Discounts- how much is to much

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PRO WASH PAUL

New member
The area in which I service, has had a lot of hail damage. I would say that 40% of my area is affected. A lot of siding and gutter damage. Business this year is on the slow side. Companies are doing what ever they can to get business. One company has a billboard. I couldn't imagine what that cost. How far would you go to get customers, when things are not looking good? I was looking at giving 50% off driveways (up to 500-700 sq ft) if they had there house washed. If anybody has an idea, I could sure use your help. Thanks!!
 
The largest discount we ever give is $25 off any service over our minimum which is $225 to come out. 50% off thats cutting your paycheck by half. Not a good business decision.
 
I agree strongly. You shouldnt have to give any discount if you do quality work and charge a normal rate. I like to give a discount but its not money. say you had a house and driveway wash with a price worked out and noticed a tiny wood shed or something that was not part of the deal if it only takes 10 min to do and really cheap on chemical get er done and mention it to the customer. Be like hey sir I noticed you had a dirty old shed over there that was not part of our deal but i Hit er anyway and i hope you dont mind. thats when they are putty in your hands.

I think the service you provide is worth what you charge and you should keep it that way. Going a little above and beyond when it bennefits you is cool but people start to expect things when they are given. Its like the saying give them an inch and they take a mile, its more like give them a mile and they wont want a lousy inch. Welcome to the forum, alot of good smart guys around so be sponge like and soak up the info, these guys have been around for a while through thick and thin.
ps. fill in your signature and they will be more inclined to help. And we know your not a scamming bot or a hack.
 
+100 :smash:

Happysmobile said:
I agree strongly. You shouldnt have to give any discount if you do quality work and charge a normal rate. I like to give a discount but its not money. say you had a house and driveway wash with a price worked out and noticed a tiny wood shed or something that was not part of the deal if it only takes 10 min to do and really cheap on chemical get er done and mention it to the customer. Be like hey sir I noticed you had a dirty old shed over there that was not part of our deal but i Hit er anyway and i hope you dont mind. thats when they are putty in your hands.

I think the service you provide is worth what you charge and you should keep it that way. Going a little above and beyond when it bennefits you is cool but people start to expect things when they are given. Its like the saying give them an inch and they take a mile, its more like give them a mile and they wont want a lousy inch. Welcome to the forum, alot of good smart guys around so be sponge like and soak up the info, these guys have been around for a while through thick and thin.
ps. fill in your signature and they will be more inclined to help. And we know your not a scamming bot or a hack.
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Your welcome paul. and thanks Kory It made me feel pretty good to see your reply. Im really new and usually dont give advice unless im sure its good advice. As for paul I get ahead of myself and sometimes forget my point. You can do a few things to help the money flow out. offer other services like: Now im only saying this cause you guys are far away but maybe offer a quick interior detail service for the truck drivers. Like a quick vacuum and an interior wipe down, with maybe a few febreeze sprays or smelly stuff in the cab. Say 45$ for half an hour of your time. and 25 cents worth of product. say you charge 45$ for a truck wash and then get another 45$ out of him for pretty much the same time you doubled the amount of work and spend squat on supplies. Or how about this one for 15$ clean all the interior windows on the rig with glass cleaner and two microfibre rags. The prices are examples but make damn sure whatever you do you get the same money for it as if it were pw'ing. say you make 100 hr price your detailing the same. you have way less supplies and product to use with that type of detailing you get high profit out of it. As for the advertising unless you have some hot girl on the billboard I wont even notice it. I dont know about you guys but i think the only way to advertise in a positive way is to kick ass and take names. Then people find you. Good luck and keep it up guy and work hard at it, then at least you cant say you didnt try.
 
True that! if i were to buy a parachute it would be the second most expensive one i could find. The wife would get the most expensive. Just like most of the small customers we have got a small electric pw collecting dust. This one old guy gets his interlocking plastic garage floor done once a year and twice so far. its pretty small like 15' x 15' inclosed garage. it takes me 20 min to clean with surface cleaner and rinse including setup as well. I only used i bit of truck wash soap slapped on the ground and heat and it came out mint. The old guy was very pleased and said his previous attempts were not even close.
 
I throw in a 10x10 concrete for over $250 job. My biggest residential flat-work competitor is the diyer, so I figure the irony is pretty cool. It can be a sidewalk or concrete and makes a big difference. They won't do it anyway so is still a big value. I raise the price sometimes after I bid the job, especially if it turned out to be a pita, and then discount it back to the same price. This is all done on the invoice and makes it easier to raise the price next time or name the discount "Stonevalley Condo Owner's Discount" so they might tell their neighbors that they get a discount. I do it with my church folk, but actually take some off.
 
Gave a customer a bid 3 days ago. She called back today asking if I would take off $55.00 and round it down. Real nice lady but I told her I couln' t do it. We are taking care of her job on Wednesday. Sometimes they just try you.

I can't remember the last time I went into a grocery store and told them what I was willing to pay for a gallon of milk.
 
Had a guy ask me if I could "Knock 50$" bucks off a roof cleaning the other day. I said "Sure, whitch section of the roof do you not want me to clean?", he got the point, plus tipped me 30$ when I was done. Your right Larry, sometimes there just seeing what they can get.
 
I agree, if they ask for a discount, I ask if they think my price is too high or if they are financially distressed. If the later I am more likely to offer discount, but only if I think it will help them. Sometime even doing it for nothing is not going to help put them in a better position. Like if it needs a new roof or something.
 
If someone mentions an internet or an Angie's List coupon offer that I run fine. I normally will offer a small discount to show some savings on a larger job (as in $750 and up), but if a customer flat out asks for a discount, then every time the answer will be sorry, no.....
 
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