Sunday, March 24, 2013

Change "not what's in your pocket" but change!

The older I get the more I notice I'm one of those "seasoned citizens" we use to shake our heads and shake the one finger salute at. Yes "seasoned" not old enough to be a senior citizen but too old for middle age we are seasoned, such as a fine wine, wood that is just right for heating in a fireplace or that beer that has the right kick but still smooth. Getting set in one's way is fine but becoming stagnant is something else. What was cutting edge to us is now old hat, getting older is creeping upon me and I am kicking and fighting not to let it passively move in.

When I first started in this business working for and with my brother in law, power washing was new and most people had not heard much about it. Sitting back and looking at it now.... it has grown into a major industry not just a nitch branch of the cleaning industry. Power washing is now so common that most house-holds have some form of a pressure washer in their shed or garage. Well be it most of these washers aren't in working order there still there. Seeing all this new technological information and engineering be advanced in this field it is hard to keep up with. Here at Cleaned by Pete we do stay up to date with new ideas as we have stated before. Change is something we have to embrace and welcome. 

There are some that hold to the idea, the best way is the old way, the statuesque, and can not budge from this point of view. There is experience and then there is stagnation  before anyone can say that we are calling the "old-timer" stagnate get real I am in that group. Networking and talk with the new "young guns" that have chosen this field of work have ideas too. Is it a change we need? They have new ideas and they were brought up around computers and modern tech-knowledge. We can learn form them as well as they can learn for from us the "old-timer". We have tried to merged the best of the old with the new at Cleaned by Pete. Realizing that more and more people are getting into this industry and even though we may have years of experience on them, we still need to adopt new ways of doing things. Here is an example; the "yellow type book page" called the other day wanting us to renew and upgrade our add in their book, with only a sight increase in cost, to run that old box listing. They had space for a much larger listing at more cost. Why I asked should I do the same thing and expect a different result. We track our advertising and the old yellow type pages book is not what they use to be. Why do you have room for larger adds is it lack of interest or less advertisers? No was their only answer. The change here is the "I" phones, tablets and mobile media, this is where everything is headed if not already arrived. Web sites, blogs, SEO, back linking, keywords are all terms we talk about each day and we don't need the old book to find it any more embracing change. I can not even find the "yellow type page book" around here I use the net, and I'm one of those well "seasoned citizen". As they might say the dog I have in this fight is old and long in tooth, retirement is not a distant shadow anymore it is quickly approaching I need to do what I can till I can reach the golden ring. What will change before I get there? A guess is a whole lot social security is not a guarantee anymore. This leads me back to change, having to cover all the bases just in case working full-time is the future. We can not just sit and watch as things happen.

Change is what happens weather we want it to or not, stand back watching it or embrace it, it's up to you. There the group in every industry that hold to the old ideas that it is just for the few and in that few there is a special elect they will try to control the flow of that industry they don't want change. There is this other group, new comers to the field that need knowledge the ones that haven't paid there dues yet. Keeping things statuesque in any industry and doing just what we always have, does not help our industry grow It may even strangle it, holding it back. I have been told; you do not charge enough, our rates are xyz for this and xyz for that if you don't charge what we do you are not one of us, so raise prices. Looking at things differently, charging what I have to charge to make a profit yet be reasonable to the customer. Changing the established price structure, different areas of the country require different charges for the same  jobs, we are not a "big box store" where one price fits all. Each area has a different economy and each area should adjust their pricing accordingly. I'm sorry to say I can not get the same price doing the same job as someone in say Florida or California. Wish I could but I can't, sticking to your guns attitude doesn’t put money in a pocket change is here each person has to decide on their own what they have to do or charge, for their own reasons.

 When we first started we had to charge more in order to pay off the cost of equipment, truck, trailer and insurance. Being one of the only companies doing pressure washing in the area pricing was higher. One of the first self-contained top or the line heated skid washers with all the options was over $14,000 with hoses, attachments and equipment the investment was at $16,000. Time has changed all this now, the United States is not in the same economy as back then there is less money out there, people are hanging on to there money tighter than before. We specialized in commercial cleaning of hoods, vents, duck-work and fans, today we specialize in residential cleaning mostly house washing. Talk about change! this was a big change. Pressure washing equipment is now much less expensive, newer techniques, methods and the soap and cleaners are much more effective. This change means we can get a better quality of work and in less time.

What should we charge a customer for this job? It's a growing question in the power washing field, what is fair?. As with any business man you don"t want to leave money on the table but you can not over charge your customers either. What we could charge but should is a better question? If we quote too much the customer will not hire us, not enough we stand to loose money. I still say this almost every time I stay at a hotel "I just want to rent the room not own it", you go in to a store that is expanding and say "I didn't know I had to pay for the whole renovation at once" eat a steak at a restaurant and remark "wow I only wanted to pay for a steak not the whole cow" . Now be honest have you not said or thought the same thing? You always pay the cost and then move on. The pressure washing customer is the same reaching the happy medium sometimes is hard because each house washing is different. Prices have to vary because of size, lay out, how dirty it is, what type of siding all plays into our prices. Those I'll do any house for $99.00 dollars just does not stand up. Will yet get a clean house? Will it be clean? What is a $99.00 house washing? I don't know Cleaned by Pete does not do that. With less expensive equipment out there these days, this enables more and more people to enter the business on the cheap. They do not have a great commitment to the industry make a buck and leave when they want, selling the used washer on the craigslist. Back when most of us "old timers" started is was a commitment financially you needed to stick to it and make it work. The "old-timers" also developed a lot of new cleaning methods since they never existed before. If you as a customer or a power washing contractor does only one thing, look for or promote, insurance and experience. If they're reading an instruction manual while setting up in your yard, you may have made a mistake.

One thing to remember about change is, there are something we will not change! We will not change in quality of our services. We will not change and do something else when power washing is more work than it looked. We will not change the way we treat our customers homes and businesses. We have invested to much to get where we are today to change now, we are a local power washing contractor. Giving you our best price on doing your washing and cleaning needs. Please remember a true local power washing contractor has overhead, we are a local business man or woman, having to paying for licences, taxes, insurance, gas, oil, soaps, cleaners, ware and tear on equipment and trucks while trying to make some money. You will always get the best job we can do on each and every time. No cutting corners, no using cheap soap, no scrimping, no just getting by, our customers pay for a service and we will do everything to meet your expatiation if not surpass them, pricing it all at an affordable cost. If you want a local power washer with years of experiences and knowledge with the best and proven equipment Cleaned by Pete is your only choice we have been there, done that and will be here tomorrow or next time you need something as a house washing, graffiti removal, concrete cleaning, patio cleaning, BBQ cleaning, power washing, cosmetic cleaning, storefront washed, gum removal remember what we do and pick the best.

So with change you can love it, leave it, embrace it or become stagnate we have chosen changes to help us enter the future. Join us moving forward, by calling us for all your safe cleaning and washing needs in Southwest MO and the greater Springfield MO area.
 Cleaned by Pete 417-459-7869

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