Carpet cleaners in Vancouver charge different prices from one another. Some prices are high and some are extremely low. In a free market economy price differences can be expected. However, the enormous price difference between carpet cleaning companies can be confusing for customers. One factor in the variance in prices can be attributed carpet cleaning companies having different business models.
I will briefly discuss the franchise model and the contractor model. Both models of carpet cleaning involve a third party which inflates the cost customers pay to have their carpets cleaned. Just because these companies charge more does not mean that they are providing more services or better service.
Some carpet cleaning companies are franchises. The franchisee, a person who performs the work but does not own the company, must pay franchise fee's to the franchisor. The franchisor owns the company and licenses others to perform the work under a branded trade name.
The franchisor takes care of advertising and finding new customers. More often then not, the franchisee must pay a large sum to the franchisor upfront to purchase a guaranteed monthly income. The higher the monthly income the higher the fee.
The franchisee must also purchase the equipment from the franchisor at a marked up price. But it does not end there. The franchisor also takes a cut of what ever is earned by the franchisee (sometimes up to 50%) and almost always has control over pricing. The franchisee simply performs the work.
Ultimately it is the customer who pays an inflated price so that both the franchisee and franchisor can turn a profit.
Another type of carpet cleaning company is the general contractor. This type of company subs out all work to other carpet cleaning companies. Usually, this type of company specializes in some other service related to home maintenance and offers carpet cleaning as an additional service. The contractor has no carpet cleaning equipment nor do they have employees qualified to perform the work.
Instead, the contractor hires another company to perform the work at a set rate and charges the customer more. Should anything ever go wrong with carpet cleaning, the customer contacts the contractor who then calls the carpet cleaning company. Because more people are involved it may take longer to resolve issues.
Another negative is that customers expectations may not be met. If a customer pays X amount of dollars they may expect a certain level of services. The level of services a customer may receive may be dependent on the size of the mark up between the carpet cleaner and the contractor.
Both the franchise model and the contractor model contribute to enormous price difference customers are charged between carpet cleaning companies. Remember, just because these companies charge more does not mean that they are providing more services or better service. Instead, more often than not the customer is paying inflated price so the “middle man” and the carpet cleaner can turn a profit.
By Ed Scott
I will briefly discuss the franchise model and the contractor model. Both models of carpet cleaning involve a third party which inflates the cost customers pay to have their carpets cleaned. Just because these companies charge more does not mean that they are providing more services or better service.
Some carpet cleaning companies are franchises. The franchisee, a person who performs the work but does not own the company, must pay franchise fee's to the franchisor. The franchisor owns the company and licenses others to perform the work under a branded trade name.
The franchisor takes care of advertising and finding new customers. More often then not, the franchisee must pay a large sum to the franchisor upfront to purchase a guaranteed monthly income. The higher the monthly income the higher the fee.
The franchisee must also purchase the equipment from the franchisor at a marked up price. But it does not end there. The franchisor also takes a cut of what ever is earned by the franchisee (sometimes up to 50%) and almost always has control over pricing. The franchisee simply performs the work.
Ultimately it is the customer who pays an inflated price so that both the franchisee and franchisor can turn a profit.
Another type of carpet cleaning company is the general contractor. This type of company subs out all work to other carpet cleaning companies. Usually, this type of company specializes in some other service related to home maintenance and offers carpet cleaning as an additional service. The contractor has no carpet cleaning equipment nor do they have employees qualified to perform the work.
Instead, the contractor hires another company to perform the work at a set rate and charges the customer more. Should anything ever go wrong with carpet cleaning, the customer contacts the contractor who then calls the carpet cleaning company. Because more people are involved it may take longer to resolve issues.
Another negative is that customers expectations may not be met. If a customer pays X amount of dollars they may expect a certain level of services. The level of services a customer may receive may be dependent on the size of the mark up between the carpet cleaner and the contractor.
Both the franchise model and the contractor model contribute to enormous price difference customers are charged between carpet cleaning companies. Remember, just because these companies charge more does not mean that they are providing more services or better service. Instead, more often than not the customer is paying inflated price so the “middle man” and the carpet cleaner can turn a profit.
By Ed Scott
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