Handed them their asses....now they are on the war path.

PrimaDonna

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We landed a large commercial account. Apartment complex. We had an in with the property manager and she was able to get us in to clean the common areas/halls for 8 floors in two buildings. They have a company that they are "required" to use (this is a corporate site and they have a relationship with a large property maintenance company), but she has been unhappy with the lack of results they get. Both for common areas and cleaning units between tenants. Since she is a top performer and turned around the property she is at, they granted her budget request to have us do the cleaning. The whole thing getting in there was a 6 month or more process.

We did the cleaning (encapsulation). It turned out fabulous. She got lots of calls from the residents saying how great it looked. She sent an email to the Senior Vice President of Facility Operations telling him about our work to try to get him to use us for their other properties.

Hi Jeff and Steve,

I hope you are both well!

I wanted to forward you both images from the carpet cleaning and encapsulation process I had done at Txxxxx, in our common areas, a few weeks ago. The entire process went better than expected and I think our common area carpets have a brand new feel and look to them. In previous years, we used Vxxxx or Cxxxxx Cxxxx to only shampoo and the carpets never looked that great after. Burdicks was the company who performed this new process and they are a smaller company who is a bit more expensive but worth it! They really spent the time with me going over processes and even made a stop recently to check on the progress of the encap process. Our carpets have not looked this good in a long time and I think many other sites could utilize these types of processes to help extend the life of common area carpets.

If you have any questions, or would like a meeting with the owner, I can help coordinate that. If you would like to contact the salesman directly (Brian), he can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Thank you both!


Now we find out that the property maintenance company has contacted our lead tech, asking him to come work for them and teach them how to do encapsulation. Turns out word got back to them about how good of a job we did, and the property maintenance company is getting pressure from the corporate property owners as to why they (a large company that is supposed to specialize in this) can't get the results that our little company and 3 guys did.

We know the property maintenance company uses the same distributor as us (trucks have been there when we go). We are certain they are going to start offering encapsulation, at a much lower price, to try to save the carpet cleaning accounts for all the properties.

This is so frustrating! Usually we don't sweat this kind of stuff, but encapsulation isn't that difficult to do, and I know it can be done for a lot cheaper than we did, so I fear we could loose this account.

Anyone else ever been in this situation? What did you do? Sit it out and let them "try" and not succeed and be there to pick up the pieces? Be proactive and contact the property directly to reinforce our value? (problem is, we aren't supposed to know any of this. We received some inside info)

Thoughts.....?
 

hogjowl

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I can't help but wonder why they knew so much about your system? In the future, don't explain it in detail. My mega-church has off and on been keenly interested in how I clean and approached me and my son with questions. I'd rather lose the account for not answering questions than from talking too much.
 

Russ T.

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You may have to get more aggressive with your pricing. Encap is easy and profitable. I find it pretty easy to explain why my residential prices are a little higher but this property manager work will go to someone else if I'm not careful.

Since adding encap with my Cimex, 2+ years ago, I'm floored by what I can accomplish in a day on CGD. Some VERY profitable jobs have come as I gained an understanding of where and when encap fits. I never thought I could be so profitable, at such a low sq ft price!

I really approach commercial and residential jobs quite differently now that encap is an option.
 

Jim Pemberton

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While its a little late on this one, your situation speaks to the wisdom of selling what you do (the result) and not how you do it (the process). Unlike large companies who buy truck mounts to compete with smaller service and results oriented companies like yours, it is cheaper and easier to start to encap.

But, just because they can buy "the juice and the equipment", it doesn't mean that they can do it as well as you do. Your lead tech might be able to help them along the way if they hired him, but otherwise all they'll know about how to do it is what their supplier tells them. Granted, its not a difficult to learn procedure, but the type of staff they use may be a bit less likely to perform even a simple process properly....or at least not consistently.

Do you believe they will do a good dry soil removal step first? Based on what you know about them, are they likely to apply the product consistently? Have they shown an indication that they would pay attention to spots and stains or just blow over them and hope they'd come out?

As simple as encap can be, its not fool proof.

I hope what you fear doesn't happen, but you are showing a realistic concern by anticipating this problem.
 

Desk Jockey

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We've had a few but most realize its still more than just a machine. In fact it sounds like they realize it, that's why they want your tech to teach them.

They are still mistakes to be made and there is a small learning curve but for the most part it is much simpler than HWE.

I agree don't sell process, brand or machine. Sell results.

Sorry but it does happen. Hopefully it just doesn't happen often.
 

Jimmy L

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"Oh we do a brand new way of cleaning carpet...........it's called encapsulation..........magic crystals bla bla bla"
Never tell them how you clean............never show them what juice you use and don't TRAIN their guys on how to do it.

Aye aye aye...................stupid
 

Scott S.

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deleted my remarks due to my rethinking of this situation.
 
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ruff

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You may want to tie it with a good hot water extraction as a packaged maintenance deal.
It will require better equipment and knowledge and make it harder for them to accomplish and compete. Particularly if their staff is not very well trained.
I am sure your company can also offer other advantages such as responsiveness, punctuality, better trained techs, better cleaning performance etc.
 

Scott S.

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let them know they need trained and certifed equipmet and chemicals and iicrc trained techs to clean their carpet per the manufactures warrenty program. if it doesnt scare them off
 
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John Olson

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I wonder how these guys knew how to contact your lead tech. That sounds fishy. Did the supplier give up their information? I do NOT head hunt for anyone. I have had a large company ask me to get the info on other companies bets people. They do not come here anymore. Well they could but the shop is always booked 2 weeks out when they call. I do not even recommend anyone to anyone. I am Switzerland our store/shop has to be a neutral location ALWAYS. What is said here stays here..I would seriously look into how they got his information and who is about to stab you in the back..The rest well these guys covered it. For me I went the way of attacking our biggest competitor for years. I damaged some relationships before they even started. Today I believe with my change of perspective, that my only competitor is me, that some of those relationships have been repaired. I am grateful too. I don't know where we would be today without all those guys do to help us.
 

Scott S.

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john, haha i already changed my replies before you posted this. but it would piss me off. like you said finding out who leaked the techs info would be a good start
 

PrimaDonna

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We do know. Turns out our tech's friend's father is a higher up at this property maintenance firm. Son and Dad know that the tech works for us. They got word what company did the work (us) and knew to approach our tech.

Our tech's name and number were also in the email from the property manager to the VP of Facility Operations for the property company (I xxx out the names of the companies and my tech's phone number in the email above). In this day and age, I wouldn't be surprised if the email got forwarded to the maintenance company by the property company....Property company saying, hey, why can't you do this for our buildings if this company can. And maybe the property company used the email as leverage with the maintenance company.

You may have to get more aggressive with your pricing. Encap is easy and profitable.
We did this job at .12 cents a sq. ft. Spent 2 days there (day a building/8 floors per building, 2 machines, 3 guys). Can't go lower than that, but I bet the maintenance company can if they buy a cimex and have it in house to take from property to property.
 

Scott S.

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you have a no competition contract with your lead guy?
 

Shane Deubell

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Welcome to my world!
Less competitors with these larger jobs but its super cut throat. They will do and say pretty much anything for a big job, people can lose their moral compass when it comes to money.

Overall we set the schedule to have a mix of HWE and Encap.

This is one of the few things i have disagreed with steve t on over the years. Encap routes are great in theory but in practice its really easy to copy and the larger operators bid encap only at .04 here or less.... They have access to much much cheaper labor than you do.
 

Desk Jockey

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Can't go lower than that, but I bet the maintenance company can if they buy a cimex and have it in house to take from property to property.
Tell them you'll buy the Cimex when they become disappointed in the results. :winky:

The operator still has to care about what he is doing. While it is as easy mowing grass, its not grass and some mindless fool is going to mess it up.
 

PrimaDonna

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The operator still has to care about what he is doing. While it is as easy mowing grass, its not grass and some mindless fool is going to mess it up.

And that is what we are hoping for.

Overall we set the schedule to have a mix of HWE and Encap.
We actually did do a combo HWE and encap on the entire first floor of both buildings. The first floors were so bad, they required both.

you have a no competition contract with your lead guy?

No. And they are pretty much useless anyway. Very hard to enforce and he has nothing to go after anyway if we wanted to sue/enforce (most techs don't). Even if we did, arguably, if he want to a property maintenance company, it isn't the same as what we do. We are primarily a residential carpet cleaning company. They couldn't support a full time "carpet cleaning" tech and he'd likely have a different job title and be doing facility maintenance, that includes carpet cleaning, but other things as well.
 
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bob vawter

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In a perfect world the high tech would be leading the poor rubes to their destiny.....
only to return to the homeport......and do it again...................
 

ronbeatty

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Meg,

Stick to your high end residential clientele. Commercial account will cut your throat over a 1/4 of a cent. You get paid when your done and you don't have to wait 60 days to get paid. This is not abnormal, do you want to deal with this drama several times a year?
 

tubad sosad

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Meg you guys did a great job but you are not in control of the situation, the vp of the PM is. you can't control if they think you guys are worth the extra money or not. if they don't hire you finally then just let them know that you are available for a one time cleaning job when the encap starts to look bad. I think that is a good angle to work as you can hwe the place for a higher price and not deal with it on a regular basis.

doing a restorative cleaning as well as you can is probably not the other companies strong suit. if they can't do a good maintaince cleaning now it's doubtful they can do a super good cleaning later. being a company that can fix other company's problems one time sets you apart from the cheaper competition and may eventually get you the maintain contract to really good jobs. you had a inside track to do the job once for sure, make that a positive. you showed what you guys can do and now sit back and wait to see what happens next. I think this is a good lesson for everyone to show that if you do go in to fix another company's bad results, then charge as much as possible, do a great job, and treat it as a one time deal. if anything more happens then that is just extra on top of the original job.

you kicked the other company's ass for sure and showed everyone what a great cleanng job looks like. I don't think that you will soon be forgotten. one thing is to figure out why she sent out an email with brian the salesman instead of meg the owner. it made it look like your tech was in charge instead of you or your husband. I would get that straitened out so it never happens again.
 

Mike Draper

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I dont stress it that much. I just enjoy the jobs while I have them. No good thing last forever. Property managers change, facility managers change and companies get bought out and change everything all the time. Just keep on trying to do qulaity work and the good word will keep spreading
 

Shane Deubell

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I dont stress it that much. I just enjoy the jobs while I have them. No good thing last forever. Property managers change, facility managers change and companies get bought out and change everything all the time. Just keep on trying to do qulaity work and the good word will keep spreading

Exactly how i feel.

Companies get rid of us then bring us back all the time.
Usually its not even a competitor but something going on in the business or industry as a whole.
 
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