considering groupon - talk me out of it

[adam mayhead]

i'm considering signing up with groupon to test it out. i've seen companies local made a go of it and they now have loads of vans on the road i'm sure thanks in part to the work they first gained through groupon.

they've offered us an option that leaves us with just over £25 per single oven for our local area so not too much travelling. thinking to give it a go but perhaps try making it a "no thrills" service, so the door isn't taken apart just cleaned as is possible, only a couple racks etc.

what do people think? to be honest had this guy come to us in January i'd have been more inclined to just say screw it and go for it, trailing it for a few months, as i have a few guys that are on salary and it's quiet that time, so it's better they earn £90 per day than nothing, however we're getting busier again so now it feels to do this i'd need to take more staff and work the logistics just trying to fit in what they supposedly can offer us in terms of bookings.

 

[Steven Butler]

I’d never offer a no thrills service, it’s totally against what my business does. I do my best on every job, I charge high end so lose a lot on price but still have a higher turnover than busy fools and will less hours. My repeats is HIGH.
Also I think at £25 an oven you could fill a diary anyway even without groupon.

 

[Derek Dale]

I dont think no thrills service is a good idea customers will judge you on the job you do regardless of what they pay so if you do no thrills clean they will think that's the standard of your work

 

[Daniel Nailor]

If you went to a property and “cleaned “ an oven, leaving the door glass with dirt inside and a dirty fan blade, would you be pleased with the results?
If the answer is no, then you should concentrate on providing the best service at a good price.
if you have employees and can’t afford to pay wages, you should reconsider if your business can truly warrant them.

 

[Ian Hare]

"Barge" and "pole" should feature in most answers.

 

[Anthony Harper]

I think a ‘no thrills’ service would be better than a ‘no frills’ one

 

[Dan Woodhead]

I think that there is a market for a no thrills service in various sectors. We live in a society where many people are living hand to mouth and can't afford a premium service. If you go to the the drive through car wash the prices start at £1.90 for a basic drive through wash and finish at £12.90 for the premium wash.

To make this ethical however I believe that you would have to to state what level of service you are offering for the money.

Like Steven above my business model is to offer a premium service for a higher price however if I was quiet and didn't have much work I may consider offering a cheaper alternative, getting some work and earning some money is better than having no work and earning no money.

 

[Jamie Biles]

Isn't it easier to just do discounts when times are hard,that allows you to go back to your original price when necessary or am I missing something

 

[adam mayhead]

Isn't it easier to just do discounts when times are hard,that allows you to go back to your original price when necessary or am I missing something

i guess the numbers that groupon can quickly offer is good, and you'd not want your regular customers who would normally find you and pay your normal prices to now be paying the cheaper rate.

I’d never offer a no thrills service, it’s totally against what my business does. I do my best on every job, I charge high end so lose a lot on price but still have a higher turnover than busy fools and will less hours. My repeats is HIGH.
Also I think at £25 an oven you could fill a diary anyway even without groupon.

i appreciate that but i don't see the harm in providing a service for more than one type of customer. i sometimes wonder how much it is us oven cleaners that want the oven to be spotless rather than the customer. are we pushing our quality up and up and charging every customer for it, when plenty would happily book a cheaper "top up" clean more frequently and happily have a good clean done rather than a perfectly spotless one.

i guess the success of groupon is based on the customer you get more than the initial first clean. will this customer be potentially ours for the taking, or will they use us once and never again.

 

[Christina Daniel]

I would think very carefully about the customer demographic you will attract with the group on approach. I may be wrong, but I expect you will get unreliable customers who don't show, and once you increase your prices to a sensible level they will not be loyal and will go with the next cheap offer they see. Also, I expect you will encounter more than your fair share of hell ovens. And no one wants to scrub them for £25.

If your plan is big exposure of your company name, and to bag repeat bookings, how about a large FB and leafleting campaign, with an introductory discounted price for the first clean if they book the next appointment with you on the spot following the clean? They get to see the best you can offer that way (door and all!) and then only the repeat bookers will get the discount. Not the bargain hunters who will drop you like a hot potato.

I do agree with you that there could be a market for no frill oven cleaning, but targeting the bottom end of the market is unlikely to be profitable in the long run.

 

[Duncan McIver]

Hi Adam , don't do it mate , totally understand everything you have said but £25 for a clean, no chance.
You say it would be an express clean and wouldn't include splitting the door?. Cant think of anything worse.
RULE NUMBER 1, clean inside the door, if the door isn't cleaned properly it doesn't matter how clean the oven is the customer will never see it. They will only see a dirty door.

 

[Adam Roy]

If you join the race to the bottom you’ll never win..

 

[Andrew Evans]

Clients who use groupon will always use groupon, Would you be better sending a letter to past clients who haven't used you for a while and offer them a deal. Providing you put a time limit on it of course.

 

[Jamie Biles]

Clients who use groupon will always use groupon, Would you be better sending a letter to past clients who haven't used you for a while and offer them a deal. Providing you put a time limit on it of course.

Not worded as well as Andrew,but basically what I meant. That way YOU choose your area/clients etc more,including current ones. They may not need theirs doing again but may recommend you to their friends/family for the limited offer

 

[Dave Overton]

Don’t do it - you will regret it.
You’ll have the jobs in a crap part of town where you have one eye on your van all the time, then there’s the oven, that will have been set to cremate everything and you’ll never have a repeat out of it - all for £25.

Not me me.

 

[Steven Johnson]

I can not believe you would even consider doing this. Do you really want to offer a service where you dont clean the door are you mad?

I appreciate you have people working for you but do you not have any pride in how your company is perceived?

This is possibly the madest idea I have seen on here.

If things are that slow just call your existing customers up or get one of your employees to call them if they have nothing to do.

 

[David Power]

Did Groupon inform you of the deal? You normally have to discount your price by 65% and then give Groupon half of the 35% left over.

You will get lots of customers, but none wanting a full price clean in the future!

 

[adam mayhead]

Did Groupon inform you of the deal? You normally have to discount your price by 65% and then give Groupon half of the 35% left over.

You will get lots of customers, but none wanting a full price clean in the future!

they've come to this deal so we're left with £25 after their share.

This is possibly the madest idea I have seen on here.

If things are that slow just call your existing customers up or get one of your employees to call them if they have nothing to do.

i really don't see it as that mad. base it on this. a company i know has been on groupon for 4/5 years that i can remember, and they still are on their, and they have many many guys out in vans every day cleaning 5 ovens each. crazy for groupon to not work and yet this company continues year after year to be on there. crazy would be ignoring that.

 

[Lee Wagstaff]

they've come to this deal so we're left with £25 after their share.


i really don't see it as that mad. base it on this. a company i know has been on groupon for 4/5 years that i can remember, and they still are on their, and they have many many guys out in vans every day cleaning 5 ovens each. crazy for groupon to not work and yet this company continues year after year to be on there. crazy would be ignoring that.

I spoke to them about it however they expected me to do ovens at £15 and carpets at £10 per room

 

[Daniel Nailor]

they've come to this deal so we're left with £25 after their share.


i really don't see it as that mad. base it on this. a company i know has been on groupon for 4/5 years that i can remember, and they still are on their, and they have many many guys out in vans every day cleaning 5 ovens each. crazy for groupon to not work and yet this company continues year after year to be on there. crazy would be ignoring that.

Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.
im sure the advice given will be ringing around in your head after a few days of cleaning ovens at one third of the price.