let Sam tell the rest of the story..
-How did the Miller family get into the Carpet Cleaning business?
My uncle Clint bought a portable when someone introduced him to the cleaning business.
Most of my dad’s brothers were in the service station business selling gas and fixing cars
Including Clint he ran a Gulf Station in Garden Grove. My dad William Miller was a meat cutter for almost 14 years at the time. Clint went around cleaning all the brother’s carpets saying this is the future! So all 5 Brothers Clint, Neal, Rod, Bill and Bob Started Millers Carpet Care in 1974. My Uncle Rod told me once they put a 5 room $59.95 ad in the LA Times and he had 50 calls the first day, time to get some more machines!
That was just his Phone lines each brother had their own territory
Clint had Orange County , Neal and Rod Split L.A. Hollywood, Bill had the SF Valley and Bob had San Gabriel Valley.
-Was there a Millers before the advent of the $6.95 coupon and do they still run that sort of coupon today?
Yes obviously the price war or drop was more of a lowering with A1 then anything else cause I remember my dad had 30 techs when he ran Reseda shop doing 5 rooms for $44.95 they would do 100 jobs a day for 4-5 thousand per day average not much training
and They used Big brute, emulsifier ,cherry deodorizer and some RTU Scotchgaurd. 4 or 5 products I remember because I was 12 mixing chemicals in the back room 16 gals of big brute into a 55 gallon drum pumped into gallon containers and labeled that was when we had employee’s and Bill supplied chemicals the worst part was no ventilation and mixing the emulsifier I still think that will kill me some day.
http://www.millerscarpetcare.com/ that’s my dads website today his brother Neal runs cleaning specials in Sacramento My Uncle Rod and cousin George are offering total carpet restoration in Florida for around .45 cents per sq ft.
I think my dad has a 2 room deal for $59.95
I also have a cousin in Texas running his own business. and one in Escondido doing a little cleaning.
-For every 100 people hired to be a sub contractor, how many would stick with it for more than 6 months, 1 year, 5 years?
Well after years almost 19 working for my dad through the years a lot went on their own a lot didn’t like working period there’s a shock. We had a motto for the managers be a hit Hire Interview and Train. Turn over was a problem Carpet cleaning is not everyone’s cup of tea and when you induce having to Sell or you really don’t make any money it took a guy who liked cleaning and selling or a guy who could sell and liked money.
I would guess 100 people ½ after 6 months 25 percent after a year and 20 percent after 5 years. I qualify that guess.
-I noticed on your company's website you are charging $49 for two rooms, what does the home owner get for that?
How is your company structured different than the original Millers?
Well I liked Certified carpet care’s approach with Truckmounts and straight pricing. The Price in my ad has been 2 room $49.95 and 5 rooms $99.95 I’m currently raising my price and removing pricing. but with about 70 to 80 repeat customers you have to be sensitive.
Still it includes Prespray with a enzyme from Cti and Citrus booster and Steam cleaning with a 405 truckmount usually rinsing with liquid 90. Generally its no size limit. But I do charge extra for red stains if its not a stain master, pet stain’s ,pet odor, Teflon you name it I do it well not everything. I hate cleaning tile its a lot of work!
I would say the difference is truckmounted cleaning compared to portables and more of a straight price that would be the difference. Still my dad today has a lot of truckmount guys and quote’s a higher price for that over the phone. I haven’t worked there for over 10 years and we don’t talk carpet cleaning when we hang out.
- A1, Millers, ZZz Best, what were some of the other "bait and switches" from that era and who do you think was the real originator of the "Coupon Company"?
Super carpet care and a few others what was Ron’s Meyers companies name???
You know David Horowitz did a comparison between Millers and Zbest. Horowitz was a huge consumer advocate and he qualified the difference between Millers and Zbest as one was an Ala Carte service the other included more in their package. So I know Zbest up sold extra service but I didn’t think they were considered bait and switch.
Millers was considered ala carte we informed every customer what the coupon was for and explained extra service before sending a cleaner into the home when I went to Oxnard to run my own shop I added $12 per room pre treat to the coupon and Bill added it to his ad and use’s it still in the PS ad. Guys still upsold on top of that, pre vac, rotary scrubbing, pet stain remover, deodorizing, carpet repairs.
I would Say Millers was A1 would say they were.
-What was the repeat customer percentage of the Millers I worked for?
I don’t think we had computer’s yet? We had several guys who were exceptional carpet cleaners including yourself with some IICUC training and maybe that was before your time, But we had about a 50 percent return of regulars that’s a guess but I’m sure it was close to that.
-Can you explain the training process that techs were given during my day, and has anything changed since?
Well If we hired an A1 tech they went straight to the field. New guys went on a ridealong to steal a phrase from your nemesis. 3 days no pay training with hopefully a guy who could clean a carpet, not nick the new guy and lots of personal training with moi?
As for new guys there aren’t to many new guys these days I believe Bill has a core group of Subs he use’s and when they Die the World ends so keep an eye out the end is near!
-Was I an average, below average or above average sub contractor or do you remember?
I never cleaned a carpet with you I don’t remember any complaints and I don’t think I really new how to clean at that time, but you and your wife were good people and well liked!
And missed when you moved on. above average.
-Please explain how the portables and chemicals were supplied to the Subs.
We stocked
Prochem and
Chemspec the full lines of both and usually when a tech was first setup he was given 90 or slurry a bottle of Pre spray chempower or
ultrapac deodorizer rtu teflon a sprayer a grandi groomer a pile brush a 2 3stage vac. 100 psi pump servasteam portable with 25 feet of hose and a stainless steal 1 jet wand.
The chemical package was deducted in 3 payment’s usually around $100 total the machine was leased at 5 percent of gross sales.
-How many Subs do you think used the home owners hair shampoo to clean the carpet?
Damn I know stories of father and son carpet care John Pepe using a customers Vinegar he would put dish soup on the house wife’s hand and say feel how soapy that is then he would use the Vinegar and show how the slickness or soapy feeling would go away then he would sell the home owner a $300.00 rinse with their vinegar. Damn why am I laughing that’s not funny. Other than that I heard of some guys using it not a lot. The worst was smart and final guy and ammonia and bleach genius.
Why Mike did you ever or do you borrow the customers hair shampoo????
-Have you been banned on TMF yet for expressing an opinion contrary to that of Rob Allen's?
Rob Who???? I really don’t see him posting a lot and I don’t know him. I did question the using of number 2 jets on a Prochem 4 jet wand and using
glides and jet extensions
The idea of a number 8 opening with a heat exchanger the heat loss is considerable from using 4-1.5’s or 4 1’s and the idea of a ½ inch extender maintaining heat.
I know every inch the water travel you lose 10 degree’s a ½ inch extender will save you 5 degree’s maybe the wider opening decrease’s the refrigeration or cooling when the water hit’s the air?
But I know going from a 1 opening to a 1.5 my machine drops from 230 plus to about 210 wide open so my guess would be opening the jets to 8 would drop the temp down to 180- to 190 I don’t know but my
rx20 wide open drops the temp a lot.
I don’t think he commented on my opinion but I wasn’t banned either. YET! LOL
Thanks Sam!!
Your welcome Mike I’ll tell why I left Millers someday and more on my pricing strategy !
PS it has to do with I’m not a salesman and I have been surrounded by price my whole life.
The only other thing I can remember about you back then was your diet a bathroom
And a plunger something about lots of grain and colon cleanser???
Makes me glad I chose carpet cleaning and not Plumbing! :mrgreen:
