[Joe H]

They have no conscience, thats how they sleep at night.  I'm all right jack attitude.

[Robert Watson]

Like it or not, this couple's activities will impact on other companies because it reinforces the perception of carpet cleaning being a dodgy or crooked profession.

That`s the bit that worry's me.
What can we do about it?
Rab

[jasonl]

I think that everyone in the affected areas needs to add warnings to  all marketing

[derek west]

what can we do about it!

a big red warning sign on all advertising, warning of bait and switch. if it comes to this area, thats what i'll do.

[clinton]

Could be the only way to stop them i guess like derek said..

[garry22]

Look at the Piranha / Fastrack Consumer Awareness Guides (many of which are online).

Explaining about bait and switch is a cornerstone of the "education marketing". it would be fairly easy to come up with your own version that does not breach their copyright.

[Joe H]

I have already started warning my clients - watch out for the adverts and then I explain what they do.

[Carpet Dawg]

we should all write to watchdog/rouge tradesmen etc etc and get all our firends and thier friends to write in too  ok unethical but who cares!

[bennymon]

as the poster said earlier how do you upsell to people who are only willing to pay £8.99 answer you cant.this company are catching mainly elderly or wealthy people so once your in the house the upsell is a bit easier.the real shame is if this guy gets shut down he has already made enough money he will light his cigar get a glass of bubbly and laugh at us.

[acc]

If people are thick enough to expect to get 2 carpets cleaned for 8.99 then they deserve all they get.

[Ian Rochester]

Interesting thread, see their google reviews:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=enterprise+cleaning+bournemouth&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=enterprise+cleaning&hnear=Bournemouth,+Dorset&cid=4693752465731245158

[MAX Carpets]

Some are not genuine me thinks!

[Simon Gerrard]

Hang on a second, guy's.
I think there are some double standards going on here.
Bait and switch has been going on for as long as I have been in the business and it has been done by many reputable companies who have a policy of up-selling on every job.
Surely it is the intent to squeeze as much money as possible out of each and every client that is what you are all up in arms about and yet many of you do the very same thing, albeit a little more subtly. Perhaps you don't use the same element of bait, but if the intent is to up-sell then surely that is the switch - you get to the job intending to up the ticket any way you can.
How many of you have sold clients protector when they didn't need it? That is just as corrupt a practise as anything these guy's are doing because there is an element of dishonest at its heart.

Don't get me wrong, I despise these kind of people along with the rest of you, I just think in many cases it the 'pot calling the kettle black!'

Simon

[Steve Chapman]

Simon,

If you knew exactly how these guys operate you'd realize its not the same at all.

i upsell all the time as any business  would, but these operate with the sole intention of misleading customers and then conning them out of as much money as possible.

I've had customers quoted £8.99 and parted with £280, they've felt intimidated and bullied.

These guys mostly have cheap rubbish machines, no training and no manners.

One trick they use is to book lots of prospects and pick and choose which ones they will go to.
If they are not going to do a job they phone and say the van has broken down and cant make it, i've heard this stacks of times over the last few months.

Last week i went to an elderly customer where they had emptied all there furniture outside and then the phone call came and said they couldnt make it,  they then phoned me and i went and did it for them.

They are just cowboys and dangerous for our industry,  some customers i have been to have been genuinely  frightened because of there tactics,  its just not right and they should be closed down,

Its definitley not the same as a decent business upselling to increase there bottom line.


Regards
steve

[Simon Gerrard]

Steve,

I agree with you absolutely. These people are a disgrace and I hate these kind of practises as much as anyone else.
My point was that there are reputable companies that do the same thing - get to the job and up-sell. And you don't need to be paying only £8.99 to feel intimidated and bullied by a salesman. I've had customers who said they just paid the extras just to get rid of them, to me that is equally atrocious.

Simon

[bennymon]

i agree simon if you start pushing things people dont really want or need then it is bait and switch. once the customer thinks your a salesman they may put up with it the once but they wont want you back

[Steve Chapman]

How do you or they know they need it  unless you offer it 

I guess the difference is once you have mentioned the other services and educated them a little, if they still not interested then time to back off.

I must admit a great percentage of my customers end up spending more when i'm there cleaning, but it really is their choice and i'm not into the hard sell, i really would still be happy to just do the original clean for the agreed amount. i think its that attitude that puts the customers at ease.

Most the time i think they spend more because they really have not thought about the other options, after all they are not carpet cleaners so they dont know what to ask for, or know whats the best option.

Its possible for them also to spend more money but actually get more value for money, and thats normally what i focus on when talking to them.

Regards
steve

[garry22]

Steve, Simon,

There is a huge difference between you offering your customers a bit extra and someone else deliberately misleading people into thinking they are going to get the full service for a certain price.

It is this knowing deceipt that people are objecting to.

[Simon Gerrard]

Gary,

But isn't it knowingly deceitful to sell protector to people knowing perfectly well that the vast majority of carpets do not need it? The intent is surely the same.

Simon

[garry22]

My answer to that is yes. I agree.

The point I was making is this. That company's people (who in fairness are probably trying to do best for their own families) are going to each job knowing the company has not been honest with the client beforehand.

It's like booking a car service for say £ 20 and the garage then saying "oh that's just to lift the bonnet" and then hitting them with loads of items that should be an integral part of the service.