Beer line cleaner here

[ScareCrow]

Hello! I found this forum today and I thought I could introduce myself and ask you a question or two at the same time.

I am 24 years old and I work as a beer line cleaner (have been for almost two years now) for a small company. I have around 150+ pubs (bars/restaurants/etc) to take care of in the summer and around 80 in the winter; in one day I'm happy if I take care of at least 8-10 pubs, my company only provides me with all the equipment and most tool which I need for my job, I have my own car, I pay for the gas on my own and I have to plan my own routes.

So if I have any colleagues over here, what's your experience with the beer line cleaning business ? Also, my main question, do your customers also often care very little about the quality of their beer line ? I would say that about 80% of the people who's lines I clean don't really care if they get them cleaned or no- I feel like they just let me do it because they know they have some kind of a contract with my company

[PremiumVADraftTech]

I have worked for a 3rd party line cleaning company, and now a distributor

The 3rd party paid me by the line, and we only cleaned each account once a month, they only paid for parking if we had to pay, no gas or anything else
the 3rd party company I worked for, we cleaned lines for 7 different distributors in maryland, having to keep track of all the beer was a PITA, and when they changed
hands we didnt find out about it until a month later lol

At the distributor we clean every 2 weeks and I get paid hourly, they give as gas allowance and vehicle maintenance money each month

In most states (not all) the distributors are responsible for line cleaning , but there are 3rd party companies that do still clean a few of my accounts monthly and I only do service calls to those, no cleaning. These 3rd party companies charge these accounts monthly for cleaning, why they would do this I have no idea when we do it for free *shrug*

It all depends on your area, but in the states where the distributors are responsible for cleaning, I wouldn't try to start my own business personally, its hard to charge people for a service when the distributors do not

I have a handful of accounts that only want once a month cleanings, I get paid by the hour so its no problem or me what so ever, but the minimum lines should be cleaned is once a month, MINIMUM!! Most of my accounts welcome every 2 weeks, some dont care either way, the only ones that document and keep a eye on it is buffalo wild wings lol