For those that get a yearly cleaning..how much

[Don2222]

Nope, I even asked him if my gaskets looked ok? I was talking about the one on the door. He said they all looked fine, which I was a bit surprised at. I figured after my 4th burning season I would at least need a gasket on the door.

On one hand I was glad all was ok (according to the service tech). On the other I feel a bit ripped off since all he did was what I normally do. The only thing he did that I can't is hook up the sensor to the control panel that tells him when the blowers turn on at certain temps, I don't have that tool.

I guess I can't really complain, they did what they said the were going to do and charged me what they said they were going to. I just wonder how many service calls I will need to have in my 5th burning season.

Well, I am not sure about Harmans but most stoves have a white lytherm gasket on the exhaust blower which is very difficult to get back on sometimes without replacement. So I was also wondering if the tech removed the exhaust blower and the convection blower and cleaned the blades really good. I also spray them with graphite spray so the dirt does not stick or build up as much.

 

[MSmith66]

I normally charge $95.00 for cleaning entire stove, oil,&vent from Apr 1-June 30. $125.00 from July 1-Aug 30. $145.00 from Sept.1-Apr 1. Less busy in the early months and extremely busy later in the year. Very hard to get customers to get cleaning done when i'm less busy.

 

[smwilliamson]

I normally charge $95.00 for cleaning entire stove, oil,&vent from Apr 1-June 30. $125.00 from July 1-Aug 30. $145.00 from Sept.1-Apr 1. Less busy in the early months and extremely busy later in the year. Very hard to get customers to get cleaning done when i'm less busy.

You need to control your customers better and you need to charge more. You really ought to try and charge at least the market price for your services. When you undercut the market you allow have to work too much, too quickly and cannot focus on maintaining quality. Not just the quality of your work, but also the quality of your customer. In general, folks who purchase things lower than market price are less committed to the transaction, such as referring you or being loyal and returning next season. Try raising your prices after you have been known for your low price...people think you are a crook. Sell on market price and you will not be dismissed on price alone. If fo no other reason...raise your price so you can afford to grow your business as demand for it increases. People leave bad reviews about businesses that cannot answer calls or get to them in a timely manner...all of which is hard to do all alone.

This is my second year selling service plans. My plans are PRE PAID at $175 for the annual cleaning and $299 for the double cleaning (one summer and one mid-winter). I sold the plans starting March 15th and booked out just over 560 jobs. Because they are pre-paid, I have capital to run the office and my business during the slow time. I can keep the office staff on to organize the schedules so that all of the jobs I go to each day are close together (maximize profits) and because they have already paid...I run into very few folks who are NO SHOWS.

I'm booked out until September and am not scraping around looking for income. Once September hits, my schedule opens up to allow for two months of nothing but installations ($1000 - $4000 per day gross revenue, 6 days a week) and can therefore justify charging more to do cleanings during the busiest time of year. Why make $400 when you can potentially make $4000??

The fall rate works out to be somewhere between $275 - $360 per cleaning depending upon the zone you live in, but you will still need to wait a couple weeks. If they think its too much, that's okay, because I'll do better having more room for installs but it teaches people who want ME to do their work that you need to have it done during the appropriate time of year. As the install season winds down in early December, the repair season carries me until the service plans open back up again. Smart hugh?

 

[Don2222]

You need to control your customers better and you need to charge more. You really ought to try and charge at least the market price for your services. When you undercut the market you allow have to work too much, too quickly and cannot focus on maintaining quality. Not just the quality of your work, but also the quality of your customer. In general, folks who purchase things lower than market price are less committed to the transaction, such as referring you or being loyal and returning next season. Try raising your prices after you have been known for your low price...people think you are a crook. Sell on market price and you will not be dismissed on price alone. If fo no other reason...raise your price so you can afford to grow your business as demand for it increases. People leave bad reviews about businesses that cannot answer calls or get to them in a timely manner...all of which is hard to do all alone.

This is my second year selling service plans. My plans are PRE PAID at $175 for the annual cleaning and $299 for the double cleaning (one summer and one mid-winter). I sold the plans starting March 15th and booked out just over 560 jobs. Because they are pre-paid, I have capital to run the office and my business during the slow time. I can keep the office staff on to organize the schedules so that all of the jobs I go to each day are close together (maximize profits) and because they have already paid...I run into very few folks who are NO SHOWS.

I'm booked out until September and am not scraping around looking for income. Once September hits, my schedule opens up to allow for two months of nothing but installations ($1000 - $4000 per day gross revenue, 6 days a week) and can therefore justify charging more to do cleanings during the busiest time of year. Why make $400 when you can potentially make $4000??

The fall rate works out to be somewhere between $275 - $360 per cleaning depending upon the zone you live in, but you will still need to wait a couple weeks. If they think its too much, that's okay, because I'll do better having more room for installs but it teaches people who want ME to do their work that you need to have it done during the appropriate time of year. As the install season winds down in early December, the repair season carries me until the service plans open back up again. Smart hugh?

Yes, but do you get min wage workers to help do the cleanings or do you hire and train skilled workers?

 

[Nicholas440]

I paid my installer $90 last fall for a complete cleaning of my Quad insert. He pulls it out, tears it down, and also runs his cleaning brushes up the exhaust vent all the way to the top cap. He reassembles it, and test fires it and I'm good for another year. I do the cleaning all winter but I can't pull the unit out and do the flue pipe the way he does., I dont have the tools, and to be honest it's easier to just let him clean it all up and test fire if.

 

[smwilliamson]

Yes, but do you get min wage workers to help do the cleanings or do you hire and train skilled workers?

I do most of it myself, but for what I charge, paying a living wage isn't hard to do so long as the worker I employ acts like a professional.