very old carpet with rubber underlay has rippled after hot water extraction clean

[BIG WOOD]

"Why didn't you tell me that before you started. I would never have had it cleaned."

hmmmm. That's a good question. Here's what I'd say.

"Ma'am. I had no clue it had rubber backing until this occurred. This is probably the reason that rubber backing isn't a popular backing anymore. If you still disagree and are not satisfied, all I can offer is a refund".

Due to the age of the carpet, I still would not offer to file an insurance claim unless she pushed it with threats to sue

 

[Bob Pruitt]

"Why didn't you tell me that before you started. I would never have had it cleaned."

They already knew it had delaminated even if they didn't tell the Carpet Cleaner. It just became more obvious after cleaning and my guess is less obvious as it dried. I would have told the Customer that this wasn't new damage but since you must have wanted to keep it... now it's clean.
These rubber glue downs are delaminating after 5 to 10 years... 30 years old... they knew.

 

[Jack Zipper Zerkie]

Put some heavy paving bricks down that will fix it,

 

[Brian H]

hmmmm. That's a good question. Here's what I'd say.

"Ma'am. I had no clue it had rubber backing until this occurred. This is probably the reason that rubber backing isn't a popular backing anymore. If you still disagree and are not satisfied, all I can offer is a refund".

Due to the age of the carpet, I still would not offer to file an insurance claim unless she pushed it with threats to sue

If they insist, go ahead and file an insurance claim. More than likely, the value of the carpet will be less than the amount you charged to clean it. Remember they would get the depreciated value of the carpet, not replacement value.

I've done that very thing several times over the years. The insurance adjuster becomes the bad guy at that point, not you. We have a $2500 deductible and I've used the insurance company to handle damage issues that I know won't come close to the deductible.

 

[bianca]

wow guys thank you so much for all your advice and support im blown away with how many people have commented trying to help out our conclusion was a good one though.. as my parents happen to own a furniture shop they sell new floor mats for $99 so i offered her to come and choose a floor mat that she likes to cover up the remaining issue with the carpet (which was only very small)... as i live in a very small town we survive on our reputation and instead of having to go through the mess of insurance or worse having the customer complain to people around town and us loosing business/customers we all walked away happy.. again thank you all for your advice exp on how to explain to the customer on what has happened.. it has really really helped me alot

 

[Old Coastie]

Bianca, it sounds as if your tact and a reasonable solution worked magic. Good job!

 

[bianca]

thank you Old Coastie