John L, LOL, bucket brigade... your absolutely right. That is the cost I pay for staying with the portable, wish they made higher capacity tanks, but it's automatic to me now, just part of the job. I pretty much have to refill around 2-3 times at the average job. Yes, I will not do a job for $80, unless I am already in the area that day. When I started I used to do apartments for $50 a pop, to get experience... and check this out used a rug doctor I purchased direct from Rug Doctor. True, my stepup is not quite a truckmount now, but can you beleive it, starting w/ a rug doctor, a rug doctor? If that does not take balls to go to a custys house, I do not know what does. Anyways, I live 35 mile from SF, so to make a job worth my while, in the City$125 is the minimum. San jose minimums are $100. I set my pricing, and obviously some custys don't/won't pay for this, But if you are proud of your end result, you charge what you feel you are worth, otherwise, you are stuck in a situation where cutthroat pricing determines your income, don't you think?

Regarding your comment "when word gets out your real good", I assume you are implying that charging high prices will deter dental patients. My friend I work for weekly is an established orthodontist, he lives and practices in Saratoga, and San jose CA. He makes 550-$600k a year with these two practices alone. He did not get this way doing discount orthodontics. While markets determine for a most part what you can charge, you also have a say in it. There are different qualities of service in every profession, including dentistry and CC. Doing above quality work every single time will ensure you can charge what you are worth and differentiaties you from the competition. If you do this two things might happen: you either will sink or swim. why not go for it? I will be honest with you, I am 27, have not been in this biz more than 2.5 years, and probably don't have near the experiece many of you have, but the biz is not difficult, the work even less, an above intelligence monkey could probably do it. But when a customer see value in you service, you get the job.

Grammatical errors abound in this thread of mine, but no time to be proper as I have to take off.

The famous bucket brigade... fill dump... fill dump... 125 trip charge huh??? So if a prospect called for like 2rms and hall for 80$ you wouldn't do it???? I would... but that's me...

Beautiful City SF... Best of luck on your dental career...You won't have any problems with getting customers when the word gets out your REAL GOOD.....

mjzivko

Great posts man. I have not been hanging out on these forum for too long, but I see that alot of CC's here are here to blow off steam and f around more than anything. Anyways, I like you use a rotovac, and I use it on the majority of my jobs. Why? Because fatigue is so much less  for me with the Rotovac. Time efficiency is not so much of an issue, I make enough per job to be satisfied (roughly 65-$90 per hour), but I do not have enough business to fully keep me busy. Just as well though, I am applying to dental school so I need time for my studies. Chi town is the best BTW. I run a portable by the way, how about you? I am in the SF Bay Area, so portables are great when I am up in the City. My minimum to do a job in SF is $125, whether it be a 500 sf studio or larger. Works for me. To the OP, I swear by the Rotovac, I love it. Down side is it can put out too much water and running a portable, you might find yourself refilling more often than with a reg wand.

Thanks for the warming remarks Doug.  I must of pushed your button a little bit.  I know I look young but I am not wet behind the ears.  I am 25, married to a hot wife, have 2 gorgeous children, a degree from Univeristy of Illinois, I own my home, and am doing the carpet cleaning biz in conjunciton with my other job.  I really don't need your repsect.  I am a man that takes care of his family and that is a lot to say about anyone in today's world.  My family comes first and that is why I work so hard to provide for them. 

Sorry you are a fat wand stroker and I am a lean in shape hard core mo-fo.  The young lions take over the pride, that how life works.  Maybe one day I will be the fat old guy trying to hang on to my old ways and I'll be threaten by some young studs.

"Life is ours, we live it our way"