How Much Upholstery Do You Clean?

[Jim Pemberton]

I recently had a class where the percentage ranged from 5-50% of the company's total volume.

How much do you do?

Why do you think your percentage is where it is?

Not looking for this to be a poll, instead would like your individual feedback.

Thanks!

 

[Desk Jockey]

QB report say 2.14% but it's a little deceiving because all Fire orders have upholstery but they are not broke out to where it will show up on QB. However I'd say under 5%.

I'm sure it's where it is because we don't try to market it. Our company is such a mixed bag of tricks, we'd prefer to only do restoration only but serving such a small market we will do just about anything.

Water 41.4
Fire 31.75
Carpet 14.6
Mold 2.88
Upholstery Cleaning 2.14
Area Rugs 1.9
Sewage 1.86
Soda Blasting 1.54
Bio Recovery 1.46

 

[Ken Snow]

2012

Of our Residential On Location Cleaning Division volume (not including Commercial Cleaning or topical treatments etc.

Carpet Cleaning 83.56%
Furniture Cleaning 14.93%
Tile Cleaning 1.51%

If we start throwing in our topical treatments, Commercial Cleaning, Rug Cleaning Division, Restoration Division and Retail Showroom sales it changes everything. For total company sales in 2012 Furniture Cleaning represented about 3.438% of our companies total revenue.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Not enough, this is something i am working on right now. Instead of adding wood floors or whatever is the niche of the week we need to focus more on selling carpet/furniture packages.
2-3% right now but want to boost that to 10% range.

 

[J Scott W]

How much upholstery do you clean?

Usually 100% but sometimes I skip the back.

 

[T Monahan]

8.1% of total revenues for furniture cleaning. This is significantly down for us when compare to previous glory years in our area of Michigan.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Scott has been hanging around here too long......

 

[Ken Snow]

LOL- I like seeing that part of Scott come out once in a while.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I'd like to think MB ruined him but................I'm pretty sure that happened long before he ever made it here!

 

[jcooper]

How much do you do?

Anywhere from 20 to 30% for booked upholstery cleaning(not upselling in home), depending on time of year.

Why do you think your percentage is where it is?

For one thing... I don't dislike cleaning it! Sometimes it's actually a "little" fun.

1. Many people price themselves out of things because they don't wan't to do it.
2. Our minimum service charge is the cost to clean a very basic/easy sofa. Well, Ms. Smith the cost to clean your sofa would be $110(example), however we have a $150(example) minimum charge. I avoid this and don't mind a bit cleaning only a couch if that's all they have or want to spend.
3. Take photos - before/after, use them.
4. Adding upholstery cleaning(and photos) to all internet listings.
5. Lots of commercial upholstery, ever been to a SPA, bookstore, waiting room, church, hotel lobby or anything like that? People are always spilling crap/screwing things up, at these places. Hook up with a chain of these, practically monthly emergency calls.
6. Upholstery is not intimidating like it once was. 90% of what I see/clean is synthetic easy stuff.

 

[randy]

How much upholstery do you clean?

Usually 100% but sometimes I skip the back.

LOL, too funny Scott. I must confess recently we did 8 sofas for a company. We just lightly missed the backs and wiped then down with a white towel. Better hope Jim doesn't see this, he will have us back in his class standing in the corner.

 

[randy]

LOL- I like seeing that part of Scott come out once in a while.

Yeah he is always so serious when you are talking technical cleaning stuff and then zinger, the true Scott comes out.

 

[Mikey P]

10% to the nickle for us.


We do a lot of "traffic lane" upholstery cleaning

 

[Goldenboy]

3 Sofas this week.


Golden Boy

 

[Newman]

10% to the nickle for us.


We do a lot of "traffic lane" upholstery cleaning

I try best as I can to only do complete upholstered pieces. Why risk buying a whole sofa for a $25 cushion cleaning?

Numbers for 2012:
63.4% Residential carpet
8.7% Residential Stairs
9.5% Upholstery
9% Area Rugs
7% Commercial
2.4% Tile and grout

2011 Numbers
58.7% Residential carpet
7.7% Residential Stairs
7.4% Upholstery
11.5% Area Rugs
10.6% Commercial
1.9% Tile and grout

 

[Chris A]

I would guesstimate 10%, although I.dont have it seperated in qb. We discount the price 20% when clients add uph onto carpet to help us sell more and its worked out pretty well. Before that we had many who were balking at the price for everything.

 

[hogjowl]

I hate cleaning upholstery!

 

[knoxclean]

under 10%. I have tried everything to bring this number up to no avail. My guys hate cleaning upholstery so I know they don't push it much while in the home. I even tried offering them a nice commission with no results. Many of the calls for upholstery we get we never close because of two main reasons. Price or the fabric is to stained to get desired results. We offer leather cleaning but again we are not able to sell it. Price shock for the customer most of the time.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Thanks to everyone who has answered thus far (more feedback from others please).

This information helps me with my writing and my training programs, and its one of the reasons I enjoy being a part of MB.

A few thoughts:

Marty, would you mind explaining why you hate cleaning upholstery? I enjoy your funny "one liners", but in this case, I also know you don't say anything that hasn't been thought out, so if you wouldn't mind giving me some more detail, I'd appreciate it.

Jerry, you perfectly describe what most people who are happy with upholstery cleaning tell me.

David, motivating employees to do what they don't want to do is a task every business owner faces, and there is no one answer to the problem, as every employee and work environment is different. Feel free to contact me if you ever want to discuss this further.

 

[ruff]

Jim I clean plenty of upholstery and I still don't particularly like it. I do charge enough though.
Various reasons:

• People wait too long and many times it is more of a restoration than a cleaning.
• Much more of chance for damage happening.
• It is a totally different cleaning and mind set than cleaning carpet. You have to slow down, it is very detail oriented and requires much more attention to detail.
• Picky clients tend to be even more so with their upholstered furniture.
• Uncertainty about fiber content (yes I know- Test for content and for potential damage by what is being used). None the less more uncertainty (tons of blends and "buried mines".) Unlike carpets that do have some "buried mines" but not regarding the fabric or much about how it should be cleaned and is much harder to damage.
• Time consuming.
• Most cleaners don't charge enough, or can't get the prices that will make it worth their while and or take the risk.
• And, if I am a good example, the instructors that teach upholstery cleaning, who scare the living day light out of the cleaners with all the horror stories and warnings and descriptions of what could go wrong and liability and......

 

[Desk Jockey]

Jim I clean plenty of upholstery and I still don't particularly like it. I do charge enough though.
Various reasons:

• People wait too long and many times it is more of a restoration than a cleaning.
• Much more of chance for damage happening.
• It is a totally different cleaning and mind set than cleaning carpet. You have to slow down, it is very detail oriented and requires much more attention to detail.
• Picky clients tend to be even more so with their upholstered furniture.
• Uncertainty about fiber content (yes I know- Test for content and for potential damage by what is being used). None the less more uncertainty (tons of blends and "buried mines".) Unlike carpets that do have some "buried mines" but not regarding the fabric and much avout how it should be cleaned.
• Time consuming.
• And most cleaners don't charge enough, or can't get the prices that will make it worth their while and or take the risk.

I just wonder how much more you would like it if you only had a good....no a great tool to clean with!

I clean with a Sapphire Upholstery tool or I don't clean at all!

 

[galaxytodd]

Im still new to carpet cleaning and would like to do upholstery but allitle nervous about it,
is there anyway of telling what the fabric is by just looking at it?Instead of doing burn tests,etc?
Also,whats a good prespray to use on synthetic stuff?
I practiced on an old recliner in are basement,polyester/cotton ,used trashed green label,came out ok.
Tool i used sprayed way to much water though.

 

[Desk Jockey]

You need to attend one of Jim's classes, you're fortunate to be fairly close to him.

No you can't by looking, in fact a burn test will help distinguish what fiber you are dealing with but still will not tell you if it will bleed or have color loss. You are best testing the fabric with the solutions you are going to clean with, allowing to dry and checking the results. Most of the bad stuff happens in the drying stage.

Use solutions designed for upholstery, you are flirting for a hurting using carpet products on upholstery fabrics. Get a "dry" type tool to keep you out of trouble, it will leave the fabrics much drier and is safer on delicate fabrics.

 

[galaxytodd]

Attending the class sounds good but at $695 ,out of my range budget wise.
Ill probably just hold off doing upholstery till I get more educated with it.
Thanx for help.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Invest in the dry type tool and practice on scraps. For the most part the dry tool will keep you out of trouble especially if you are using lower PH solutions. Two kinds of upholstery:
Standard care-fairly indestructible, can use stronger cleaning solutions and moisture is not as much of a concern
Special care-Natural fabrics, need more neutral solutions and left very dry or you risk problems....many that are not correctable.

 

[Chris A]

I clean with a Sapphire Upholstery tool or I don't clean at all!

but mostly you dont clean at all.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Shhhhh!

 

[Ken Snow]

Upholstery is so much easier with newer tools and techniques, we find testing almost never necc anymore and we don't buy nearly as much as in decades past.

 

[hogjowl]

Jim:

I hate cleaning upholstery because it is hard on my hands and wrists, and getting down on my knees is hard on my back (doesn't make sense, but trust me on this).

Taco is probably right, a good tool might help me with the hands and wrists. I am currently using a PMF internal jet tool. A smoother gliding tool would help my back some, because I wouldn't have to use on hands to secure the loose fabric and the other hand to do the cleaning, so I wouldn't be bending over and supporting all my weight with my lower back. I could use one hand to support myself. Make sense?

Also, I need a good folding table, with an adjustable height (for us tall guys), that I can use to allow me to stand the heck up while I am cleaning cushions. (Also to relieve stress on my back.) It has to fold up into a very small, flat footprint for storage into an already cramped van.

I am very slow with upholstery. I get my price for doing it, so I don't mind being slow from a pricing standpoint, but being slow cleaning something that is also placing my body in stress is a killer.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Thanks Marty. You already answered what you could do to stop hating it as much.

A light folding table, or even an ironing board would help you. The ironing board will earn you more than a few snickers, but you can adjust it to your height, and the pointed end is perfect for holding arm covers in place while you clean them.

Galaxytodd, call me. I'll work something out to help you get started. 800-342-2297, extension 107.