Business lesson over cleaning montagefrom @edgecleaningwa

Transcript

Nine years ago, we used to charge by the hour, not by the job. At the time, it made sense. Clients would ask how long the cleaning would take. We would estimate, and that's what they paid for. Until one client made me realize charging by the hour was the worst decision we could have ever made. It all started when a client contacted us for a cleaning. They asked how long we thought it would take. And after they described the space saying the house was very clean and just needed a quick reset, we estimated it will only take a few hours. They agreed. We scheduled the job, and we showed up the next day ready to work. There was heavy grime buildup in places you couldn't see at first glance. Fixtures full of dust that needed to be disassembled rank cleaned. Showers full of mold and watermarks. This job was not just about spraying a product and wiping things down. Cleaning at a pristine level requires understanding what kind of dirt you're dealing with, what chemicals and tools to use, and how to treat different materials without damaging them. But the client didn't see any of that. All they saw was time. After a couple of hours, they came back and said, why isn't this finished yet? You said it would take only a few hours. I'm not going to pay for extra tier. And that's when I realized the real problem by charging by the hour. When you charge by time, people start thinking they know how long the job should take. They base it on their assumptions, not on the experience it takes to actually do the work. You wouldn't tell a surgeon how long a surgery should take. So why should someone decide how long professional cleaning takes? That's when we changed our entire business. We stopped charging by the hour. Now we charge by the job because what clients are really paying for isn't just time. They are paying for the skill and experience it takes to do the job right.