Client thinks we caused her hand made rug to fade

[Chet]

So we have a difficult situation, we cleaned a 7 year old custom hand knotted rug and when we returned it to the customer she went ballistic and said we ruined her rug. Our techs only rolled it out about a foot when she blew up so I think she made up her mind that it was ruined before we even brought it back. Of course her husband is a lawyer and she is an interior designer that has impeccable vision. This is a nice rug that only went through a normal wet cleaning process and didn't show any signs of bleeding or loosing color during the cleaning process. I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with the rug so I'm posting the before and after pictures to see if anyone sees something that I don't see.

We have a lot of before and after pictures but it is difficult to post them all. The client wants $4000.00 to replace it and never paid to have it cleaned.

 

[Chet]

Top picture is before and the bottom picture is the after

 

[hogjowl]

You removed too much dirt

 

[FredC]

I guess that is one way to get rid of a fugly rug.............

 

[Wandslinger]

I think it looks great

 

[KevinD]

It would have been better to see the after pic in the same exact spot and lighting as the before pic but the after pic looks much better.

 

[Hack Attack]

from what I can see looks good

lots of rugs have little disclaimers on them saying they will fade in time and there will be colour varience etc and that is a part of the character of the piece

can you find anything on the manufacterers website?

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

Do you have a waiver? Did she sign it?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Looks like an "art" project...from a homeless shelter.

 

[Nomad74]

This is what they do. Rugs bleed. The excess dyes run out. This is part of rhe beauty of old rugs. The patina can actually make them more valuable.

Of course before you wash any rug you should admonish the customer of possible fading and latex backing separation.

 

[Cleanworks]

Go back and pick up the rug on the pretense of fixing the problem, then hold it ransom until she pays the bill. If she doesn't pay in 30 days, put it on Craigslist.

 

[Chet]

If I could get the rug from her we would put it in the same spot as the original before pictures and take pictures from the same angle. The pictures are from the same camera, because all cameras are different.
We do have waivers and she did sign it, but I was posting this situation to make sure I wasn't missing something. If I thought we damaged her rug I would be writing a check, but I don't think there is any problem at all.

 

[Cleanworks]

The colors look Bright and vibrant, overall I can't see anything wrong. Let her take you to court.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Her immediate complaint before the rug was even completely unrolled makes me suspicious

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

Wait till you clean a custom made sectional, hand brushed linen fabric... the dog (old, sick, and loved this couch for 30 months...), and try and clean with HWE, and FOOK IT UP.....
They want me to pay 12K to reupholstered...
The dog bled, vomited, urinated, and shat on this couch... did I use some peroxide?
FOOK YES.....

 

[Cleanworks]

Wait till you clean a custom made sectional, hand brushed linen fabric... the dog (old, sick, and loved this couch for 30 months...), and try and clean with HWE, and FOOK IT UP.....
They want me to pay 12K to reupholstered...
The dog bled, vomited, urinated, and shat on this couch... did I use some peroxide?
FOOK YES.....

Before and after pics are a must

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

Before and after pics are a must

Honestly Ron, this is a NO WIN SITUATION...
The couch was fu€ked...
I told her in VERY plain English, whatever I do, it’s NOT GOING TO FIX THE SITUATION...
We were in complete agreement...
Well...
Then I got a phone call the next day... AFTER the husband got a good look at it....
my point being, eventually, doesn’t matter how much we THINK we are on top of things, they sometimes can bite us....
The sectional was supposedly a one off, custom piece, and of course, it was told to me, it costed 33,000$.....
FOOK....

 

[Cleanworks]

It's like a little like a rug a customer dropped off at one of my drycleaners. Dog peed on it, husband tried to wash it in a sink then dropped it off at the cleaners on a Friday. I didn't pick it up till Monday and by then it was a smelly shrunken mess. I cleaned and deodorized it, steamed and blocked as best I could but it was never going to look the same. The wife picked it up and immediately threw a fit, not knowing what the husband did to it. Once it was explained she turned her wrath onto her husband. I still got paid.

 

[Chet]

Her immediate complaint before the rug was even completely unrolled makes me suspicious

I feel the same way, Our technician only unrolled the rug 2 feet when the client started crying and saying that the rug was ruined and that it had bled out. Here is the picture from the technician that day, they never unrolled it completely and brought it back.

 

[DAT]

She trying to make money off of you.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

She forgot how ugly it was until he started unrolling it.

 

[Cleanworks]

I feel the same way, Our technician only unrolled the rug 2 feet when the client started crying and saying that the rug was ruined and that it had bled out. Here is the picture from the technician that day, they never unrolled it completely and brought it back.

View attachment 94947

Oh, so you still have the rug. Tell her to come and get or it will be sold. Have her and her husband come down to your shop and inspect it with you. Ask them to point out any bleeding. I sure as heck can't see any.

 

[Nomad74]

Do jeans lighten up after a few washes?

 

[Andy]

we cleaned a 7 year old custom hand knotted rug

Let it go to court. She has had seven years of use, the court will prorate the value of the rug even if he decides in her favor based on a seven year depreciation (I think Doug Heiferman mentioned that). Don't quote me check with an attorney. She will get nothing

 

[Brian H]

Roll it out and re-roll it from the other direction. I have had it happen many times that the customer is used to seeing the rug looking into the direction of the nap and we rolled it out the other way.

 

[Brian H]

Let it go to court. She has had seven years of use, the court will prorate the value of the rug even if he decides in her favor based on a seven year depreciation (I think Doug Heiferman mentioned that). Don't quote me check with an attorney. She will get nothing

Never go to court unless you are 100% sure you will win. And even then, you can never be sure what the judge will rule. What is common sense to you may not able to be proved in court. Not saying you shouldn't go, just be sure. I have never lost when I went to court, but have settled before it got that far when I wasn't totally sure I would win.

 

[Cleanworks]

Roll it out and re-roll it from the other direction. I have had it happen many times that the customer is used to seeing the rug looking into the direction of the nap and we rolled it out the other way.

A company I used to work for, when a customer would complain, we would pick up the rug, let it sit on the shelf for a week, rebag it and deliver it back. Invariably they would say, "that's much better".

 

[Mikey P]

Honestly Ron, this is a NO WIN SITUATION...
The couch was fu€ked...
I told her in VERY plain English, whatever I do, it’s NOT GOING TO FIX THE SITUATION...
We were in complete agreement...
Well...
Then I got a phone call the next day... AFTER the husband got a good look at it....
my point being, eventually, doesn’t matter how much we THINK we are on top of things, they sometimes can bite us....
The sectional was supposedly a one off, custom piece, and of course, it was told to me, it costed 33,000$.....
FOOK....

I just want to know, did this happen when you should have been in PHX?

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

I just want to know, did this happen when you should have been in PHX?

No, it was about 2 months ago, I’ve just been too ashamed to say anything.... even though I really believe it wasn’t my fault.... BUT, I was the last one to touch it, makes it my responsibility....

 

[Rick J]

It would have been better to see the after pic in the same exact spot and lighting as the before pic but the after pic looks much better.

I was thinking the same thing. Colors look richer in the after pic. !