[Tom Molloy]

Hi All.

A lady that is a domestic cleaner sent me this leaflet through the post. She has been on a carpet cleaning course so knows what is involved.
I asked her to give the guy a call. His advertising stated and I quote "We use one of the most powerful commercial machines on the market, which utilises a triple vacuum system and high pressure pump!!

So she calls the guy. Saying he was very vague. Wouldn't give information on his machine at first. Then admitting he had a Karcher Puzzi. She asked him about the process. Did he vac, pre-spray and agitate?  She said he asked to explain what agitation was! Also admitted that he wasn't insured.

Now the fact that this guy is on my patch and touting for business I have to see him as competition. He has arranged for thousands of leaflets to go through doors.

2 sofas for £29!!! seriously!!

Do you think trading standards would be interested in this?

Thanks

Tom
www.nethermoorcc.co.uk

[Stoots]

No they wouldn't be.

As far as I'm aware there's no law against being insured to clean carpets.

Also no law against using cheap machines, charging cheap prices or not going on training courses.

Is your case of false advertising  based on this one phone call that you can't prove took place ?

Goodluck with this one lol

Sounds to me like yu need to worry less what others are doing and concentrate on your own work.

Keep your beak out and leave him to it

[tony bish]

Yes agree , if they are genuinely not very good ,people will find them out ,and not all customers like cheap and realise that £29 is not a great deal to also make a profit, so perhaps the quality will suffer .
Concentrate on your business and market and leave them to theirs . 

[Carpet Dawg]

Let them crack on.

Use your energy on your business not creating negative energy worry about the cheapies. There will always be cheapies there's nothing you can do about it.

[Mike Halliday]

Tom I can see why you are frustrated but it's best just to let them get on with it and not worry . We all have companies competing against us it's a fact of doing business but luckily there is a enough work for everybody.

Are they really doing anything you are not doing by saying on your website......

'Using the Rolls Royce of Carpet Cleaning Machines - the Airflex Pro 800' ........really??....... That machine is the rolls Royce of carpet cleaning machine?? 

We all sell ourselves the best we can as long as we are not harmfully  misleading customers then it's part of doing business

[Tom Molloy]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for looking at the website. I have amended the website a few times. I got the Rolls Royce bit from the manufacturer. The Airflex Pro 800psi is very good. Really served me well and especially when you are in large buildings when doing commercial work. I was interested in your pricing strategy on another thread. Do you work that out by a square metre or estimated hourly rate? Thanks

Tom

[Tom Molloy]

I thought businesses had to have public liability insurance by law? Is that not correct?

No they wouldn't be.

As far as I'm aware there's no law against being insured to clean carpets.

Also no law against using cheap machines, charging cheap prices or not going on training courses.

Is your case of false advertising  based on this one phone call that you can't prove took place ?

Goodluck with this one lol

Sounds to me like yu need to worry less what others are doing and concentrate on your own work.

Keep your beak out and leave him to it

[simonmnickson]

Only Employers Liability insurance is compulsory in the UK as far as I understand it ,
so if you employ people you must have it !

If your a one man band then you choose to OR NOT TO  insure yourself for public liability in case of a big claim one day - most do but its voluntary. 

[Dave_Lee]

Don't forget Public Liability Insurance only covers 3rd parties, to have the item you are cleaning insured against you damaging it you also have to have an endorsement of 'Property being worked upon' or similar, just PL is not enough.
Dave

[Jor dan]

If he is charging such low prices and using a puzzi, id expect he will be out of business within 6 months anyway, so don't let it bother you.

As others said, focus on your own customers.

I'm a firm believer that many customers are created, by your own marketing skills.  I know I have created customers who would otherwise maybe not had their carpets done for another few years perhaps, by having good leaflets with my own before and after pictures on, or by word of mouth of the good job I can do.

The guy with the crazy low prices, is creating customers, more likely than stealing the one's already on the market, as these people who are booking him, are bargain basement hunting types anyway.

hope that makes sense.

[Tom Molloy]

Thanks for your input guys.
Cheers

[COLIN BRIGHT]

i am getting more and more and more and more and more people who are price shopping because of muppets like this, its the same old story,  a lot of people  still think just you are JUST a cleaner and its easy and everyone is the same. i tell them now that our min spend is £120, gets them off the phone pretty quick, even the people that actually let you visit them a more price resistant than they used to be
fortunately i do get a lot of repeats and recommends but its still fxxxs me off wasting my time with these plonkers........and breathe