Maintain Morale

To maintain morale during difficult economic times, company leaders should spend extra time communicating with employees. Do what you say you will do. Strive for reliability, consistency and predictability. Management at all levels should project a calm confidence and be honest. Don't scare people by describing a potential calamity that may cause them to lose their job.

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On arrival at the job

To put a customer at ease when you arrive at the job site, be sure to wear an identification badge with your certification number and a photograph. This helps instill a sense of security and establishes the fact that you are qualified to do the job. Offering brochures about extra services you offer makes it easier to get plus sales such as furniture cleaning, hard floor care and protectors.

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Selling A Service on the phone

A service is difficult to sell on the telephone because it can't be seen to make it easy to sell. There are 'in-your-face' consultants in our business who offer advice on how to close a sale. Don't try to emulate slick salespeople. Be yourself and sell with sincerity, honesty and integrity.

Offer to mail or hand deliver a brochure about your services as a closing thought in a phone inquiry. Establishing trust is important in making a sale on the telephone. Try this guarantee. "If you're not entirely pleased with our service there will be no charge." That's the strongest assurance a consumer can get and is unbeatable.

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Rewarding work

In this complicated world where workers sometimes never get to see the results of their efforts, our industry stands out as one that can recognize immediate accomplishments. Recently, a service technician said, "I enjoy this job because I can see, right now, what I've done, and I love it when customers rave about my work." That's real job satisfaction!

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Be proud

The great preacher, Norman Vincent Peale, spoke at three Bane-Clene conventions in the '80s. The last time Dr. Peale was with us in 1986, he said, "You people should be proud of what you do for a living. You make things clean and there are not many industries that can make that statement today."

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Whose fault is this?

A technician is asked to clean another room after the hoses are rolled up and he offers a feeble excuse for why he can't do it. The result is a disappointed customer and lost revenue for the company. Management is often guilty of hiring service employees without giving them adequate training and special instructions covering situations like this.

To develop a winning spirit, management must be willing to devote the time and money necessary to train and instill knowledge, job integrity and confidence in new employees. A friendly, caring attitude is indispensable to good customer service and must be sought at the time of hiring and then cultivated through guidance at regular meetings.

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Tough times?

Keep your business thriving by reaching out to customers with whom you've lost contact. Make "special offers" to current and past customers that are not available to new customers. Keep your mailing lists clean and be sure to mail "special introductory offers" to new prospects only. Nothing upsets a current customer like receiving a "special offer" for a newby when they didn't get it the last time you worked for them.

Strive to improve your customer satisfaction quotient. Do the little extra things you are taught at Bane-Clene Institute. Review your marketing program and revive policies that have worked for you in the past. Collect and make testimonials readily available for prospects to see. Make it easy for them to pick your company over the many competitors that are out there.

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Treating Customers Right

Customers can be turned off, not by price, but by apathy, carelessness and discourteous treatment. Every business fears a computer virus, but no business is immune from personnel who deal with the public in a lethargic way. With today's intense competition, greater emphasis must be placed on developing responsive employee attitudes.

Many service companies have failed to take to heart the fundamental policy that quality level at the point-of-sale is crucial to sustained revenue and profit. Lackluster results on balance sheets are usually matched by indifferent attitudes on the phone and by service technicians who are in a hurry to go home. While there are certainly exceptions, grouchy employees are too prevalent to be explained away as random incidents.

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An ode to the customer

You have my personal guarantee that you shall never see,
carpet and furniture more beautiful than that cleaned by me.

I'll move with caution so carefully through your house,
with determination and silence like a tiny church mouse.

I'll take your soil away with me and I'll do it ever so quick and quietly.
My way is environmentally good for you and all the rest of society.

Keeping your family and pets safe is my number one priority.
My tools and cleaning agents are known for their superiority.

My reward for this assignment is your smile as you admire.
An elation to which most cleaning technicians can only aspire.

When I listen to your praise, what more I can say.
I proudly cleaned for you, the Bane Clene Way®.

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Why am I not surprised?

A buyer for a big box store was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a floorcovering vendor kickback scheme. He will have to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution that he took in cash and gifts from flooring manufacturers to get their products in his company's stores. There are several more individuals being investigated in the scandal and arrests are likely. This says a lot about the ethics of sales management people and buyers on the take, doesn't it?

Other areas of corruption may soon come under scrutiny, too. Hopefully investigators will get into wide spread fraud and other allegations involving insurance adjusters, water and fire damage contractors, bidding improprieties and supply irregularities in peripheral industries. This is long overdue and could see many more go to jail.

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Double stroking technique

Some equipment makers put a device on a cleaning head to lock the solution valve in the “ON” position so the application is constant during the forward and reverse strokes. Salesmen tout the ease of operation and claim their equipment is so powerful it will allow the double stroking technique and the operator does not need to be constantly turning the valve off and on.

The truth is that this technique causes blotching as a result of over wetting. Solution soaks deeper into the carpet at the end of the back stroke as the direction of the cleaning head is reversed. The excess moisture is not picked up immediately by the vacuum head and is allowed to settle to the base of the carpet fibers causing uneven wetting.

When moisture wicks to the surface seeking air to dry, it evaporates and leaves a trace of any mineral or chemical content. The wet spots dry slower and leave more trace deposits than lightly moistened areas. Discoloration may not occur for weeks or even months after the carpet is cleaned and most times it is blamed on the carpet.

The single stroke technique taught at Bane-Clene Institute ensures that the cleaning solution is applied only on the back stroke. It is essential to learn the cutoff point at the end of the solution application stroke and pass the vacuum head beyond that point. Even wetting and thorough extraction leaves a carpet looking like new.

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Does size of business ensure success?

Planning, determination, firm principles, hard work and good service are the ingredients that have always been necessary to succeed beyond the norm. And bigger isn't necessarily better.

Rao's Restaurant in New York City is a notable example. Reservations must be made at least a year in advance. It is nearly impossible to dine at Rao's unless the owner invites you. Rao's has only ten tables and has been in the same location for 120 years.

When asked why he doesn't expand, the owner says he likes it that way and does not like to change. Perform your service well and continue to do so. You can charge top dollar and expand your client list only as you desire. Big isn't always better!

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Bane-Clene® keeps it simple!

Technicians measure to verify the price, pull in 2 hoses, plug in and clean carpets and furniture. They roll up the hoses, collect and leave! There's no water to hook up, no chemicals to blend and no expensive fuel to buy. Noise and fumes are non-existent and we take the dirty water with us.

No one does it better or for less cost. High quality engineering is backed by the best warranty, marketing and training programs in the business. Call us on the carpet®.

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