How Many Trash Bin Cleaning Service Plans Should I Offer My Customers?

Here Are The Most Common Trash Can Cleaning Service Options Offered By Bin Cleaners Across the U.S.

Over the years, I've seen my trash bin cleaning clients offer a plethora of different trash can cleaning service plans. I'll outline some of the less common ones a little later on. Generally speaking though, the most common service plans offered by curbside trash bin cleaning companies are as follows:

• A monthly trash can washing service.
• A quarterly trash can washing service.
• A one-Time trash can washing service.

These three cleaning plans are, by far, the most commonly offered ones offered across the industry. These three bin cleaning options will satisfy most, if not all, of your customer's needs. As you may have already realized, the plans work as follows:

• One garbage pail cleaning service each month.
• One garbage pail cleaning service every 3 months.
• One single garbage pail cleaning service with no renewal.

The Less Common Trash Bin Cleaning Services Offered By Curbside Bin Cleaners

Some trash bin cleaning business have also tried to offer a bi-monthly bin cleaning option. Some have even replaced the quarterly option with a bi-monthly.

"Bi-monthy" in itself can be a little confusing to consumers and the confusion related to this label is definitely not unique to the trash can cleaning industry. This is because "bi-monthly" can mean both twice each month and once every two months. If you're going to offer this sort of a bin cleaning plan, you'll need to clarify that detail so as not confuse potential customers. What I'm referring to when I say "bi-monthly trash can cleaning service" is a once every two month trash can cleaning option. As far as frequency of cleanings, this fits in between monthly and quarterly cleanings.

On the other side of it, some of my trash bin cleaning clients have offered a "bi-monthly cleaning plan" and their version was actually twice a month.

Trash can washing companies that have offered either of these options have had limited success with these particular plans. You're sure to find at least a few customers who will be interested in a trash can cleaning once every two months or twice a month. However, more than likely, most will be happier with either a monthly or quarterly plan. This is where the bulk of recurring customers will land.

You might be thinking "What's harm then… why not just offer the plan anyway?" Well… that's entirely up to you. Some trash bin cleaning companies feel that having only a few customers who sign-up for something like a bi-monthly trash bin cleaning service plan complicates things for the business owner. For example… you'll end up with group "A" who gets cleaned once per month, group "C" who gets cleaned once every three months, and now you've introduced group "B" who gets cleaned every other month. As you can see, this complicates your scheduling since it gives you a lot more to keep track of and possibly for only a few extra customers and a minimal increase in revenue.

The key to success for your trash can washing business is simplicity. Keeping your schedule and your route simple will make you more profitable. The less time you spend traveling is less money you'll spend on gas. The less time you spend traveling, the more time you'll have to clean bins. The more bins you clean, the more money you'll make.

Conversely – when starting up – you need to be hungry. And so it may make sense to take all the work you can get regardless of distance or frequency of plans. This may mean offering a variety of plans to accommodate as many customers as possible. Doing this can help your trash can washing company be successful as quickly as possible. Remember, no start-up magical becomes successful over night -- you have to be aggressive and flexible in order to succeed. Over time, as you gain more customers and more bin cleaning business you'll probably feel more comfortable saying "no" to certain jobs and plans.

How Many Trash Bin Cleaning Plans Are Too Many?

Right out of the gate, try not to offer too many plans as this can also confuse your customers who may still be trying to educate themselves on exactly what a trash can cleaning service is. The last thing you want to do is to give them more to think about. Try and keep it simple. Add plans as necessary. For special circumstances, you don't necessarily need to advertise those plans on your website. In other words, you can offer something like a bi-monthly trash can washing service to the customer who asks for it, but you don't need to announce it to everyone.

Additional Trash Can Cleaning Services Offered By Garbage Can Washers

Other common service options offered by successful trash can cleaning companies include paying annually. For example, in addition to having a monthly cleaning service which is paid monthly, you might also want to offer a monthly service cleaning plan where the customer can pay for the entire year at once (i.e. annually). You generally would discount this plan by something like 10% of the total number of cleanings per year or give 1 or 2 of the cleanings for "free". For example, if your monthly price for cleaning one bin is $20 and you clean year round (twelve cleanings), $20 X 12 = $240. If you offer a 10% discount for paying annually ($24), the customer would pay $216 for this plan annually ($240 - $24 = $216).

You can offer the same annual option for bi-monthly, quarterly, or any other recurring plan you provide. The discount doesn't have to be 10% -- it can be any amount you're comfortable offering and should be enough of a discount to motivate the customer to pay for the whole year in advance. Make sure the pricing structure is worthwhile for both you and your customers.

Another option you might consider is a semi-annual plan. This would give a total of two cleaning per year. This is a good option for customers who want less frequent cleanings. A semi-annual plan is definitely better for your trash bin cleaning business since you'll have these customers signed-up on a recurring cycle and not just as one-time customers.

Variations of the Quarterly Trash Bin Cleaning Option

Most commonly, the quarterly plan is a trash can cleaning service that occurs once every three months or four cleanings each year. The quarterly cleaning plan might also be packaged as a "seasonal plan".  This plan can be offered once every three months (4 cleanings per year) or even once every four months (3 cleanings per year).

The One-Time Trash Bin Cleaning Option

One-time trash can cleaning services can be a bit of a double-edged sword. When considering all of your trash bin cleaning service plans, one-time is definitely going to be your most expensive option. However, since it's a one-time service it won't automatically recur. Too many one-time cleaning customers means that you have to always be looking for new customers and new bins to clean in order to keep your revenue stream flowing. This can be stressful to you as a business owner. In most cases though, you'll have a mix of recurring and one-time customers.

The one-time service is also a great point of entry for new customers who might be on the fence about bin cleaning services. One-time customers can convert to recurring customers. You certainly won't convert every single one-time customer into a recurring one. Some will come back down the road for another one-time cleaning and some will prefer their one-time freshly cleaned trash bins so much that they'll immediately decide to sign-up for a recurring plan.

I've seen some new business owners opt to not offer a one-time cleaning option. I think this is a mistake as it's definitely harder to get some consumers to sign up for a recurring service vs. a one time service. In particular, with something like trash bin cleaning, where most consumers may still be unfamiliar with this type of service -- it's harder to get them to commit to a recurring plan. Probably all of the bin cleaning businesses I've worked with that have tried not offering a one-time cleaning service eventually added it either right along with their main services or discreetly to satisfy those customer's needs.

The Longterm Service Plans for Your Trash Bin Cleaning Company

It may take time for you to test the waters before you settle into a particular set of trash bin cleaning service options. I've seen some of my clients start off with one set of cleaning plans and change them over time to accommodate their customers and also to simplify their routes.

At some point, you'll start to see the trends for your region and customers. You'll be able to see very clearly which plans are more popular with your customers and which ones are most favorable for your business.