pressure washing guide you were talking about:



What should a pressure washing business owner do when they can get a job done fairly quickly, but in the eye of the customer, it becomes too quickly. If this happens, the customer then feels the pressure washing company is charging them too much, based on their 'perceived value'.

How can a pressure washing company combat this and get the job done quick but not too quick and get fired because of it?

[robgee05]

Originally Posted by robgee05

1. Cost involved in business. Machinery, fuel, manpower, water recylcling and diposal charge to get rid of and grease or oil thats cleaned up, travel time, marketing, cleaning and maintaing equipment and of course insurance. Most of us here know these thngs can eat up half of your $300/hr quickly Im sure Dan can tell you a good set-up can easily be upwards of 20k, and worth every penny when you want to get things done fast and right.


2. Possible envy on the part of the manager who may have been only making $20-30 an hour himself. LOL

To compare this so a landscaper understands. Lets say you have a large apartment complex to maintain. Say you have a 6 man crew. Wouldnt it be normal to charge $300/hr to run this crew?

[Steve]

2. Possible envy on the part of the manager who may have been only making $20-30 an hour himself. LOL

You are hitting the nail on the head here. This can be a major problem.

How should a business owner, whether it be power washing or any other service, combat against that 'perceived value' issue? Or that envy issue. Because at the end of the day, if you lose a job because someone is envious or jealous of you, you still lose the job.

Do you have any thoughts on how to deal with this to minimize or eliminate that problem?

[robgee05]

You are hitting the nail on the head here. This can be a major problem.

How should a business owner, whether it be power washing or any other service, combat against that 'perceived value' issue? Or that envy issue. Because at the end of the day, if you lose a job because someone is envious or jealous of you, you still lose the job.

Do you have any thoughts on how to deal with this to minimize or eliminate that problem?

Well in the case with the trucks you may want to add a few eye popping add ons, maybe Armorall on the tires. It may also be a good idea to hand out a small amount of literature(keep it brief and to the point) with your bid, explaining equipment costs and a general ideas of price comparisons with competitors. You definitely must stress the equipment used if far superior then others.

I think people do like to see people working hard for them. They dont always give consideration to the equipment. You could be cruising over a lawn with a 60" Great Dane in 10minutes. Or pushing it with a 22 inch walk behind for an hour.
You definitely may want to explain the technological advancements your company possesses before hand, so the customer doen'ts feel hood-winked.

Then again some customers wont completely grasp this, while others want to feel like they have some sort of power over you like your their employee. They want to tell their buddy how they had you out there all day working for them. They dont want to say it only took 2 hours and were charged $600.

So the best idea is to draw a strong line between the professionalism and tech investments your company possess compared to competitors. Above all else do the best work possible, if they are paying you $600 in 2 hours to get the same job done that the competitor does in 6(for $600) and your work is superior, more then likely you will keep the customer in the long run.

[The Cleaning Doctor]

You tell them that you can use a shovel or a backhoe.
Either way the ditch is going to cost the same.
The money just goes into different piles.
Equipment instead of labor.

[robgee05]

Originally Posted by The Cleaning Doctor

You tell them that you can use a shovel or a backhoe.
Either way the ditch is going to cost the same.
The money just goes into different piles.
Equipment instead of labor.

Well definitely more simplified DOC. LOL