THE FAMILY BUSINESS - Part I

Treat your family like a customer and treat a customer like a family member. The Family Business - is it a blessing or is it a curse? The cleaning industry is dominated by family owned and operated businesses, which in their infancy are usually operated entirely by family members. For it to be a blessing, several aspects must be present: Every company needs a leader, someone who is responsible for the overall welfare and direction of the business. Responsibilities must be delegated and everyone in the beginning should be able to wear many hats. Aptitudes need to be utilized. Even though everyone may wear different hats, a particular family member’s strengths should be taken advantage of. Bickering, arguments, refusal to do certain tasks, or a general lack of cooperation will label The Family Business as a curse. It obviously will work one of these two ways. The final determination is up to each member. We at Bane-Clene® are fortunate that our business has been a blessing. Related Articles and Information: About Us Building Your Own Carpet Cleaning Business What Makes a Company Successful in the Carpet Cleaning Business? Thank you for reading Bane’s Blog® Please read the latest issue of the Clene-Times® at www.baneclene.com/publications/. Please visit our web site at www.baneclene.com. The Bane-Clene® Team. Free Bane-Clene Information Package Free packet of information about Bane-Clene can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-428-9512 (U.S. ONLY!). Your information packet will include a full color catalog and price addendum. Packets will arrive in approximately 2 weeks through standard United States Mail. You can also order the packet at the Catalog Request Form. “A to Z” Alphabetical Index to the Bane-Clene Web Site Articles, Videos and Products for Professional Carpet Cleaners On-Line Spot & Stain Removal Guide & Procedures - for Professional Carpet Cleaners

DIRT, SPOTS AND STAINS

Often, heavily soiled carpet in traffic lanes requires extra effortf . If done incorrectly, there is the potential for over-wetting, browning and or too much time spent on the job. The proper use of traffic lane spotters or presprays should eliminate or lessen the majority of these situations. The proper formulation of these products such as TLS® 2000 and Preface® contain the necessary level of pH. Also, they will have a high level of water conditioners, wetting agents (surfactants) and emulsifiers. They will not contain Butyl Cellosolve or other toxic chemicals that are too often found in “cheap” products. These additives produce fumes that cause choking and are irritants to a persons throat, nose and lungs. Spot removal products such as APS™ or Perky® Spotter are useful in removing proteins stains, such as blood, coffee, tea and milk, etc. Removal of oil-type of soils such as gum, tar, ballpoint ink, etc are best done by a solvent based spotter such as Saf-T-Solv™. It is a mixture of high powerful but safe solvents. Finally, if you are cleaning a carpet that has been previously cleaned with products containing a high alkalinity, it may be necessary to treat the carpet with an anti-browning agent such as Brown Out® after cleaning. With proper techniques and the best chemicals, you should rarely have situations where you can not clean and remove all the dirt, spots and stains from carpeting or upholstery. This will allow you to spend less time on the job therefore increasing your profits. Related Articles and Information: Alkalinity in Detergents Browning Butyl Cellosolve Chemistry of Cleaning Emulsifiers and Detergents How to Remove Ballpoint Ink from Carpet How to Remove Blood, Vomit and Feces from Carpet How to Remove Coffee Stains from Carpet How to Remove Gum from Carpet How to Remove Milk, Eggs, Cooking Grease Stains on Carpet How to Remove Tar and Asphalt on Carpet How to Remove Tea on Carpet pH Surfactants What are Carpet Cleaning Presprays, Pretreatments or Traffic Lane Spotters? What is Dirt? Related Products: APS™ All Purpose Spotter Brown Out® Perky® Preface® Prespray/Traffic Lane Spotter improves cleaning without the risk of overwetting. Saf-T-Solv™ Dry Volatile Solvent Spotter TLS® 2000 Heavy-Duty Carpet Cleaning Prespray / Traffic Lane Spotter. Thank you for reading Bane’s Blog® Please read the latest issue of the Clene-Times® at www.baneclene.com/publications/. Please visit our web site at www.baneclene.com. The Bane-Clene® Team. Free Bane-Clene Information Package Free packet of information about Bane-Clene can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-428-9512 (U.S. ONLY!). Your information packet will include a full color catalog and price addendum. Packets will arrive in approximately 2 weeks through standard United States Mail. You can also order the packet at the Catalog Request Form. “A to Z” Alphabetical Index to the Bane-Clene Web Site Articles, Videos and Products for Professional Carpet Cleaners On-Line Spot & Stain Removal Guide & Procedures - for Professional Carpet Cleaners

QUALITY CONTROL

What does quality control mean to carpet cleaning and the success of your business? Bluntly, it means that your customers are satisfied with all aspects of your service. How do you know if they are satisfied? Sometimes they will call you or leave reviews on multi media websites. More often, they tell you by not calling you again. So what aspects lead to high levels of quality work and therefore quality control? Your tools of the trades: The best available chemicals, equipment and accessories. Your people: The proper attitude, training, professional appearance and on-going training. What causes poor quality control? Using inferior or poorly maintained equipment, cheap chemicals and employing cleaners, who are improperly trained and lack the professional skills to do the job. While we have stressed quality in this blog, it can either be good or bad quality. This is where your due diligence regarding quality control will pay dividends to you. These dividends are happy customers who tell their families, friends and others about your level of quality control. Related Articles, Information and Products: 15 Factors of Success in the Carpet Cleaning Business Image in Carpet Cleaning Just A Reminder Postcard Operator Certification Program Thank You / Reply Card Training Programs for Carpet Cleaning Companies, Owners and Technicians from Bane-Clene® Twenty Steps to Success in the Carpet Cleaning Business Thank you for reading Bane’s Blog® Please read the latest issue of the Clene-Times® at www.baneclene.com/publications/. Please visit our web site at www.baneclene.com. The Bane-Clene® Team. Free Bane-Clene Information Package Free packet of information about Bane-Clene can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-428-9512 (U.S. ONLY!). Your information packet will include a full color catalog and price addendum. Packets will arrive in approximately 2 weeks through standard United States Mail. You can also order the packet at the Catalog Request Form. “A to Z” Alphabetical Index to the Bane-Clene Web Site Articles, Videos and Products for Professional Carpet Cleaners

WHAT IS A CLEAN CARPET?

When you ask a carpet cleaner, What is a clean carpet?, they usually answer that it is one where all the dirt and foreign matter have been removed. However, how does your customer respond if asked that question? The customer will probably expect a freshly cleaned carpet to look like new, feel like new and smell like new. They have called you because the carpet is dirty, has stains, has an odor or a combination of all these. So how do you achieve the end result of the customers’ perception of a clean carpet? First, to achieve that like new condition, you need to clean with the best chemicals. They must remove the dirt quickly and efficiently but also leave the carpet residue free. The use of an additive such as Booster™ will give the carpet a "soft" and bare-foot clean "feeling". Finally, the use of an additive to the cleaning solution such as Per-Scent® will leave the carpet with a "fresh" scent. So the question of What Is A Clean Carpet? will be answered the same for both the carpet cleaner and customer by using the best equipment and chemicals to do the job. Additional Articles and Information: Booster™ Chemistry of Carpet Cleaning Detergents Compare Carpet Cleaning Chemicals Suppliers Customer Service in the Carpet Cleaning Industry Eleven Commandments of Good Business - What is a Customer? Find a Professional Cleaner Is Professional Cleaning Carpet Important? PCA™ Formula 5 Per-Scent® Selecting the Correct Odor Control Product Why Bane-Clene Over All Other “Truck-mounted” Carpet Cleaning Equipment? Why Choose Bane-Clene® Carpet Cleaning Equipment? Thank you for reading Bane’s Blog® Please read the latest issue of the Clene-Times® at www.baneclene.com/publications/. Please visit our web site at www.baneclene.com. The Bane-Clene® Team. Free Bane-Clene Information Package Free packet of information about Bane-Clene can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-428-9512 (U.S. ONLY!). Your information packet will include a full color catalog and price addendum. Packets will arrive in approximately 2 weeks through standard United States Mail. You can also order the packet at the Catalog Request Form. “A to Z” Alphabetical Index to the Bane-Clene Web Site Articles & Products for the PROFESSIONAL Carpet Cleaner