Did it again....

PrimaDonna

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Been awhile since I’ve shared client feedback. We recently cleaned for a landlord that is also a realtor and part of a private “investment” group for other landlords in our area.

Not only did he send this email out to everyone in the group, he is also now specifying in all his leases that we are the company to be used by all his tenants to clean the carpets before they move out. After several emails back and forth with him and the awesome feedback he gave about Brian and the results, I suggested to him to do this as we do it with other landlords. I explained that we would provide him a copy of the invoice and if we don’t clean for his tenants, then since it’s written in lease he can contact us to do it an withhold from security deposit. He flipped for the idea!

Anyone else doing this?

Here’s what he had to say:

Just thought I'd pass along my recommendation for your carpet cleaning needs. They also clean tile & grout, upholstery, drapery, blinds, wood floor cleaning & revitalization, granite counter polishing, pet contaminate removal, odor removal, color repair, dyeing and fiber protector.

I found them to be totally professional from start to finish. Meg will set you up and answer all of your questions (even the dumb ones I asked her!). Their technician explained each step of the process, both what he was doing and why, in a courteous and well-informed way. Everyone my wife and I dealt with was polite and friendly.

John and Brian were involved with our recent rental property in Warminster and they came out not once, but twice to address a concern I had after the initial cleaning. They did that without question, and at no additional charge!!! I found their initial pricing to be fair considering the final product.

They do a lot of work for landlords and give our tenants a 10% discount when we refer them for move-out cleaning. They also send us a copy of the invoice that the tenant paid as proof the job was done to our specifications.

I'd highly recommend them to you at this point. Their contact information follows:

John & Meg Burdick, Owners
Brian Kirk, Field Technician
25 South 9th Street
Rear Building
Perkasie, PA 18944
215-343-6450
info@burdickscleaning.com


Tell them you were referred by me - for whatever that's worth.
Happy Landlording!
Tom
 

PrimaDonna

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his tenants will revolt and take him to court when they see your prices, been there, done that.

Take him to court over what? If it was in the lease that they willingly signed, I don’t see how that’s possible. Or that it would be worth the time, money and effort to go to court.

Plus we give the tenants 10% off....
 
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WillS

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nice! is that high end property management? Hopefully he doesn't know any low end property managers, they would die to hear $100 a room even after the 10% discount. :stir:

We have 8 big property management accounts now. We lost 2 last year (thankfully) because they managed alot of section 8s. But I know they compete a lot with companies for pricing. After working with some of these guys for a while now, they don't even check the properties anymore after cleaning as they trust us to get it done. Send the work order or text, never calls. Love doing those empty houses, lock box, no one there and can listen to head phones and just clean. I choose these when they are on the schedule and send everyone else to custy homes. Also they pay our price per room and eventually will send more commercial work your way.
 

Cleanworks

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I have several property mgrs here that would like to do that but apparently, it is illegal. It puts an unreasonable demand on the tennant. Just because they signed it in a lease doesn't mean it is enforceable.
 
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PrimaDonna

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God help them tenants with tile and grout...

We are runnnng a 50% off T&G Cleaning special to all our clients for the Month of December. Depending how well it does, we may drop our prices moving forward. Not by $1.00 but we are considering adjusting in hopes of doing more.
 
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PrimaDonna

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I have several property mgrs here that would like to do that but apparently, it is illegal. It puts an unreasonable demand on the tennant. Just because they signed it in a lease doesn't mean it is enforceable.

If phrased properly...”clients will leave property in the same condition it was upon move in, aside from normal wear and tear....”

And the carpets were cleaned by us prior to move in, it would require us to return them to the same condition.

It really does depend on how much of a stickler the landlord wants to be.

Again, having had to take past tenants to court, you learn real quick it’s not worth the fee hundreds or even thousand dollars for the time and aggrevation to go to small claims court. We have musktiole judgements in our favor that were still never paid. Nothing to put a Leon against since they don’t own anything and they would never take away a car they own as that’s unreasonable. So we don’t bother.

And I think that tenants would find the same if they went to court to try to recoup security deposit that a landlord kept part of for carpet cleaning by us. The tinenoff work, FL king paperwork and court fees don’t make it worth it to try to get back.
 

PrimaDonna

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How much will Stanley clean those rentals for?

Happens all the time. Stanley cleans for cheap for tenant. It sucked. Landlord brings us in. Gets great results. Withholds our charges from security deposit. Tenant is then out what that paid for SS AND us cause SS or the other cheap cleaner they hired didn’t get it cleaned.
 

FredC

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Those tenants should better familiarize themselves with landlord tenant law in PA..............
 
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PrimaDonna

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Is it unreasonable in the eyes of the law, for landlord to specifiy the carpets must be cleaned by an IICRC certified cleaner?

I think there are things that are “reasonable” that work within the system that we would meet those specifications. And if we aren’t charging MORE for these tenants, how can it be unreasonable?

I could see If we had a deal with landlords to specify us, and we purposely charged more because we knew that had to use us. We aren’t affiliated with the Mob. Lol.

But that’s not the case. The would be charged like any other client. Actually, 10% less!!
 

Cleanworks

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Is it unreasonable in the eyes of the law, for landlord to specifiy the carpets must be cleaned by an IICRC certified cleaner?

I think there are things that are “reasonable” that work within the system that we would meet those specifications. And if we aren’t charging MORE for these tenants, how can it be unreasonable?

I could see If we had a deal with landlords to specify us, and we purposely charged more because we knew that had to use us. We aren’t affiliated with the Mob. Lol.

But that’s not the case. The would be charged like any other client. Actually, 10% less!!
The tenants are required to leave the premises reasonably clean and in good shape. If I was living in one of those buildings, I would want the opportunity to clean my own carpets as I believe that I am the best cleaner in town. A judge may not see the difference between you and the other guy. My property Mgrs highly recommend me and inform their tenants that whoever they hire, if the condition isn't satisfactory, they may have to pay for recleaning. They cannot insist that they use me.
 

DAT

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Cannot be enforced like that here in NV. If carpet is at certain age or normal wear and tear, wont work. iirc is certainly not enforceable as it is not a regulated industry, or any cleaning industry for that matter.... People have tried that crap on me. Never works. If grout are dirty despite mopping correctly, not my problem when i move out. I aint paying a cent for that.. Thats like HOA saying what specific service provider that the territory should be using...got fire/water damage? Use only ServPro. Need a plumber? Use only this company..etc.
 
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steve_64

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I get tenants that call me to clean to get their deposits back. I tell them it's cheaper to let the landlord hire me since they will clean it anyway and any damages will be deducted from deposit.

A few want the tenants to clean it but they rarely do.
 

PrimaDonna

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So I did reply to the client to acknowledge his email and recommendation to his colleagues.... This guy is the IDEAL client/cheerleader. I wish they were all this awesome.

Wow!
Thank you, Tom. This is a phenomenal endorsement. I can’t emphasize how appreciative we are that you shared this with your colleagues.
Meg

His response:

Dependable and reputable contractors are a landlords dream and seem to be very few and far between. You've apparently earned that reputation based on what our friends at Remax Action tell us.
I'll be going back to the property this afternoon to show it to several prospects and I'll let you know about the lingering odor that John and Brian addressed yesterday. Please convey my appreciation to them for their assistance.
 
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Hoody

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Fred is right - same reason why the Mohawk Floor Essential program fell through. Mohawk was selling franchises and got a few off the ground and in their warranty they had changed it to specify that "Mohawk Authorized" companies had to do the cleaning. Which were the franchises. I only know this because my boss here in Ohio was flown down a few times to Dalton to speak with the vice president and helped them to create the policy and procedures manual and other business related stuff. We were the first "Mohawk Authorized Service Center", he may have sold them the manuals but that is only my speculation.

All it took were a few lawsuits to be filed and that quickly went away. The franchises stayed but not sure if any of them are still around, I think Mohawk jumped ship completely on it. I'm pretty sure it goes against the Fair Trade Act and would violate Landlord Tenant Law as well. But I'm just a dumb ex carpet cleaner and not a lawyer.

On a brighter note - I'm glad your team was able to wow them and hope this guy's influence can bring you a lot more quality work. Let us know how it goes.
 

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