Do Carpet Cleaners Really Know What They Are Doing??

[rwcarpet]

I went out on a job this morning....it's an account I lost last year after cleaning for this custy for over 20 years. 2 weeks ago, they had one of my competitors out to clean the new carpets. I figured he knew someone on the inside, and was able to get the job. No problem....it was time consuming and I can't clean ALL the carpets in town!

Well, Friday they called and asked if I could stop in and clean some spots. I think they were embarrassed that they didn't call me back to clean 2 weeks ago. They had a list. I had to co-ordinate it with the janitorial firm to get in there today. Well, I'm disappointed in the work that the new cleaners did....it reflects on all CC'ers. The new guy even had 2 trucks to the job, and probably 4 workers.

Well, spots turn into areas, and areas turn into bigger areas.......you know how that goes.

I'm gonna have to bill them for my 2 hours I spent cleaning all the spots. I had to pull out 250 foot of hose, and extract because of the extent of the spotting. A good pad machine would have done the job, but mine is down.

I wish owner/operators would please pay more attention to the quality of their work, rather than how many and how fast they can clean. (Of course, I don't mind correcting others mistakes!)

Volume isn't everything!

 

[floorguy]

but if there are 2 trucks....

do you really think the owner was there???

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Personally after 20 years I would have told them to go F**K themselves.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Don't count your chickens just yet....

Until it "dries", and then another 48 hours.


You know that I'm sure.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Personally after 20 years I would have told them to go F**K themselves.

Daniel when you get your FIRST 20 years under your belt you may have the wisdom to know better than that.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Personally after 20 years I would have told them to go F**K themselves.

Daniel when you get your FIRST 20 years under your belt you may have the wisdom to know better than that.

I see things a lot different than you STOCKWELL.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Personally after 20 years I would have told them to go F**K themselves.

Daniel when you get your FIRST 20 years under your belt you may have the wisdom to know better than that.

I see things a lot different than you STOCKWELL.

That is obvious young'un.

 

[ACE]

I was doing an estimate the other day and the customer tells me the last time she had the carpets cleaned by stanley steemer the traffic lanes did not look any cleaner. She asked is that normal? For stanley steemer? I ask . No, For carpet cleaning in general, she says. Then, no, I reply with a skilled technician that takes the time to do a thorough job, the results are normally excellent.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Sometimes a customer has to try doing it themselves or using another service to REALLY appreciate YOU.

However you have to handle the situation graciously and resist the urge to bash either the competitor or your customer's choice.

Make it easy to come back.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Personally after 20 years I would have told them to go F**K themselves.

Usually "after 20 years" the contact person who always called you has retired or moved on.

Only after calling someone ELSE does another person in the company bring up your name, if anyone remembers it.

Don't take that relationship, or their MEMORY, for granted.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Good points Lee.

But I had an account that I hated, but it was good steady money.

They fired me after two years because some hack with a Vortex showed up and gave them a super duper sales pitch.

They called me back after eight months and well you know what I told them.

Just not in those words.

If it was good account and not a PITA then I would have gone back.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

"...hack with a Vortex"...lol

 

[Jim Nelson]

I SAY NO.

 

[Chris A]

I certainly dont.

 

[Able 1]

I'm gonna have to bill them for my 2 hours I spent cleaning all the spots. I had to pull out 250 foot of hose, and extract because of the extent of the spotting. A good pad machine would have done the job, but mine is down.

I wish owner/operators would please pay more attention to the quality of their work, rather than how many and how fast they can clean. (Of course, I don't mind correcting others mistakes!)

Volume isn't everything!

Efficiency may not be everything, but it is VERY important!! It really isn't about volume, it's about using you time wisely(since your time is the biggest expense).. I bet I would have been out of the job you did in an hour and cleaned it just the same!!

After your truck mount is started if your wand ever stops cleaning(not on the carpet) you are just charging them more cause you are S---L---O---W! J/K

I have had about 10 re-cleans since I've been at it 7 years... Right now I am solely running on repeat and referrals...

 

[Mardie]

Don't count your chickens just yet....

Until it "dries", and then another 48 hours.


You know that I'm sure.

Finally someone actually said it out loud. Nice to know you don't try to fool yourself with the look of wet carpet.

 

[Doug Cox]

A couple of you guys are starting to make me wonder about you. KMA!

 

[rwcarpet]

Personally after 20 years I would have told them to go F**K themselves.

Hey, daniel....my Mother-inlaw told me the same thing! Tell 'em to F^&k off!

I thought about it, but when we were cleaning steady for them, it brought in a good $5000 throughout the year, every year. So I lost out a year or so because they replaced the carpet. I'd take them back. They now have more SF, so I will charge more.

When they first stopped calling me, the "boss", answering to his superiors in the national office, was told not to hire out more contractors (such as me) and that they only wanted to write one check for the janitorial firm.

I'll stick 'em out till the next cleaning......they'll call me first.

 

[rwcarpet]

Don't count your chickens just yet....

Until it "dries", and then another 48 hours.


You know that I'm sure.

Lee....I'm pretty sure we got all the spotting. I personally pre-sprayed and hand scrubbed the small areas, and then cleaned the areas, and super-vac'ed them. I WANTED to make sure we did it right.

 

[rwcarpet]

I certainly dont.

Hey, Chris....I needed ya on the 4th in Aurora for a 3 hour water extraction.

I figured you were already on the lake!

 

[Mikey P]

I'm glad you found out where Larry did his Powermax vs Slop testing RW...


All makes sense now.

 

[rwcarpet]

I'm glad you found out where Larry did his Powermax vs Slop testing RW...


All makes sense now.

I thought I seen a rusty old Ford van with white spoked rims hangin' round my area!

 

[Ron Werner]

you are just charging them more cause you are S---L---O---W! J/K

You betcha!!! And they are more than willing to pay more for a slow job since the last guy was so fast all they did was smear the dirt around.

 

[Shorty]

.

When they first stopped calling me, the "boss", answering to his superiors in the national office, was told not to hire out more contractors (such as me) and that they only wanted to write one check for the janitorial firm.

If that's true, then why did they ask you to come and spot clean ??

I've seen Jimmy naked That's another check to write.

Seems a bit of an oxymoron to me.

Shorty.

 

[Chris A]

I certainly dont.

Hey, Chris....I needed ya on the 4th in Aurora for a 3 hour water extraction.

I figured you were already on the lake!

Yup, weekends and holidays in the summer are my vacation.

 

[Dolly Llama]

I'm glad you found out where Larry did his Powermax vs Slop testing RW...


All makes sense now.

I thought I seen a rusty old Ford van with white spoked rims hangin' round my area!

I got a new paint job, R-Dub

..L.T.A.

 

[Mardie]

[quote="Able 1":ssd1togt] you are just charging them more cause you are S---L---O---W! J/K

You betcha!!! And they are more than willing to pay more for a slow job since the last guy was so fast all they did was smear the dirt around.[/quote:ssd1togt]
I call them high speed cleaner's BLENDER's their goal is not to clean but to make the carpet all look the same and as far as the customer is concerned if it all look's the same it is clean UNTIL another cleaner dose it correctly and brighten's the color by 2-3 shades.

I hear customer's complaining all the time about how fast their last cleaner was and how bad it looked after it dried.

Their is a big difference between being slow and being thorough.

 

[Jimmy L]

The real trick is NOT to educate the janitorial co or the persons who cleaned it the first time on HOW you did it right.

In other words just clean it with no explanation and charge them.

 

[harryhides]

The real trick is NOT to educate the janitorial co or the persons who cleaned it the first time on HOW you did it right.

In other words just clean it with no explanation and charge them.

Amen !!

 

[Ron Werner]

The real trick is NOT to educate the janitorial co or the persons who cleaned it the first time on HOW you did it right.

In other words just clean it with no explanation and charge them.

or when you are explaining it, make it sound more difficult.
dazzle them with your brilliance and baffle them with BS