[Alexandru F.]

Hi all,

I had the chance of watching how a well-known company in London is cleaning the carpets and upholstery.

I must say that i was shocked to see the way they complete the process.

They have achieved this "performance" without following any of the required  steps by this industry:

1.   Fibre and fabric analysis, not completed.
2.   Pre-test, not completed.
3.   Pre-spray and stain removal, not completed.
4.   Agitation and time for the solutions to react, not completed. Apparently the equipment is too expensive.
5.   Post grooming, not completed.

They finished a two-seater sofa, 7 sq. m carpet and a mattress in less than 30 minutes for £50.00.

They have just used their Galaxy machine to spray and extract the water at the same time going over the areas only once.

No wonder these companies can charge pennies for these jobs and to stay price-competitive.

How do we compete with these cowboys? 

Most of the clients are usually taking a decision by looking at the price first.

Regards,

[Missing Link]

Can a mod move this to the carpet beating side of the forum before I start talking about squeegies.

Thank you.

[*Hector*]

Yer but.....
the squeegies you talk about are nowt to do with window licking are they??/ 

 

[Robin Ray]

Cowboys are good for the industry!

Firstly they fill the gap for people who want ultra cheep work done leaving the more discerning customers to the professionals.

Secondly they do an absolutely terrible job which is real proof you get what you pay for.

Let them toil away for nothing, they are only hurting themselves. Good luck to them.

[RPCCS]

How do.you identify the type of material?

[Dave_Lee]

How do.you identify the type of material?

Training and experience.

[derikraven]

Very helpful Dave.....................................NOT!

[Dave_Lee]

Very helpful Dave.....................................NOT!

Well how else are you going to learn how to identify fabrics apart from by making mistakes and then realising that you need a some training.

[cleanability]

Why would you want to identify a fibre. I  got one powder I use for everything and never had a problem in 20 years !!!!!!

[RPCCS]

i wouldnt be that lucky"  I am going to do  more training,I have done one course recently, and going to book another,so  I  have as much experience as possible before I start.

[Cleanevangelist]

Hi Alexandru F

You can learn a lot from these situations.  what is there business model. do they only do carpet cleaning? how do they get work?, why do people use the guys?

One of the problem i found in past is if you start an awareness marketing campaign other carpet cleaners that are good think you having a go at them. so what can we do about these guys?

Nothing, its buyer beware

Problem is the lack of respect we get because of these guys. people (customers) never admit its their fault and blame us all.  thes guys will be gone but the taste will stay

Ian Harper

Btw. One model is don't clean act as platform farm out work.  I looked up a guy at company house and he had £80k debt. Guess what he do next?

[Robin Ray]

Its easy to sell £10 notes for £5! It’s not very sustainable though.

[Cleanevangelist]

Robin

Your looking from a honest point of view.

When you look at these situations and ask, how? IVA's are a tool that people use.  would be interesting to find out how much small business write off ever year.

Its a circle that these people stay on for as long as their luck last then find new way to start up again.  The real value in any business is your repeat customers which would be easy to keep hidden from a court.

So if you have honest guys working self-employed for your platform the chances are that a few will do a OK job. And lets not forget what a mess some DIYers can make so the bar is low when it comes to the type of customer using these guys.

Ian

[Robin Ray]

I’m looking at it from a realistic point of view. Anything other than providing a good service for a charge which is enough to pay for all of your overheads and a wage is not sustainable.

People try all sorts of schemes and ideas in business and miss the fact that if you consistently do a good job people want you to work for them. The better service you provide the more you can justify charging.......sustainability that is. The best thing is it’s a lot more pleasant too.

[elliott cleaning]

Why would you want to identify a fibre. I  got one powder I use for everything and never had a problem in 20 years !!!!!!

20 years - one powder for everything - never had a problem!!

Cleanability – either you are not a professional carpet cleaner or you are not producing a first class result.
One powder that deals not only with general soiling but also with coffee - blood – tar - nail varnish – food  stains - ink,  as well as various other stains -I think not.  However, if you have discovered this wonder product, why not disclose what it is to the rest of us poor struggling souls?
Been in this business even longer than you and have never found the one that fits all

[Cleanevangelist]

Training courses don't teach about surfactant types big mistake

[cleanability]

Obviously I'm not going to get tar, grease, blue tac, make-up, candle wax, tea, coffee with one  powder or any powder you plonk. You remove these with various stain removers.
What I'm saying is you dont identify each and every fibre (carpet and upholstery) you're going to clean and pick an appropriate powder are you~~??? You'd have to have a hundred powders. So my argument still stands. You dont have to identify every fibre you're going to clean. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[DB]

 May I suggest that there are 'two' different ways of looking at this.

1. Identifying every fibre, certainly when dealing with upholstery fabrics, is going to be very difficult  dare I say for our purposes almost impossible.

HOWEVER

2.. It is a very good idea to understand how fibres react to moisture and cleaning agents

There are ways of testing for this

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

How do.you identify the type of material?

Training and experience.

bang on dave ive just had a solid wood floor layd in my garage and if my chippy had to sniff and do burn test  the wood before starting the job i would of kicked him off my land lol

[Robin Ray]

S

How do.you identify the type of material?

Training and experience.

bang on dave ive just had a solid wood floor layd in my garage and if my chippy had to sniff and do burn test  the wood before starting the job i would of kicked him off my land lol

Sometimes training and experience are not enough, and a test is essential, regardless of weather it looks professional or not. For example training and experience can tell you a fiber is likely to be viscose a test will confirm that. Testing in that circumstance is not only saving you time and money but also demonstrates your knowledge to a customer. The same can be true for dye bleed caused both by alkaline an acid.