Pure Respect

BFC Nick

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
20
Location
Twin Cities, US
Name
Nick Torok
It's about time I mentioned this, and I thought about it last night after I purchased my airfare for this event. I'm more than aware that I'll be brushing elbows with and riding the shoulders of industry ******* giants. Giants whose knowledge I find both fascinating and enviable. I really mean that. I only have a van because other folks helped me. I cleaned a rug at home the other day (likely not again after this) because someone took a bunch of their own time to answer questions.
I could go on, and I have a tendency to do just that, but I wanted to tell you all "thank you" for everything you've all done for me, collectively.
I'm attending this event with only one piece of knowledge, and that's that I have almost NO knowledge; I'm relying on everyone else to guide me. You folks, I hold you in the same esteem as my hero guitarists and vocalists at this point (no kidding), and I can't wait to meet you all and absorb as much as I can before I leave. I'm bringing nothing to the table, but I wanted you all to know that I may be a Johnny-come-lately to the subject, but I starve for knowledge. I'm hard in the paint with my new career and failing is simply not on the table. I trained new police officers for many many years and some of them showed up like their shit didn't stink. You guys are amazing for doing this. I really honestly hope that if I attend this event again, I can bring something along that contributes to the good of the group and the industry. I felt I needed to mention this before I show up all wide-eyed and green.
Thank you all.
 
Joined
Jun 20, 2016
Messages
6,242
Location
Bc
Name
Jeff T
Good lord
Your expectations are WAY too high
Don’t wreck it for him Marty…
All the power to ya Nick. This business can be very lucrative, just don’t fall into the ‘whole house for 99$’ trap… chase the high end, and you’ll do fine.
This is a business of relationships…. Build the right ones, and the sky is the limit.
 
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Cleanworks

Moderator
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
26,928
Location
New Westminster,BC
Name
Ron Marriott
Don’t wreck it for him Marty…
All the power to ya Nick. This business can be very lucrative, just don’t fall into the ‘whole house for 99$’ trap… chase the high end, and you’ll do fine.
This is a business of relationships…. Build the right ones, and the sky is the limit.
Not necessarily about chasing the "high end" but setting correct value for your service. Your attitude alone puts you miles ahead of your competition. If you deliver good service to your customers, you deserve to be rewarded. Marty has a system that works for him. Vacuum first, including the edges, prespray, agitate if necessary and rinse with the truck mount. Most guys never vacuum. Many of those who do, don't do the edges. Your customers will notice that. Being pleasant with them in their home goes a long way. Say something nice about their home without being to flowery. It's a great business for an owner/operator or trying to build a larger business. Develop systems for your work, maintenance of equipment, accounting, customer acquistion and retention and you'll do great. Too late for a lot of us old farts.
 

BFC Nick

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
20
Location
Twin Cities, US
Name
Nick Torok
Not necessarily about chasing the "high end" but setting correct value for your service. Your attitude alone puts you miles ahead of your competition. If you deliver good service to your customers, you deserve to be rewarded. Marty has a system that works for him. Vacuum first, including the edges, prespray, agitate if necessary and rinse with the truck mount. Most guys never vacuum. Many of those who do, don't do the edges. Your customers will notice that. Being pleasant with them in their home goes a long way. Say something nice about their home without being to flowery. It's a great business for an owner/operator or trying to build a larger business. Develop systems for your work, maintenance of equipment, accounting, customer acquistion and retention and you'll do great. Too late for a lot of us old farts.
This is a HUGE thing for me, always complimenting SOME aspect of the home you're welcomed to. Going the extra mile, being personable, finding things in the home to discuss (music, photos, their decor, things exclusive to them), knowing when to shut up by reading the room, being hugely empathic.
I haven't dropped my prices and I haven't raised them either, but lots of folks stop messaging once they see the price. Market is saturated with hacks. Hacks like ME with my gallons of the same exact prespray.
My cleaning is the lamest part of my business, taking a back seat to service. I'm hoping one day they'll both be legendary.
For now, I'm hanging my hat on my impressive good looks.
 

Cleanworks

Moderator
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
26,928
Location
New Westminster,BC
Name
Ron Marriott
This is a HUGE thing for me, always complimenting SOME aspect of the home you're welcomed to. Going the extra mile, being personable, finding things in the home to discuss (music, photos, their decor, things exclusive to them), knowing when to shut up by reading the room, being hugely empathic.
I haven't dropped my prices and I haven't raised them either, but lots of folks stop messaging once they see the price. Market is saturated with hacks. Hacks like ME with my gallons of the same exact prespray.
My cleaning is the lamest part of my business, taking a back seat to service. I'm hoping one day they'll both be legendary.
For now, I'm hanging my hat on my impressive good looks.
You don't need a lot of presprays. Most major brands are good. Just use as directed, maybe a little less than directed. Always have an eye to not leaving a lot of chemical in the carpet. Don't worry about stain removal until you have some practice at it. A couple of good products to have with you are a solvent to remove oil based stains like crayons, marker, lipstick, etc, and peroxide product designed for coffee or other beverage spills. If they don't come out, don't worry about it. You will get better with practice. Learn about urine treatments. Lot's of similar products out there, many work well. Understand what you can and can't do. Very difficult to impossible to get urine out of the pad and subfloor. A man's gotta know his limitations.
 

Willy P

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
10,579
Location
Vancouver
Name
Willy P
Really cleaning urine with the best chance of success involves pulling the carpet off of the tackstrip and uv to determine where the urine is. A subfloor is best cleaned and sealed with shellac and the contaminated pad and tackstrip replaced. You can clean the subfloor and the carpet backing while the carpet is disengaged. Always take the time to to uv the drywall to be sure it isn't contaminated. You might run into delamination of the backing which is not worth the head ache. You can flood the area with pee remover juice and extract it using a water claw or another top down drying tool. Never EVER make promises and charge accordingly. Ideally the carpet should be removed if there's a ton of urine.

I just retired after 43 years. If I can be of any help just ask.


This is a tough crowd so expect a bit of good natured razzing. And above all IGNORE Chavez.
 

BFC Nick

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
20
Location
Twin Cities, US
Name
Nick Torok
You don't need a lot of presprays. Most major brands are good. Just use as directed, maybe a little less than directed. Always have an eye to not leaving a lot of chemical in the carpet. Don't worry about stain removal until you have some practice at it. A couple of good products to have with you are a solvent to remove oil based stains like crayons, marker, lipstick, etc, and peroxide product designed for coffee or other beverage spills. If they don't come out, don't worry about it. You will get better with practice. Learn about urine treatments. Lot's of similar products out there, many work well. Understand what you can and can't do. Very difficult to impossible to get urine out of the pad and subfloor. A man's gotta know his limitations.
Yessir, thank you for all this. I'm putting a lot of effort into urine and marketing it, and it's landed me a few jobs. I have a budding channel on YT, and both vids are urine jobs. Here's one. I welcome constructive criticism. If it's just criticism, it should be unique and catchy. watch
 

BFC Nick

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
20
Location
Twin Cities, US
Name
Nick Torok
Really cleaning urine with the best chance of success involves pulling the carpet off of the tackstrip and uv to determine where the urine is. A subfloor is best cleaned and sealed with shellac and the contaminated pad and tackstrip replaced. You can clean the subfloor and the carpet backing while the carpet is disengaged. Always take the time to to uv the drywall to be sure it isn't contaminated. You might run into delamination of the backing which is not worth the head ache. You can flood the area with pee remover juice and extract it using a water claw or another top down drying tool. Never EVER make promises and charge accordingly. Ideally the carpet should be removed if there's a ton of urine.

I just retired after 43 years. If I can be of any help just ask.


This is a tough crowd so expect a bit of good natured razzing. And above all IGNORE Chavez.
Thank you, Mr. Phosphorous (right? your moniker?)
I'm after the elusive urine money around here, and my YouTube stuff with the waterclaw has gotten me some business. I have several satisfying vids on Facebook as well dealing with extracting like that. I learned the hard way the other day about promises v results; that won't happen again. My first urine job was with unchained direct pour, and I thought I could extract it with a devastator. Wrong answer- or maybe I didn't do enough passes. I thought 30-40 slow passes would've done it but the homeowner said it was wet 3 days later. I bought my air movers and a water claw that very evening and knocked that out the next day. The best lessons are stained with blood in my experience. Thanks for reaching out and I hope you're around in AZ.
 

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