CarpetBossPro Blog — Estimates & Quotes

Quoting Carpet Cleaning Over the Phone: The Questions to Ask Before You Give a Price

Most residential carpet cleaning jobs are quoted without anyone visiting the house. The caller wants a number, and you want to give one without driving across town for a walk-through. That works well when you ask the right questions. It goes badly when “how much for three rooms?” gets answered with just a price.

The Phone Call Is the Estimate's First Draft

A phone quote is not separate from your estimate process. It is the first draft. If you answer the phone, build the estimate while you talk, then send it so the customer can approve online. If they do not approve right away, follow-up emails remind them, as covered in Carpet Cleaning Estimate Follow-Up Emails for Customers Who Haven't Decided.

The questions below are what turn a guess into a real quote.

The Rooms

• “Which rooms would you like cleaned?” Not how many. Which. You need to know whether the living room is part of it.
• “Is the living room open to the dining room or a loft?” Open spaces are where room counts go wrong.
• “Any large rooms, like a bonus room or basement?” These may be priced differently under your room policy.
• “Are there carpeted stairs or a hallway?” The most common thing callers leave out.

As you go, check the boxes in the estimate's carpet job details: Bedrooms, Living Room, Family Room, Dining Room, Hallway, Stairs, Office, Basement. If the customer wants everything, check Whole House and use your package.

The Condition

• “Do you have pets?” Finds pet odor work and tells the tech what is behind the door.
• “Any stains or spots you're especially worried about?” Sets expectations early.
• “When was it last cleaned?” Helps you judge how much pre-treatment the traffic lanes will need.
• “Do you know what kind of carpet it is?” Many will not know. Wool or Berber is worth noting if they do.

Keep these conversational. You are not interrogating anyone. You are making sure the price is fair to both of you.

The Extras

• “Any furniture you'd like done while we're there?” Sofas, loveseats, chairs, sectionals, mattresses.
• “Any area rugs?” Ask the size.
• “Tile in the kitchen or bathrooms you'd like cleaned?”
• “Would you like protector on the main rooms?”

Each one goes on the estimate as its own line from your service list. Upholstery and rugs are covered in more depth in Adding Upholstery, Area Rugs and Mattresses to a Carpet Cleaning Quote.

The Access

These questions do not change the price much, but they decide whether the job day goes smoothly, especially with a truck-mount:

• “Where can we park the van?” Driveway, street, alley, HOA rules.
• “Is there a gate code or anything we need to get in?”
• “What's the best door to run the hose through?”
• “For apartments: what floor, and how far is parking from the unit?”

All of this goes in the access notes on the estimate. When the estimate is approved and becomes the job, the notes carry onto it and show on the tech's job card.

Giving the Price

Once you have the answers, give the total and say what it includes: “For the three bedrooms, the hallway and the stairs, plus pet odor treatment in the back bedroom, it comes to this. I'll send you the estimate now so you can see each line and approve it online.”

Then add the caveat, plainly: “If anything's different when we get there, like an extra room, the tech will go over it with you before starting.” Put a short version of that on the estimate too, such as “Quoted by phone. Final price confirmed on walk-through.” That one sentence makes on-site changes much easier.

If the caller is not sure about sizes or condition, offer to quote from photos they text to your business number instead of guessing.

When the Caller Just Wants a Number

Some callers will not sit through questions. “Just tell me what three rooms cost.” Give them your per-room price and your minimum, then explain that the final estimate depends on the rooms, stairs and add-ons: “Rooms are this much each, with a two-room minimum. If you can tell me which rooms and whether there are stairs, I can send you an exact estimate.”

Most people will answer a couple of questions once they hear why. The ones who will not are often shopping on price alone. Give them a straight answer, be polite, and send the estimate if they want it.

Make the Script a Habit

Write these questions on a card by the phone or in a note on your phone, and train everyone who answers calls to use them. The answers go straight onto the estimate, the estimate goes to the customer, and the approved estimate becomes the job with the details intact. To see how phone quotes fit with the rest of quoting, visit the carpet cleaning estimate software page.