Carpet Protector...
- Thread starter EDS
- Start date
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
You are not ready to sell it yet, because YOU haven't been sold.
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
No dang it! (Slap!!)
It has VALUE! Not, however for every fiber, situation, or customer.
Don't devalue it by "throwing it away" wastefully, which is what you propose.
First, Ed, YOU need to demonstrate to yourself it's value, and then be prepared to DEMONSTRATE that value to a customer.
Then you will sell a good bit of it both profitably, and with a good conscience.
Cleanworks
Moderator
One of my first experiences with Scotchgard, back when it smelled liked paint thinner was a commercial job where there was a rear entry hall into 2 separate businesses. We only cleaned the one business and the portion of hallway belonging to the other was left untouched. One week later they had a flood. The water had pretty well run off of the carpet that we had Scotchgarded and had saturated the one unprotected. Yes, our side was wet but not as much as the other side. It was very apparent just by looking. I don't like pushing anything on my customer but in situations where I know it will benefit them, I sell knowing I am doing them a service rather than just walking away doing nothing. Just start easy with it, try it on your own place first and see how it goes. Don't jump in the ocean not knowing how to swim.
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
Again, the old guy in Kentucky disagrees.
That area needs effective entry mats that can be "emptied". 3M Nomad is a great one,perhaps followed by cotton throw rugs that can be laundered.
If that is done, along with good vacuuming, protection is the next line of defense.
Don't expect all that from protector alone.
Bob Pruitt
Member
For who ever is actually interested. I use to do a really bad Chinese Restaurant quarterly and I charged extra for fabric protection every other time...that was the deal. Came time to re-new the fabric protector and the Owner said no... so I said no problem...this is our last time cleaning your restaurant.
On my way out I took my fabric protector and wrote my name PRUITT on the rug that leads out of the kitchen...not where Customers could see it.
About 3 weeks later I get a call from the Owner telling me I wrote my name in his carpet. I said oh, you mean the clean part??
It convinced him of the importance of the fabric protection...he was a great Customer for many years. It bumped the price by 50%... 75 % of that was pure profit.
Only an idiot would give that away...not talking about you Ed.
On my way out I took my fabric protector and wrote my name PRUITT on the rug that leads out of the kitchen...not where Customers could see it.
About 3 weeks later I get a call from the Owner telling me I wrote my name in his carpet. I said oh, you mean the clean part??
It convinced him of the importance of the fabric protection...he was a great Customer for many years. It bumped the price by 50%... 75 % of that was pure profit.
Only an idiot would give that away...not talking about you Ed.
if that is the vibe I'm giving off then let me correct its now...very interested in what you all have to say...I resemble that remark
(heard Steve say it the other day)
Cleanworks
Moderator
Again, I want to emphasize that it is not the saviour of all carpets but merely a tool that helps in cleaning up spills that would otherwise stain and resists ordinary day to day soil making it easier to clean. Like waxing your car, makes it easier to keep clean and wash.
I know right? So it would be beneficial to the customer always if price was not an a focal point of concern. Would help me too for re-cleans...especially in townhouses and condos where the customer uses daily pretty much every sqft of carpet. That being the case why not give it away at cost? Ok I'm going to stop now and LISTEN to you guys and do some real world testing this week. This week is going to kick ass...new wand and new toys and a litmus test to see if I truly am an idiot...(i know a blind squirrel finds a nut once and a while...so even if I convert my leads under new pricing structure it is not definitive proof that i am NOT an idiot.)
I just I can't (have not found a way yet..can't is so negative) find away to incorporate it into my pricing structure.
But upholstery protection sounds like very promising. What are the prices?????
I just I can't (have not found a way yet..can't is so negative) find away to incorporate it into my pricing structure.
But upholstery protection sounds like very promising. What are the prices?????
65 or 66 (don't like having two 66 in a row...might put off the overly religious.)
65 per area includes:
65 per area includes:
- Pre-vacuuming
- C.R.B pre-treatment
- Corner guards and floor matts to protect your home
- Pre-spray all carpeted areas
- Mechanical agitation with C.R.B
- Stain and Spot treatments (took out removal)
- Hot water extraction steam cleaning ( I know I know the steam cleaning thing is lame)
- Neutralizing rinse and deodorizing
- Scotch Guarding
Cleanworks
Moderator
If you are going to sell it, you'll need to learn how to spell it. There is no u in Scotchgard.
Old Coastie
Supportive Member
Ed, if you are open to suggestions, I think you are too focused on telling the customer about your process with industry jargon and making it sound a bit overblown. Say it, but simply:
"In your home (or business), we include the steps other companies either charge extra for, or skip to save time.
Our 'Eight Steps To Quality' are:
1. Carpet pile lifting for the flattened traffic areas.
2. Slow, deep, thorough vacuuming.
3. Customised Spot treatment.
4. Generous use of select cleaning solution, with extra on the traffic areas.
5. Deep, machine scrub from wall to wall.
6. Methodical, expert Hot Water Extraction to flush the carpet fibers clean.
7. Post-cleaning deodorizing.
8. Post-cleaning Carpet Protectant applied.
We also do all the thoughtful things that matter, such as using corner guards so the hose doesn't mar your paint, putting plastic tabs to protect your furniture legs, walk-off mats to prevent wet footprints on your hardwood floors, and we even hand-groom the carpet so it looks great!"
Your customer thinks everyone does this. They do not. Most only do #4 and #6.
"In your home (or business), we include the steps other companies either charge extra for, or skip to save time.
Our 'Eight Steps To Quality' are:
1. Carpet pile lifting for the flattened traffic areas.
2. Slow, deep, thorough vacuuming.
3. Customised Spot treatment.
4. Generous use of select cleaning solution, with extra on the traffic areas.
5. Deep, machine scrub from wall to wall.
6. Methodical, expert Hot Water Extraction to flush the carpet fibers clean.
7. Post-cleaning deodorizing.
8. Post-cleaning Carpet Protectant applied.
We also do all the thoughtful things that matter, such as using corner guards so the hose doesn't mar your paint, putting plastic tabs to protect your furniture legs, walk-off mats to prevent wet footprints on your hardwood floors, and we even hand-groom the carpet so it looks great!"
Your customer thinks everyone does this. They do not. Most only do #4 and #6.
Pure gold...
J Scott W
Member
You may recall that along with Jim Pemberton, I was invovled in protector testing a few years ago. All the main brands had a positive effect on carpet.
Two new products have been introduced since that time. Here at Bridgepoint, we have been testing these as well. They each offer something different than other protectors.
Maxim Advanced is the only brand that incldues an acid dye resistor. This protects against spills of Kool-Aid, GAtorade and the like which are a common fear of your residnetial clients. Maxim also was superior in resisting dry soil. The acid dye resistor decreases repelllency, but Maxim still did well in protecting against water and oil based spills.
Scothgard did the best in protecting against water based spills, that is they rinsed away most completely. But all the brands tested did well on water based spills such as coffee.
There is a new Teflon product. Advanced with Teflon. This offers the greatest protection aginst oil based spills of anything we could find. Others kept oils out of the fibers for many hours. The Advanced with Teflon was still keeping oil out at the end of two weeks of testing. This is great for carpets that have an affinity for oil such as polyester, triexta, olefin which are all very popular right now.
New Maxim SOS is a green protector with no flourochemical but a different type of polymer. It also offers resistance against food dyes and coloring. Just the thing for those who want a green protector.
If you would like some swatches of never dyed or protected white carpet fiber to use in testing protector, I would be glad to send you a packet to compare non-protected carpet, our products, and any others you wish.
I also have some articles on how to market and sell protectors for anyone interested.
Send an email request for either or both to my associate, nstoker@interlinksupply.com
Two new products have been introduced since that time. Here at Bridgepoint, we have been testing these as well. They each offer something different than other protectors.
Maxim Advanced is the only brand that incldues an acid dye resistor. This protects against spills of Kool-Aid, GAtorade and the like which are a common fear of your residnetial clients. Maxim also was superior in resisting dry soil. The acid dye resistor decreases repelllency, but Maxim still did well in protecting against water and oil based spills.
Scothgard did the best in protecting against water based spills, that is they rinsed away most completely. But all the brands tested did well on water based spills such as coffee.
There is a new Teflon product. Advanced with Teflon. This offers the greatest protection aginst oil based spills of anything we could find. Others kept oils out of the fibers for many hours. The Advanced with Teflon was still keeping oil out at the end of two weeks of testing. This is great for carpets that have an affinity for oil such as polyester, triexta, olefin which are all very popular right now.
New Maxim SOS is a green protector with no flourochemical but a different type of polymer. It also offers resistance against food dyes and coloring. Just the thing for those who want a green protector.
If you would like some swatches of never dyed or protected white carpet fiber to use in testing protector, I would be glad to send you a packet to compare non-protected carpet, our products, and any others you wish.
I also have some articles on how to market and sell protectors for anyone interested.
Send an email request for either or both to my associate, nstoker@interlinksupply.com
Cleanworks
Moderator
Thanks for the info Scott. I was thinking that the Teflon Advanced had acid dye resistors, I think one of my suppliers told me that. I have used Teflon for years but have been hearing good things about Maxim. The main reason people want a carpet protector in their homes is the fear of a koolaid or other colored beverage spill, especially if they have kids. Although the Maxim has less repellency, would you say it is a better product in the home?
J Scott W
Member
Persoanlly, I think the Maxim demonstration of submerging the carpet in Kool-Aid and then easily rinsing it off is a great sales tool. That helps clients see the value of protection and makes the sale.
For my own home, I have nylon carpet and I use Maxim. It has been very beneficial.
If I was cleaning nylon or wool, I would alos apply Maxim protector. If I was cleaning polyester or olefin, I would apply the new Advanced with Teflon. Those fibers repel water-based spills pretty well without any rpotector, but they really benefit from the oil repellency of the new Teflon.
Tom Forsythe
Member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2006
- Messages
- 486
I make protectors for what it is intended to protect. If you have nylon or wool: Maxim Advanced and Maxim SOS are the best choices as the acid dye resistors fill up dye sites limiting staining. Maxim SOS was at first designed for Australia as they severely limit most fluorochemicals from being imported except for the low carbon chain versions that do not work. I have also been told that 80% (probably in terms of cost) of their market is wool carpet. If your customer is convinced that a valid protector has to repel (long oversold in my opinion) and if you have polyester, olefin, triexta and color fast upholstery to protect, then your choice is Advanced Protector with Teflon. This does make you carry 2 protectors and you do need to know how to identify the different carpet fibers, but you will be using the proper tool to protect the fibers that you are cleaning.
Went with 3M Scotchgard...this time. Mainly because of the brand recognition by customers. We will see if it has any impact.
Also applying to be a 3M supplier in order to reduce costs.
If I am going to be applying a protector to nearly every home I'm in then I am going to being going through this stuff like crazy.
Will also make a new web page for the site advertising the product used.
Clever as a fox or dumb as a sack of hammers....only time will tell...(another false dichotomy)...
Also applying to be a 3M supplier in order to reduce costs.
If I am going to be applying a protector to nearly every home I'm in then I am going to being going through this stuff like crazy.
Will also make a new web page for the site advertising the product used.
Clever as a fox or dumb as a sack of hammers....only time will tell...(another false dichotomy)...
Cleanworks
Moderator
Scotchgard will work well. Next order try something else. See what suits you best. Don't worry if water doesn't bead up on carpet. On most cut pile carpets, instead of beading up, it will run down the sides of the fiber and through the backing. It will only bead up on a loop or really dense carpet. Much easier to test on upholstery fabric. Pretreat some samples, let cure for 48 hours then test with a little koolaid. If it works, next time do it in front of your customer.
PrimaDonna
Megatron
Yes we offer it. And yes we make money off of it. One truck (most of the time, busy month or two we send out both here and there)
Scotchgard:
$33,098 2016
$38,296 2015
$22,857 2014
$20,966 2013
Maxim:
$21,859 2016
$18,875 2015
$14,275 2014
$13,415 2013
We offer both because people like a choice. And we know may people like to choose the "middle" option. So that ends up being scotchgard when faced with 1. no protection 2. Scotchgard or 3. Maxim.
Scotchgard $40 per room, $4 per stair
Maxim $55 per room, $5 per stair. Maxim comes with one year spot and spill warranty from us. We will come back and spot clean at no charge. Refund the cost of maxim in that area if we cannot get the spot out. Guess how many call backs we've done in the past 5 years? Guess how many times we've refunded money?
We sell on most every job. Some do all scotchgard, some do all maxium, some mix and match depending on the room and what goes on there (food, kids, pets). Some just protect certain rooms, or just stairs and hall cause they are high traffic.
We mention it on the phone. Many say they want it then. Others say no. The guys always revisit with them in the house and reveiw features and benefits. Some say no, until they see the results of our cleaning and then they add it on. We believe it it. We've done testing and our customers believe in it too. It's no pressure, just mention its an option and the cost. They choose if they want it or not. You're leaving a huge revenue stream on the table if you don't even offer it. Just ask, you'll be amazed how many people will say yes. Or, build it in to the price and say your cleaning price includes it. If someone says your pricing is too high or asks if they have to apply it, then tell them no and back it out of the price. But if you just include it, you'll be amazed how many won't bat an eye (We need to be better at this, but since our cleaning prices are on the higher end, it works better for us to quote separately).
And we also offer Fiber ProTector...but that's a different selling strategy all together.
You would be correct since I have not done a job yet. And no I'm not giving it away, I will be incorporating it into the cost of cleaning and subsidizing the remaining balance. This is a test.
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
a "test"...like sticking your tongue to a frozen pipe.
