It as a typo. It was suppose to say lowest price
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Also I never said it wasnât an argument. What I said is itâs not an argument just for the sake of arguing.
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Hey if any wants to continue this conversation with me "Highest Quality, Lowest Price, and Best Service" reach out to me privately. I love talking shop!
@anon82274079 i wont be starting a public thread on this tomorrow. Reach out to me if you want to chat. 
Sorry for the thread disruption @mattolmschenk!
The argument is good prices but rather âbestâ price.
Also the argument that we all have different personal needs is a mute point because there will always be someone who will compete on price alone. When competing against someone who is competing on lowest price alone you can never in if you are also trying to maintain highest quality and best customer service along side of it. Thanks s he point.
Well, I ainât hating on anyone. People charge what they want. The fact is a lot of businesses take advantage of it.
You are absolutely right. The customer agrees and pays. I am not complaining at all about others prices. Iâm not even far off from others. I am simply pointing out the realistic fact that we need basic things in life and my customers deserve a good price and a good job done. I also pointed out that many companies will charge 4 hours labour for 2 hours work. You can tell yourself that they agreed all they want but you(not you literally) are lying. I get the whole work 8 hours a day but cram in 20 worth of labour. Itâs the road to high profit. CongratsâŚlike @wcs saidâŚtoo each their own.
I am trying to run an honest business. Customers.pay for what itâs worth. What I feel itâs worth and what helps me sleep at night.
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Look how many business do price match guarantee. I could lose all my jobs to other places and they will still profit. They price match because they know they are making a great buck before and a good buck if price matching. Itâs a 2 way street.
Iâll stop too lol.
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(FOR THE SAKE OF OUR DEBATE!!) (ONLY LOVE AND KNOWLEDGE HERE)
You may be a lower price window cleaner, but you are not the lowest price. I would love for you to cut your prices in half, and tell me if your quality and service remain the same. and if so, can you live off that?
Those companies that you believe over charge , guess what, they lack in the customer service departmentâŚ
They did not put the customer and their trust first.
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For me I view it a little different. Most customers who are looking for highest quality work and highest quality customer service are willing to and even want to and are willing to pay more. They are payment ng more because you are delivering more value.
I think you are confusing professional quality with âhighestâ quality. Professional quality is an industry standard of quality that is acceptable to pass as being considered professional. With âhighestâ quality the standard is your competition and it assumes a quality standard that exceeds minimum professional standards. So in other words it means going above and beyond what is required of any given professional.
Since you are giving something extra it is perfectly reasonable to charge for it. Its not unethical at all. As a matter of fact it would be unethical for a customer not to pay you more for giving more value .
When I go to a restaurant I expect the waiter to be prompt and courteous. I don expect them to remember what I usually order and have it brought to the table as soon as I am seated. The first waiter gets at least a standard tip and occasionally a good tip. The second one gets and accepting tip every time.
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Price matching is about running your competition OUT of business. Most of the time when a company price matches, they arenât hardly making anything. They do it to take the competitions customers. When they go under, they can charge what they want. It takes money in the bank to afford to do that. Business has been done that way for decades. Nothing dishonest about that.
If I hire a contractor to build my garage for a set price, and he tells me it will be complete in two weeks:
Iâm not paying him more if it takes him a week longer. Iâm also not asking for money back if he gets it done in a week.
I, as a business, estimate my time to clients on the long end of the guess. Iâve never had anyone think I should cut the price if I get done sooner.
When I go into a mechanic, I am charged book rate. So if the book says 2 hours and he is done in 30 minutes, guess what I am paying? It ainât for a half hour. I donât think they are âdishonestâ for charging book rate.
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Well said
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I think we get confused with thinking minimum professional quality workmanship and customer service with âhighestâ quality workmanship and customer service are the same thing. The first is saying a standard that every company has to meet. The second is a standard set by the competition between differing competitors. Itâs not set in stone and is generally way above minimum professional standards.
True.
Ya see, to me, I just donât agree with charging more hours of labor then it actually takes. I dunno lol. In the end, consistency in quality and fair, competitive prices are key.
I have heard many people complain about costs of labour for the actual time spent doing the job. And many dont. Especially as an employee. Much doesnât get said to the owners.
And I know man. This is how businesses have been doing things. And thatâs fine. I donât look at anyone bad for doing it. Itâs obviously smart and profitable but there is no way in hell, Iâll be that mechanic making you pay 1.5 hours more for nothing. Iâm just not that guy.
I think itâs important to consider all the factors they are considering in the value they are offering. There is much more value being delivered to the customer than just the product or service itself. There is the guarantee ( which is only if the company is around to back it), there is the level of customer service that includes responsiveness and availability as well as professionalism. There is the lower job time. There is the higher professional image that many customers care about and are willing to pay more for. There are so many factors that go into value beyond the product and service that itâs had to look at another companies pricing and compare it the what you offer.
I remember a while back when I was trying to Target higher end homes ( the richest neighborhoods in my area) and I didnât have the newest vehicle ( mine wasnât trashy but wasnât new and didnât have signage) and I gave an estimate and even though I am very exerienced and come across well to the customer I saw my competitor pull up to give an estimate after I left. He rolled up in a brand new Nissan service vehicle with great signage. I knew right away I probably wouldnât get the job. Not because I couldnât do the same if no better job but because in the mind of the customer if their payment by for the best they want to feel like they are getting the best. We all do this when we make a purchase. All things being equal we are going to go with the fancy packaging or even the package that has an added gift for example.
Itâs all about add value. The more value our offer the higher you can justify your price in the mind of the consumer.
That said Im not one of these guys who tries to get the highest price just for the sake of pice. I believe in address ng value. The more value I can add the more I have a right to justify an increase in price.
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I currently work for another company, a hardware store to be closer to the tip. And they have been talking about doing screen repair. This is something i currently offer as a slide into window cleaning or extra service for that one stop shop. Anyway, so ill be doing the same repairs i do for $25-35 an hour for. for $12.00⌠I will do it with the same, quality, service, and respect. But the entire time i will be mad that im going through the same hell for half my normal rate.
Eventually i see myself no longer doing it for the hardware store. Now in truth this exact argument is precisely why the owner and I agreed I would get compensated for training a coworker to do it, and I wouldnât be tasked to do such a thing.
Oh did I fail to mention i still work for a above minimum wage job?
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True, very true.
I understand what you guys are saying.
I canât sit here and argue it. It does make sense, of course.
My fiance says it all the time. Sheâs always telling me donât feel bad, your running a business and everything else. She has commented on every side shower job that I have installed(i donât offer installations as of now because I still work for a company that offers these services). Iâll give some one 600 bucks off and still walk away with a big amount. She states herself âwhyâ? Thatâs the normal price. Other companies are charging that so can you. Donât get me wrong, those were side jobs. When I offer it as a Service, my price will be closer to the competitions. I was going to keep it lower than others but I may need to rethink it all. I literally can offer a better install than the âqualityâ offered by these companies. Itâs disgusting the price some people pay and the quality some installers give and the lack of care the office can have. I think that is what bugs me. I have witnessed nothing but greed with poor service too many times. But hellâŚif I have been the best installer for others and can just watch the lack of care they have, I SHOULD charge the same if not more.
Although i donât have the overhead like many do either. I donât have office people or a building yet. Of course that will cost a small fortune and a reason to keep prices up but at the same time, it is do-able to have better pricing and better service. I was very close to my previous employer. I know dang well the little things that wouldnât cost much to create a better office and better customer experience. I also know that dropping prices a bit really wouldnât hurt.
In the end, we as companies should all be in the same general market and pricing. But if I am lower than others, it isnât to steal a customer, it is literally because I am ok with making a decent living, compared to a very good living. That doesnât change my outlook on how I treat things.
My personal goal is to have an office and building but to keep prices fair. Is it really do able? I like to think so but I donât know.
I think with the right people and the right attitude and quality of work that yes you can offer highest quality with lowest prices(or lower). Time will tell though
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The one value I can offer the consumer over my competition is that right now I am an owner operator. I can say that âIâm not sending a bunch of guys out to your house, I will be the one doing the job myself so you will be sure to get a great quality jobâ! That is valuable to some consumers so itâs something I can use to help justify my higher price. Iâm not even the highest price. Right now I donât compete on that basis because I donât feel I can deliver the value that comes with being the highest price. My quality is absolutely up their with anyone else and even higher because Iâm the one on the job but there are other values that I canât offer right now that are high values to my target market. Those are things like packaging (I just canât afford a new vehicle right now etc), great st equipment ( I would like to add a water fed pole system but donât have all the money set aside right now), I canât offer an efficient job time, any job over 5000 sq ft I have to split over 2 days, I canât offer highest customer service because itâs difficult for me to be as responsive when Iâm doing everything although I am putting a system in place to address this etc. Instead of highest price I try to position myself as best value which I am hoping to change in the near future. Itâs going slower than I had hoped for.
Itâs important to keep in mind, when comparing your price with another company, all the value they are offering compared to yours. A lot of the value goes beyond just the service or product itself. Making sure you highlight this value to the customer helps to insure your not competing based on price alone. If you canât deliver all the value beyond great quality workmanship it doesnât mean you canât charge the same price it just means you will have a harder time justifying the higher cost to the consumer than your competitor. Sometimes your delivering that value but just arenât highlighting it to to the consumer. Properly communicating and marketing your brand to the consumer definitely effects sales and ability to price higher in a competitive market.
I appreciate your openness to consider it her view points though. Humility is very admirable! Props!
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Clear response and a beauty one. One to help remind myself where I stand as well.
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- Reasonable pricing
- 3+ years experience (Yes, I know, Iâm young)
- Cleaning certificate
I also have friends who spread the word around, so I guess thatâs a reason as well.
Rather than an introspective philosophical analysis, look at the triangle from a marketing perspective and how others perceive you:
speak in marketing language using -est words
itâs true you canât be all three:
lowest price
highest quality
Quickest time, or quickest scheduling
which niche are you going to market yourself as? you can only pick one and lowest price is just a death spiral because 2nd lowest doesnât win
comments?
@Chris a little Dubrosky-ish with the -est words eh? but puts it into perspective
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