Rug Doctor

[B&BGaryC]

Lets face it, the rug doctor is for people who don't care. The hoover steam vac is for people who don't care. (However they do make good spotting tools when used in combination with the professional grade spotters you can get from your carpet cleaner)

There are plenty of people who just don't care about how clean their carpets are, as long as they look better. Rug doctor needs to accept this and stop trying to weasel it's way into the market with the real cleaners.

From what I've read, only 20 to 30 percent of carpet owners actually ever have a professional service clean their carpets. Rug doctor has at least a 70% market share. That's good enough.

John and Jane Doe are going to undoubtedly use the machine incorrectly, every time, causing damage to their carpet, and in some cases mold growth due to 48 or more hour dry times. John and Jane Doe are also going to put down towels when their house floods. Let John and Jane Doe ruin their investment, let them live in a house filled with mold due to do it yourself carpet cleaning and flood "drying".

DON'T TELL JOHN AND JANE DOE WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS RIGHT OR SAFE! If they care to investigate it, what they should find is that there is a better safer way that ends up costing them LESS in the long run... Plus, they don't have to do the work themselves, they just have to carry proper insurance and book a professional.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Is rug doctor gonna sue me now? :roll:

 

[J Scott W]

Gary, The numbers I have seen show that the percentage of home-owners who use a professional cleaner is around 24%. Those who rent a machine (such as Rug Doctor) amount to about 22%. A small percentage may own their own machine (Bissel, Hoover, etc.)

But 50% of carpets in homes never get cleaned except for vacuum cleaning! The real market to be opened up is to make people aware of the benefits and value of professional cleaning. Rather than fighting with Rug Doctor or any of our competition for a job, I suggest we would all gain the most by making the pie bigger.

Scott Warrington

 

[Jim Pemberton]

The reasons people buy their own machines or rent are not always what you might think.

Two stories:

1. I met an independently wealthy woman who had her maid cleaning her white wool carpet and marble floors. Her reason for not hiring a professional to clean? She didn't trust a stranger in her home.

2. The wife of the owner of a large heating, cooling, and plumbing service company cleaned her own carpet with a machine she bought at a department store. The reason? She knew how tough it was to get reliable people to work for her, and she doubted a carpet cleaner could do much better in getting trustworthy people to work in her home.

In both cases I was able to refer someone that met their expectations. But had they not had a referral, they'd have continued doing what they were doing, not because they were cheap, but because they were fearful.

Something to ponder.

 

[TimP]

Jim,

That makes a lot of sense to me. And I think that is one reason I'm doing so well in my market. I have been out in peoples homes for years in this area selling carpet. And I am also related to the only carpet dealer in town and that creates a lot of credibility for my business. Not only that I don't look like a scary person, plus my wife answers the phones and as you know we are selling to women. Who else better to answer the phone and talk to a woman but a woman.