What would you prefer in service route accounts, quality or quantity?
Would you prefer to have accounts that are close together in a tight service area and that are charged for filter cleanings, algaecide or other chemicals and possibly have 4 weeks off incorporated into the billing process and are at the top end of a monthly service charge or have more accounts but they are spread all over town and that don't get charged for filters and other things and have to be serviced 52 weeks?
The better quality your accounts are the more money they are worth if you were to want to sell the route or trade accounts with other service route owners.
So I personally prefer the quality of the account over quantity of course you need enough accounts though to make up a decent route. I am servicing 80 accounts over a 3 day period working 3x10 hour shifts and have sold and traded accounts on RouteAccounts.com our other business to maintain a 3 day work week and gotten a nice tight route.
Whats your thoughts on quality or quantity and how many accounts are you getting serviced each day?
Replies
I have some customers who could be considered "junky", but are by far some of my quality customers. I base my rating of quality on the same parameters as Kevin.
In this respect, quality very rarely has anything to do with how fancy a pool is. I guess the point is: I would rather have quality customers (ie: people) than quality pools. Pools don't pay me; PEOPLE do.10 hours of profitable service almost always outweighs 10 hours of working in a fancy pool for 40% less. I say almost. because I do have a couple of customers, which pay me well through referrals.
I too had a client move to a different service company at the start of the season. 3 weeks later, I get a call from him saying, "I need to eat some crow." I got there the next day, after hours, cleaned it up, got paid, and have been there since.
When he told prior to the beginning of the season he was going to use another company, I said, "Okay, thanks for the opportunity. Just know you can call me if you need me." And he did.
I think the quality of the customer is paramount on a few levels. 1, the pay their bills on time. 2, they appreciate your service.3, you can sometimes help them save money (they love that)
I had a customer year's ago, who was a retired oral surgeon. Not only was he a great doctor but a great businessman. He lived very "comfortably". He would periodically pick my brain about business and made a good suggestion to raise my prices to essentially weed out the not so good customers. Great advice I took. The result was steady paying and appreciative customers who trust you.
I agree with Michael not to be afraid of "junky" customers. They just have to be briefed on what they will getting when they sign on for your services. The customer has responsibilties too. You can tell them if you help me, I can help you. It's a two way street. If it becomes a one way street, lose that customer.
Tricia mentioned about customers coming back after switching. Happened this year with a customer. My customer had a cousins son, nephew, friend, whatever service the pool as it was the their first year in business. OK, give the new comer a break.
Long story short, they messed up, pool was in bad shape, we came in cleaned it up, and collected about $1,000 to do so.This was after the new guy was paid. My customer learned her lesson. She pratically apologized for dumping a mess on our hands. No problem. We cleaned it and she was happy to pay for it.
Qulaity counts for sure in this case.
The question is, would you rather have 10 junky pools that take you 10 hours to service and pay you $2000 profit, or 40 nice pools that take you 10 hours and pay you $1200 profit? You have a lot farther to drive to service 40 cream pools, but they are "quality" pool accounts. You are also making $800 less on the "quality" pools for a 10 hour period. As long as the customer is paying me what I want to do lousy pools, I'll do lousy pools all day long, and make 50% more for my time than I do on the easy ones.
If you charge what will make you "want to do" lousy pools, and make half again as much as you do with the good pools per hour, I'm happy. If you aren't happy with that, charge double per hour for crappy pools as good pools, or whatever you would be happy with. I have 5 "Dogs" that I just love. I make $200 an hour to keep them decent. I love crappy pools. Just make sure to get one months setrvice up front.
By the way, I also tell the customers what it will take to turn their crappy pool into a nice pool, and thus lower their rates. You know, replace the 3/4 h.p brass pump, replace the sand in the filter that hasn't been changed in 20 years, ... Get the 3" per day water loss fixed by finding and fixint the leak, ... then, if they don't want to do the work to fix it, but want to keep the guys in the air from spotting their pea soup pool and fining them $1000, They can pay me to do work noone else will do, because they either know what they are doing (Have experience, so only want quality pools), or that don't know what they are doing, try the pool for a week, and then quit because they can't handle it.
By the way, I have sold thousands of dollars in repairs this way. I service the pool now and keep it from turning green. I tell them all of the things they need to do to make it a decent pool and prioritize them. I set different rates based on the repairs that they complete, and as they complete a repair their service rate drops. For example, a client just bought a Polaris 280 with booster pump and timeclock, spent $2000 with me. His pool service was $350 per month. As long as he lets the cleaner run 1/2 hour a day and dumps the bag every day, his rate is $250 per month. If he cuts back the 60 foot tall pine tree so that the canopy stops 5 feet from his pool, it drops to $200 per month. If he replaces his sand with a 48 square foot D.E. it drops to $150 per month. He has the tree trimming scheduled for Thursday.
Don't be afraid of junky pools. Just tell the client that you don't want his business right now because he hasn't done what it takes to make the pool worth doing. Then tell him what it will take to keep his pool from being green on a regular basis, and the rate it would take to do the pool and keep it decent "Now" without any improvements. Then tell him that if he did a few things to improve the pool / landscaping, he can save himself a ton of money each month. Then tell him the first one he needs to do, and how much per week it will save him. Once that repair is done, tell him the next one, ... the problem is, most people have a ton of pools they aren't charging enough for. Start charging what the work is worth, and offer a client the ability to lower his monthily bill by improving his pool and keeping it clean 7 days a week instread of just the day you do service. Most will jump at the chance.
Since I charge by time and materials, I see no difference.
Materials + (monthly time X hourly profit rate) + proportional gas, insurance, ... = Monthly bill
For example:
You have a customer that always calls you for repairs, and regardless of how well you do the work, he always calls you back to his house to discuss the repair. This ALWAYS happens. Bad client, right? Low quality repair client? Nope. I charge him double the hourly repair rate and double the costs for transportation, ... and I add that into the original bill. In other words, I have built in 2 hours profit for every 1 hour job. This is an OUTSTANDING client. All I have to do is go out and explain things to him for an hour after doing hte work.
Example 2:
I have a customer that will not get his filter cleaned as often as it needs to be. I wrote into the agreement that when the filter pressure exceeds 20 lbs, that no vacuuming is possible, and vacuuming will not be done. Since, when the filter does get cleaned, I will have all of that additional dirt, debris, ... to vacuum, there is no discount on the cost if vacuuming is skipped. Actualy, it only takes about 25% longer to vacuum an exceedingly dirty pool, like his, when it has been skipped, so I actually make 75% more if he doesn't get it done. Plus, I charge him extra if I have to go back and clean the filter myself at any time other than my normal arrival time. (Then I really make the money).
The rule is this, I always charge for my time, my hastle, my blood sweat and tears. A client with overgrown thorn bushes that doesn't keep those under control has agreed, IN WRITING, to pay an additional $25 per week if they aren't kept trimmed. (Note: I always get a deposit equal to 1 months service +25% in advance.) I also tell my clients that when that amount is exceeded, there is no service until that deposit, AND the current bill AND the cost to recover the pool for missed services is paid in full.
Yes, this means that I lose a number of clients that:
1.) Don't pay their bills
2.) Don't properly maintain and care for their pool landscaping, pool equipment, ....
3.) Are grumpy, grouchy, complaining all the time, ... for no good reason
4.) Want something for nothing
5.) ...
The point is this, I am charging whatever I want to make me "LIKE" doing the work I do for them, the hasstle of doing work for them, the extra time it takes to work for them, ... THEY ARE PAYING ME WHAT I WANT FOR WHAT THEY MAKE ME ENDURE? If they don't like it, they can find someone else.
Let me ask you this, how many of you would stand for a client getting right in your face and yelling, cursing, and having spittle come flying your way every single week? How many of you would do it for an extra $1000 a week? $2000 a week? $5000 a week? Again, you set the price. Again you decide what it is worth. If they don't want to pay it, you don't have to endure it. I do expect one months service in advance though. LOL hmmm an extra $4000, $8000, $20,000 ... per month ...
Every account I have is an awesome account. Every acount I will get is an awesome account.
That said, I do tell my clients what is in their best interests. If getting a quality cleaning system will reduce my time spent cleaning each week, I tell them, "You can save yourself $20 a week, or $1040 per year, and have a pool that is cleaner by 75% ALL THE TIME if you buy this top of the line cleaning system for $1800. That means that after 2 years you will have made $280 more than your original investment back. Every year thereafter, you will make $1040 every year off that cleaning system (less repairs). Then I tell them the average annual repair costs. I also explain that every knowledgeable invester in the world states that if you can make back your initial investment in 2-3 years, that investment is a no brainer. DO IT! I tell them not nly will they make back their initial investment in that period of time, but they will see a profit within that period of time. Then I tell them that I will put it in writing or I will pay the diference out of my own pocket.
Again, I always tell them what is in their best interests, and what will cost them less in the long haul, and what will lower their service rates. If they chose not to do it, I make more money because it is more hastle and time. If they do it, I get more cream pools that take me almost no time to work, and that make me even more profit per hour. All my customers are great.
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