Mistakes Carpet Cleaners Make

It’s only human to make mistakes - but most mistakes are avoidable!

One common mistake is forgetting to do the “little extras” which can endear your customers to you. Do you leave a small bottle of spotter with a customer who has problems with kids’ messes? If there are pets that shed, do you sell them a Handi Groom Groomer Brush^®, the Handi-Brush™ or better yet the Grime Reaper Upholstery Pet Hair Brush to take care of the pet hairs? Do you use Per-Scent^® in our cleaning solution to leave the room smelling fresh? Do you leave traffic lane paper to prevent tracking of freshly cleaned areas? Do you rake after cleaning?

Do you fail to use Wet Floors Warning Caution Pads, especially at the bottom of steps or where someone might step from a wet carpet onto a hard surface? A fall can be hazardous to your billfold!

Do you make the mistake of being afraid to add services to your business?

Some technicians don’t bother to warn customers to be careful of falling, that the carpet might be stiff for a while after protector application, that the great big coffee spill might wick back up but you will be glad to come back if it does. If the carpet has been mistreated with bonnet cleaning or shampooing for years, do you warn them that it may take several cleanings to get all the junk out or do you assume they’ll call you if there’s a problem? Most customers don’t call to complain - they just never use you again!

If you see evidence of a pet, do you check to see if your customer uses a powdered deodorizer? Do you call back to be sure the job was satisfactory?

Do you rake in the carpet protector with a Grandi-Brush^®? Fluorocarbons tend to leave the carpets stiff for a few days. Raking reduces this and ensures even application.

Another serious error some of our customers make is not keeping up to date. Bane-Clene has the most generous education packages in the industry from our training classes in Indianapolis covering management, carpet cleaning and care, upholstery, stone and wood floors to video training programs on DVD. If you’ve not been to school in more than two years, you are missing out on some good information. If you’ve not been in five years, you are probably making many mistakes and missing opportunities! Associated with this is the mistake of not training technicians. Untrained technicians can be hazardous to your business!

Another serious mistake is not pre-inspecting the job before proceeding. If the sofa is badly frayed or torn, wouldn’t it be wise to get a release? Are there bleached out spots? Are there stains on the sofa? Is the carpet loose which might cause rippling? Are the seams coming apart? Do you see evidence of delamination? Along this same line is the mistake of not pretesting for dye stability, especially oriental rugs and upholstery.

Have you made the mistake of trying to help a customer with a problem that is really the mill’s problem or the retailer’s problem and then getting into the middle of the litigation yourself? If there is a defect, the mill or retailer should be contacted first, and you should follow their directions so that the responsibility remains where it belongs - with the retailer or the manufacturer.

Do you make the mistake of not being prepared? Do you have your spotting kit fully stocked and ready to cure those tough stains? When you walk into the home or office carrying the Pro’s Choice Spot and Stain Removal Kit, the customer know that the “expert” has arrived!

These are just a few of the mistakes I run into, but avoiding them will really help your business.

by Donald W. Terry, Sr.

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