An Indianapolis television station, WTHR, did a program on low prices being too good to be true. They didn't call it bait and switch, but the story featured Angie Hicks of Angie's List® and a local carpet cleaner. An Angie's List patron had filed a report that said she regretted it when the carpet cleaner showed up at her door. Here's an excerpt from her report:
"Good price. I needed the bedrooms done and four rooms, so I just bought it." "It was awful. You know, he told me that because my carpets were so dirty they would need to do a deep cleaning and that would be extra."
Angie said, "As always, it's important to do your homework on the company you're thinking about hiring. Check out online reviews and know that a good company will return to clean spots that re appear within a short period of time." There were some other good tips on selecting a service company. Overall the advice on the program was pretty good until they got to the carpet cleaner's comments. He said:
"You want to try to move as much as possible in the areas that you want clean. If there are any couches or sofas or magazines, everything you can do to help it move faster when they come to clean your carpets."
This statement goes against the teachings at Bane-Clene Institute. We teach that the customer is not a servant, we are. Expecting a customer to move a sofa is wrong and indicating that the quicker they get in and out the cheaper it will be is equally wrong. That statement by the cleaner indicates that speed is of the essence and this represents a serious flaw in our industry.
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