FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
We charge by the square foot, (sq/ft). We charge .40 cents a sq/ft for cleaning occupied residences, and .30 sq/ft for vacant properties. So every 100 sqft of carpet we clean in occupied residences is $40, we deduct for furniture, which means we are only charging the customer for the carpet we clean. If it is vacant, every 100 sq/ft we clean will cost $30. For tile cleaning we charge .40 cents a sq/ft so every 100 sq/ft cost $40 and for tile and grout cleaning we charge .50 cents a sq/ft so every 100 sq/t we clean will cost $50. We also clean area rugs, which are made of synthetic material, we charge .75 cents a sq/ft for these, so every 100 sq/ft will cost $75. We also clean oriental rugs, or rugs which are made of wool or silk. We clean these offsite at a warehouse, and these cost $2 a sq/ft, although sometimes these cost more if they are made of silk and need a dry cleaning process.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I am continually reading a magazine called Cleanfax, that is a magazine dedicated to educating the cleaning professionals, they give advice on all kinds of new products, new techniques, new equipment, how to resolve issues, etc.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
After getting my last degree from UNLV I moved to Phoenix, and decided I wanted to start my own company, so I thought of something I could start on my own and then expand it. I also always remember when I had no money as a college student and I found a coupon where it said $4.95 a room for carpet cleaning, and I had a 700 sq/ft apartment, with about 400 sq/ft of carpet, most of it taken up by beds, sofas, etc. I figured it would be really inexpensive to have this done, when they finished In 20 minutes and told me I owed them $250 I was shocked, I was a broke college student, and they did a terrible job, I was appalled. I never forgot that and wanted to make sure people were not ripped off no matter what industry they hired, auto mechanic, heating/ac, carpet cleaning, etc. I wanted to learn everything about the carpet cleaning/tile and grout cleaning profession I could. So I studied books, talked to mentors, found out who made the best cleaning products, I did everything I could to learn as much about the trade as possible.