The Challenge

[Cody]

<font color=e87400>Want me gone for good, here’s your chance.
Just prove my answers to these 2 questions wrong.
<ol>
<li>Are prices governed by Supply & Demand. { Yes or No }

<li>When the Supply rises against an unchanging Demand do the prices A) go up, or B) go down { A or B }</ol>

My answers
<li>#1 = Yes
<li>#2 = B

If you can irrefutably answer <li>#1. No <li>#2. A

I’ll throw in the towel for good! My arguments of the past & present will have no leg to stand on & I will be enlightened as to the error of my perceptions.

If you cannot then you agree with 90% of what I have ever said!~

 

[Clean County]

Cody,
Those are ground ball questions that nobody can debate you on. Am I missing your point here???

 

[Beth]

John,
Notice he didn't ask for an essay?

For example:

Describe both past and current economic trends throughout the United States within the last ten years, and citing examples forcast what changes (cite 5) we can expect in the contract cleaning industry over the next ten years. Use 4 published sources (must be cited) and draw a conclusion. Bibliography required.

Beth

 

[Jon]

Excuse me Cody, no one said to you get lost forever, and I would get ahold of you and drag your silly butt back so don't you even think of disappearing on us.

Your post, debates etc. are good for all here, now I will say if Ron M. were able to log in and reply we would truly have a lively debate.

Now stop pouting and take back the words:

I’ll throw in the towel for good!

Want me gone for good, here’s your chance.
Just prove my answers to these 2 questions wrong.

No one hates you, we are all only voicing our opinions here, that is part of what this whole thing is about and YOU know that.

Jon

 

[Dan S]

well Jon only some of you can voice your opinion . the rest of us gets gang banged when we do ..........

admit it beth,jon,john ...........the only time you guys put time in here is when there is a HOT thread ....the rest of the time you are silent and offer no help......... You talk about opinion well well well !

Cody , stick around no-matter how they answer your Questions I really enjoy your words of wisdom .. I only wish I was near that smart . or at least type the words spelled right .

 

[Beth]

Dan S,
Do a search. I have shared ALOT on this BBS in the past. I may not have the time now, but in the past I did and I have.

The other day I revived an old thread with lots of great info in it. I did it to help out.

Everyone is entitled to opinions. And even those who share, are entitled to stop and just read for a while.

Beth

 

[Dan S]

and you did a wonderfull job too . but I dont dare have an opinion or you guys will do the gang thing ....... Oh well Im a mod and we are suppose too sit back and let you guys say anything you want to us ........
what a world we live in .......

 

[Larry L.]

I think price is governed by Demand and Supply.


When the Demand rises against an unchanging supply the prices will go up.

 

[Clean County]

Dan S. give me a break. IF you look under my name you will see that I was a contributer and I also have close to 600 post.

Stop trying to pick fights because that is what you are constantly doing. Just re-read your posts before you actually post them and you will see what I'm talking about.

Give it a rest.

 

[Mark]

OK maybe it is time for us all to take a break!

 

[Pwr Cln of Am]

anyone who has studied economics will tell you that cody and bigboy are correct.

 

[Cody]

<font color=e87400>
John T
& the rest of whomever.

You're right John, it's a ground ball!
<font size=-3>What, did you think I'd make it easy to get rid of me </font>

The point is. Whenever someone, whether it be an individual, an organization or anything else, says that “helping people to succeed in this business WHO ARE NOT already in this business for ABSOLUTELY ANY REASON WHAT-SO-EVER is a losing proposition for all of those who already positioned in it. Period!

There, perhaps my shortest & most impactful reply ever!

Cody

 

[David Saulque]

Cody has said it well-however in a country of 265 million people it illustrate that the position is academic and to say the least moot. The problem to me is a simple waist of time and money to devote focus on the new guy who wants to join the parade.

Organizations should look at long term retention-rather than the numbers. I stated in my last rant that I would rather have a PWNA made up of 200 well qualified cleaner vs. 1000 with questionable backgrounds and talents.

David

 

[Beth]

No one is disputing economics here, but there is a lot more to it than that. How many people come and go in the same year in this industry within a period of a year or two? How many of them never find the web? How many of them don't have what it takes or realize how hard it truly is to have a business.... Surprise! It's real work folks.

We were out doing estimates the other day and saw a young man washing a deck. He didn't know anything. He was two inches from the wood, at 3000 PSI with a 15 degree tip. We told him he ought to sand the deck to fix his damage.

We didn't tell him how much money he should charge, we didn't share a whole lot other than how far back he should be to avoid the damage. We didn't do that for him, but for the homeowner, who would otherwise form a poor opinion of power washers in general. The idea is to raise the standard.

Young men like the one about will come and go regardless. They have been for years. But the networking we all do online helps those of us dedicated to the betternment of the industry, in an effort to help us all be successful.

Beth

p.s. David, the PWNA is facing the challenge you mentioned above and is trying to address it.

 

[oguard]

Not wanting to stir the soup too much BUT sometimes you can violate the obvious principal by doing the following....

Creating a demand. Who of us really needed a Walkman, iPod, Palm, Swiffer et al until they entered the market place? In the realm of contract cleaning value added services can increase demand for your product; add driveway sealing, window cleaning, yard work or whatever.

Supply does not have to lower prices either. Look at the stability in pickup truck pricing. Supply is really beginning to outstrip demand but manufacturers continue to build and sell because of the high gross margins inherent in the product. Sometimes commodity pricing can lead to higher prices if there is a working relationship in the industry. For years the cost of concrete powder has marched along at it's own rate. There is tremendous competition and supply but the prices are extremely close due to a 'working' relationship among the manufacturers. Everybody in the paper business makes money; even selling toilet paper.

As to an unchanging demand this is nearly impossible. People are dynamic, the market is dynamic, business is dynamic. Therefore it is possible there will always be opportunity, it just means that you may have to work harder to uncover it. However, if you create a demand through value added services then you can mitigate some of the negative aspects of apparent unchanging demand.

In sales the rule of thumb proven over years is that 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers. What you need to do is find ways to get more revenue from the 80% that provide only 20% of your sales. When in doubt about your business realize this; you are selling every time you have a cusotmer contact.

Each and every impression you provide your market leaves an impression. Is your logo clean and representative? Are your business cards clean, flat and printed on quality stock? Are your employees uniformed? Is their language professional at ALL times? Is your truck/trailer clean? Is the eqipment you use clean? Do you answer the phone by the third ring? Is your phone message appropriate? Do you turn off your pager/cell phone when you are talking to your customer? Are your invoices clean, legible and presented in a timely manner? Do you obey EVERY traffic law when travelling from job to job?

The last one is a pet peeve of mine. On more than one occasion I have called the number listed on a vehicle when it has cut me off, sped by in excess of the limit or generally acted in an unprofessional manner. I know that if I were to ever require the services of that company I would never call them based on that anonymous contact. Be aware of that the next time you drive down the road. Merely my 2 cents.

Economists are NEVER right. You can affect your economics by being proactive, professional and open-minded.

Hope this helps? Cheers.

 

[Jon]

Dan S.

Read my post again, I was not ganging up on Cody, I was saying to him not to throw in the towel, not to be gone forever but to continue to post.

The ganging up thing, are you saying all of us plan this?

If so your way off base, I have not asked Beth, John T. or anyone else to join in "bashing" (not my word) others here, I have not asked them to back me when I reply nor have they asked that of me.

All of us are voicing our OWN opinions here just as you are, we should all respect each other for that too.

Do not think I come here just to bash people, I did not even know about your post till I read it, I was not told about it.

I have slowed down (does not look that way right now) posting on all boards, between working nights, doing bookwork, selling and other things my time is limited, I do sleep but not straight 6 hours or so at a time, I get my rest by napping 30 minutes here, hour there and that I how I have always been.

Do I hate you, I think not nor do you hate me, we do disagree on things and voice that publicly, nothing wrong there, is that also not part of what boards are about as long as they do not get out of control.

Jon

 

[Pwr Cln of Am]

if the demand is low, prices WILL drop to generate income. if you never receive a contract for work because someone else will do the job with the same quality, but is willing to do it for less to feed his three little girls at home, you WILL go under. You cannot make me pay more than its worth, so its worth is no more than i will pay. this is why someone may be a jack of all trades, anything to make a dollar, and this could be good for everyone, they and their families have to eat too. this makes another case for lower prices.

now if i have a monopoly, i can rule the board and you will pay me what i ask until i get caught.

i agree whole heartly on the first impression, logo's, your driving, etc, etc, etc.... but that does not guarantee income.

i'm a huge believer in capitalism, you should get what the market will bare... if you're willing to pay me 20 million a year, do you think i'm going to turn it down? do we rant and rave and have fits with pro ball players salaries, they get what the market will bare.

enough from me.

roy

 

[Jon]

do we rant and rave and have fits with pro ball players salaries


Yes I do, I wrote letters to all of them and told them I will not be buying tickets anymore to their games since I don't desire to contribute 20 million to watch some jerk scratch his balls in public.

That and the old days of enjoying a ballgame are lost forever now that mulit-corp. own the teams and they only care about bottom line profit.

And I have not been to a game in over 8 years since I sent those letters, I kept my word.

I almost broke it for the wife though, just about got tickets to the Lakers though a cousin who works for Universial Studio's.

-----------

Supply and demand, nothing wrong with it except that a lot of companys intentionally cut the supply to make the demand higher in order to raise prices.

One of worst offenders is the petroluem industry, gas prices are not really based on supply and demand, they are based on GREED.

As to getting the same quality for less, I am sure in our line of work some can do the same good quality we do but for most who charge .01 or .02 cents a sq. ft. they just are not doing the job right, are not reclaiming where the law requires it and are not surviving.

Jon

 

[David Saulque]

Jon-come on, supply and demand can best be illustrated by the petroleum industry. The price floats based on market use and demand by the driving public. If greed were the driving force then the price would be stable at $5.00 per US gallon. Your liberal left is showing.

David

 

[Jon]

David please, I am neither a Leftist or Rightist.

I am middle of road, (I think the politically correct word is Centerist, not sure, just think and I hate politically correct words) I vote for the person who I believe is telling the truth and sees things as I do or would like to.

I also see such price just how the price changes, where I live average cost is 25 cent more then it is 60 miles closer to Los Angeles, same brand, same grade of fuel.

As you drive further East cost goes down yet it is shipped there, so how do you explain why it cost my friend in Georgia on average $1.25 per gallon and we pay $1.75? We are subsidizing them.

Is that fair?

Now I would love to talk about things not proper here but we can do that on the phone, just have a drink, water, tea or whatever ready and I will call you this evening and we can discuss things other then PW.

Does the number I call you on ring in your home too?

Jon