mobile home parks

Cody

New Member
<quote><i>quote</i><hr size="1" color="red"><b>Lowballers are everywhere and if they choose them over you, than you know that quality service is not something they are interested in. <hr size="1" color="red"></b></quote>

<font color=e87400>This single statement is a very narrow-minded one. When I hear people say this I simply cringe. It takes real audacity to assume that just because someone is charging less, that they are not running a reputable business.

Take a moment to reflect on HeavyChevy's initial post on the first page of this thread. There, obviously someone is lowballing the price for the service in that area yet the park Manager tells HeavyChevy that the company is insured & there have been no unsatisfactory reports. Now, you'd have to assume that their service is pretty fair seeing as they have been apparently operating in that park for sometime due to their price increase statement. Thus the statement of "Quality of service not something they are interested in" is incorrect in a case that we have right here in front of us.

What spooks me about this is that still, many people here, after this has been discussed on more than one occasion, feel that price reflects quality & dependability. And from this assumption I wonder how you must sell your jobs with regards to bashing your competition. If a customer tells you that they have a quote for 50% of what you have quoted them, what are you saying next? Do you just spit it out that that lower quote came from an inferior company? I have little doubts that this happens on a daily basis. Unfortunately many prospects probably fall into that, makes me wonder what impact this has on our customer base. How much BS do our customers go through.

Sorry if I am coming off to strong here. But people make this statement pretty often & it just bugs me to no end. It is simply not true. Next someone will make the other statement that to do a good job you have to have a “State-of-the-Art Rigâ€￾ SCHEESH!!

PS. I'm not a lowballer nor am I defending them in their sales strategy or lack there of. I am simply trying to correct a common misconception that lowballers always do inferior work. This is sometimes the case & perhaps often the case but not near always the case.

<hr size="5" color="e87400">
<font size=+1><b>As far as washing trailers.</b></font> Can be good money, can be bad money, can keep you busy, or they can keep you tied up. As with any other thing in business you have to ascertain a viable & acceptable price for both you & the customer. One that the customer can perceive value in & one that you can show a adequate profit that encompasses all the facets of your business from A to Z including a small percentage for your pocket at the end. All markets differ from region to region, trailer parks in your area may be “saturatedâ€￾ with quotes for pressure cleaning, then again they may not be. You’ll always be able to attain higher prices from markets with less competition than markets with greater competition. That’s just a fact of life.

Your best bet will be to go to the parks & talk to the managers to find out what has transpired in the past, did they ever refer contractors, did they announce specials in the flyers or meetings, have they had any bad experiences in the past with contractors, what are there tenants like <I>(this one is kind of important too, I have seen some small over 55 parks where everyone in the park was just piss mean, which can spell REAL TROUBLE for the wary contractor)</I> etc etc etc… Feel them out & then make an educated decision whether to pursue the venture or not & how to price if so.

GL</font>
 
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Bridget

New Member
Now, Cody I sure didn't mean to get your underduts in a bunch.

I don't believe I've have ever come across as a "very narrow-minded" individual in any of my posts or in any of the dealings I've had with the fine people of this board.

Your assault on my comment was harsh in deed. You can state your opinion without calling someone narrow minded & audacious.

As for my statement... was it a general statement, yes. Are there exceptions to EVERY rule - absolutely! Do I believe that all lowballers perform less than satisfactory work, no I don't.

It has been my experience Cody, in our areas marketplace, that lowballers don't give customers quality service and those that maintain accounts do so with companies who are more interested in the lowest possible price regardless of the results (good or bad). Let me reiterate do I believe there are EXCEPTIONS to the rule - Hell yea I do.

I will say this, if the washing industry welcomes more low bidders, than I can assure you that it will have an effect on how you and I do business - because in any industry low bidders bring down the value of any service.

There have been numerous threads on this subject and I for one am not going to jump on a soapbox and start one.

If I offended you or any one of your colleagues, please accept my apologies.

Bridget
 

klean_freak

New Member
Originally posted by Aplus
Hey Ron,
Have you washed many mobile homes? The reason I ask is, while your method is feasible, the reality is it doesn't always work like that.

Problems I've seen time and time again are: Cheesy, aluminum frame windows that leak like a sieve, siding that's barely attached, and blows loose when hit with almost any water pressure, black streaks from the tar coated roofs streaking down the sides, and often the trailer park is built on poorly graded land that is swampy most all the time.

It's easy to say line up ten a day, not so easy to do. Trailer parks around here don't allow flyers, you'd have to go door-to-door cold calling each tenant.

A 15 gallon drum of gutter zap costs $232, I know, I just bought one. Chemical costs are too high to make a decent profit at 75 bucks apiece.

Oh, and what about all the hose burns in the grass you are going to leave behind?

Not trying to pull your chain, just pointing out that profits are not what you might think they'd be.

DO YOU LIVE IN A MOBILE CAUSE YOU SURE HAVE A HATE FOR THEM
 
O

OrangeCrest

Guest
<b>...Oh, and what about all the hose burns in the grass you are going to leave behind?...</b>

Shouldn't this be something that should have been prevented before you even start? Easy fix...
 
O

OrangeCrest

Guest
Lay down plywood, or some sort of insulator between the grass and the hose or have enough hose to route around the grass.

I have to do it all the time, I usally route it up the driveway and down the walkways.

If you pull it up far enogh, you will have enough slack that it won't get pulled off the plywood or be pulled off the walkway onto the grass.
 

oneness

New Member
Why would you need hot water to do housewashing (or trailer washing)? I've yet to run into anything I can't clean with good chems and cold water.
 

jon chapman

New Member
when I first started, I posted flyers in MH parks, didnt know how to price adequatly, so I did $45 SW and 55 DW, got very few calls at that price, but the ones I did, ended up between $95 and $145 with add ons. Every body said I did a better job and never made less than $45 an hour. (remember i was new) My posted price was $5-10 MORE than the competitors.
Only trouble is I couldnt get more than 1 at a time. Now I wont do them exept as a repeat.

But here is the good part. Knew the maintenance man at a park on the water. Each home had a dock on Tampa Bay. Minimum cost was about $150,000 with the lot deposit. One guy had put in upgrades on his DW, totaling over $450,000. Can you imagine a mobile home worth half a million dollars? [getout]
Never did get a job in that park, cause the manager wouldnt let anyone advertize there that charged more than $50 for a DW.
 

Aplus

New Member
I often need over 150 feet of house to get from my trailer to a house being washed. How can I place plywood under 150 feet of hose, or how can I route hoses around landscaping without burning something up? Of course it can be done, and the questions are somewhat rhetorical, but it adds up to a bunch of time wasted when cold water along with proper detergents will achieve the same results.

Hot water is most appropriate for greasy, oily, filmy applications. Those conditions are not found on most houses.

What I find on most houses is oxidation, dust, mold, and bird droppings.

I support cold water for most house washing applications. And with the prices of diesel fuel what they are, I don't want to fire my burner any more than I absolutely have to.
 

oneness

New Member
The ONLY thing I use hot water for is oil stained concrete, and I rarely run into that. I see the need for commercial concrete cleaning like storefronts, etc, or for truck/equipment washing, but for housewashing, I just don't see the need. It is an un-needed expense, and a time-waster in having to avoid burning grass, etc.

Besides, who the heck wants to fire up the burner if they don't have to when it is 90+ degrees outside and 90% humidity. If I want a sauna, they have one at the racquet club.
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
who the heck wants to fire up the burner if they don't have to when it is 90+ degrees outside and 90% humidity.

Me,I want wash without it.
 

oneness

New Member
Originally posted by Larry L.
who the heck wants to fire up the burner if they don't have to when it is 90+ degrees outside and 90% humidity.

Me,I want wash without it.

Well sure, but YOU NEED IT, don't you? Why would you want to wash with it if you didn't need it? It's great when it is 20 degrees outside, but washing in a steam bath in 90+ degrees is for the birds, if it is uneccesary.
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
It's great when it is 20 degrees outside, but washing in a steam bath in 90+ degrees is for the birds, if it is uneccesary.

Its doesn't matter if its 0 0r 110 in the shade I want wash without it.
 

oneness

New Member
Might I ask WHY???????????????????????

What benefit is it to wash with hot water if there is no benefit to washing with hot water?
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
Guys other then bare wood I turn my burner on,its the reason I bought a hotwater washer,didn't buy it just to look at it.

Yeah I know....
 

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