Mikey P
Administrator
You can fool most of the people, most of the time..
but look at these top three negative reviews
Somebody is paying attention..
but look at these top three negative reviews
Somebody is paying attention..
Customer perception of VLM cleaning
- Thread starter Mikey P
- Start date
WillS
Supportive Member
You have to perfect VLM cleaning. 
Carbonated Water and a Rotary machine doesn't do the trick.
Carbonated Water and a Rotary machine doesn't do the trick.
Steve Lawrence
Member
Mostly glowing reviews. Guy must be good.
Cleantechsk
Member
well i have the same machine(basically) he uses as his main
slow as molasses and not near as good as a 175/op
one thing its great for....
vct edge work instead of manually doing it with a doodle bug
slow as molasses and not near as good as a 175/op
one thing its great for....
vct edge work instead of manually doing it with a doodle bug
Dolly Llama
Number 5
But I do think the traditional method of cleaning is better. I feel that it gets in there deeper. It does leave your carpet wet for a couple of days but to me, it feels like it was doing a better job than the terry cloth towel method.
res VLM'ers would starve to death if not for the overabundance of soap 'n soak slingers in the biz
..L.T.A.
res VLM'ers would starve to death if not for the overabundance of soap 'n soak slingers in the biz
..L.T.A.
ruff
Member
One of my local competitors. Never met him. Be nice to.
Seem to get very good reviews and I don't know anything personal about his work.
S.F. has a lots of renters where priority #1 and possibly the only one, is getting their deposit back. I deal with it on a daily basis. His prices are definitely lower. I picked up some of his clients, however that does not say much, as he may have picked some of mine.
Anybody that gets all these good reviews and I assume stays quite busy, deserves my hat off for him. Only goes to show that what we think, know and or perceive to be better, matters diddly squat to many clients.
Seem to get very good reviews and I don't know anything personal about his work.
S.F. has a lots of renters where priority #1 and possibly the only one, is getting their deposit back. I deal with it on a daily basis. His prices are definitely lower. I picked up some of his clients, however that does not say much, as he may have picked some of mine.
Anybody that gets all these good reviews and I assume stays quite busy, deserves my hat off for him. Only goes to show that what we think, know and or perceive to be better, matters diddly squat to many clients.
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Barry-QDCC
Supportive Member
Actually 2 out of the 3 weren't That bad. The lady sounded like she could be a kook. The other one could be one of those customers who expect you to make crappy, abused carpet new again. Who knows?
What struck me was the few other reviews I read that gave him really great compliments then only gave him 4 stars rather than 5 stars. Tough critics up there in San Fran I guess.
VLM is working out great for me. I'm getting GREAT results that any customer would be happy with.
What struck me was the few other reviews I read that gave him really great compliments then only gave him 4 stars rather than 5 stars. Tough critics up there in San Fran I guess.
VLM is working out great for me. I'm getting GREAT results that any customer would be happy with.
KevinL
Supportive Member
It sounds like his main problem is giving these Cali nut jobs an exact time of arrival.We give customers a 2 hour window and most are fine with that. Of course we still have the women that only hear you say the exact time.
Yelp reviewers are like that, they take hours of their time to write several paragraphs of why someone was 5-10 minutes late, wow, really?
That's a lot of good reviews over the 3 though, I do think his before/afters are terrible though.
That's a lot of good reviews over the 3 though, I do think his before/afters are terrible though.
Dolly Llama
Number 5
renegade_cowboy
Member
VLM/Encap is something that every business should be doing.. been using my crb so much I had to take it in to get repaired.
I have often wondered about just how genuine many of these types of recommendations are truthful.
Here's a decision recently handed down in Australia regarding "comments" by a franchise carpet cleaning business. http://accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-t ... or-reviews
Many do not like & will not accept VLM cleaning, that's a fact of life.
Then again, there are many that would never have their carpets HWE ever again.
Everyone has their own perception of how good a system works, and none will ever be as good as "my system", call it bias, or whatever, just like life - it's all horses for courses.
And one horse will never complete every course to the best of it's abilities.
VLM is a system and, as such, I believe that one really must know the most efficient way to get the best results which includes not only operator experience, but also equipment & solutions used.
I do notice that "John" appears to be using older equipment that may not do as good a job as more modern equipment, again, this is where experience takes hold.
Maybe different solutions would make his work even better??
Put another way, a hunter would never take on a vegans life and abstain from real food (meats, etc
. 
I'm no gambler, but I do like to have different systems available to me so that I can do the best job possible, be it HWE or VLM.
Or even a mix of both.
Here's a decision recently handed down in Australia regarding "comments" by a franchise carpet cleaning business. http://accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-t ... or-reviews
Many do not like & will not accept VLM cleaning, that's a fact of life.
Then again, there are many that would never have their carpets HWE ever again.
Everyone has their own perception of how good a system works, and none will ever be as good as "my system", call it bias, or whatever, just like life - it's all horses for courses.
And one horse will never complete every course to the best of it's abilities.
VLM is a system and, as such, I believe that one really must know the most efficient way to get the best results which includes not only operator experience, but also equipment & solutions used.
I do notice that "John" appears to be using older equipment that may not do as good a job as more modern equipment, again, this is where experience takes hold.
Maybe different solutions would make his work even better??
Put another way, a hunter would never take on a vegans life and abstain from real food (meats, etc
. I'm no gambler, but I do like to have different systems available to me so that I can do the best job possible, be it HWE or VLM.
Or even a mix of both.
Barry-QDCC
Supportive Member
I'm using a 175, pad with green stripes for agitation, vacaway products, follow with cotton buffer pads left over from my chem-dry days and rake to groom. Of course I vac first. I use my porty for extraction on stairsteps and upholstery. I guess I can use the porty for carpet extraction if I run across something that needs it but in the last 4 weeks I really haven't had a need for that.
Prior to the last 4 weeks I was using the portable in what I would call a "low pressure extraction" - and always following up with the buffer pads. Chemicals were PowerMax for prespray and a local supplier for my general cleaner.
I feel now my results are better, carpets are a bit drier and cleaning times are way down. I've gone from work time rates of around $80-$100 to up closer to $125 - $150. Most importantly did I say my results are better?
I'm what you would call a "happy camper"!
I should add I've NOT had one customer comment on my cleaning procedure and/or "lack" of hoses coming thru the house. All that I've heard is "The carpets look really good!"
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Desk Jockey
Member
I think they are willing to trade the hoses for faster drying.
Barry-QDCC
Supportive Member
I think they don't care. They just want nice looking clean carpet.
Maybe that's what "pre-marketing" does for your new customers. Yelp reviews, other reviews,your website, before & after pictures/videos on your website, etc. - they all build that trust that allows them to invite YOU into there homes. Once they make that decision to hire you for the job most people pay little attention to what your actually doing. If the carpets look great when your done they are happy with the job you did, no matter how you did it.
Previous customers already know you and trust you so it's usually all good with them.
Sure once in a great while you get that one guy who wants to watch everything you do but even then they are just being curious. I find if I take a moment to explain a bit about what I am doing they watch for a bit longer and even that guy gets bored and goes away.
Maybe that's what "pre-marketing" does for your new customers. Yelp reviews, other reviews,your website, before & after pictures/videos on your website, etc. - they all build that trust that allows them to invite YOU into there homes. Once they make that decision to hire you for the job most people pay little attention to what your actually doing. If the carpets look great when your done they are happy with the job you did, no matter how you did it.
Previous customers already know you and trust you so it's usually all good with them.
Sure once in a great while you get that one guy who wants to watch everything you do but even then they are just being curious. I find if I take a moment to explain a bit about what I am doing they watch for a bit longer and even that guy gets bored and goes away.
Desk Jockey
Member
Agreed, once they trust you. They trust you will make the best decision for their carpets.
