[carpet guy]

Maybe if the industry concentrated on Breaking down, Releasing, Encapsulating the soil in carpets and fabrics, there would be less need for the current obsession with doubling, or trebling the pressure and vacuum power in machines.

How much does it take to clean to an acceptable standard, and please don't come out with the " cleaning all the way to the base of the pile needs high pressure " when surface tension is released and soiling is broken down and encapsulated, all that's needed is rinsing.

The marketing and personal hype  put out and maybe believed, by advocates of the " bigger is better " brigade is aimed at impressing potential buyers of products and end users, but what is the reality, on a day to day basis, for 99% of the work being done.

rob

[lands]

Fu%k me rob that'll get some tense argument going. Taking kids to a bday party and look forward to the 15 responses this'll have had by 6.30pm when I get back.

Pete

[carpet guy]

Surely not.........everyone one here is openminded and polite and well mannered and considerate and happy to discuss all the possibilities.

Or maybe not everyone.

What prompted me to post this, was a comment, referring to cleaning carpets at 1000psi 

rob

[garyfindlay]

When the customer is 100% delighted?

[maxcarpets]

T/M impresses custys more tham portys

[stevegunn]

When the customer is 100% delighted?

Agree with that statement most customers are not bothered what you use all long as you achieve the desired result

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I guess more power means quicker cleaning if you are at the side of a smaller machine irrelivant of what system ie porti and TM or 13" buffer to 17" buffer.

The big TM's for domestics can be a very good marketing tool and with the money that can be earned the pay back for these machines aren't as bad as you may think providing you don't mind the debt and the running costs and the long hours.

But to keep ALL costs down and to work fast I'd buy a Cimex, I used to clean years ago with one and the running cost is practically £0 and they last for ever but like every system it has it's pitfalls.

Shaun

[Ian Gourlay]

Wow

Heard part of a Joe P interview last night Think I heard it before.


So what we should be obsessesed with is WOW FACTOR.

Not sure if that means we have the best toys probably does  if we are going for Rolls Royce Clients.

But need to clean van more often for starters.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Ian I think you know the answers it's selling the sizzle not the steak (my favourite saying )

How many times have you read the adverts in the back of a paper where they sell miracle products and thought "I wouldn't mind one of those" then recieved it and thought to yourself "it's rubbish"

As honest carpet cleaners we are told to undersell our services so the customer doesn't expect too much or that when they see the difference they call it the WOW factor, well do the bragging in the ad and then on the survey do the real bit.

Shaun

[Mike Osbourne]

My job today whilst drinking my tea.

Custie comments on my machine being so big and presumably powerful.

Yes I said I like to invest in equipment that gives the best clean possible.

Did the job custie very happy with results.

What do I use? A Speedster. :

99% have not got a clue about the machinery or the difference in results.

Truckmounts are for speed, ease and 1% who may know the difference.

[*paul_moss]

Mike if you pre vac, aggitate with some thing like an Enviridry then you can extract with any medium to top range porty and get the same result as a truckmount.
You could put a £1000 machine next to a £3000 machine and the customer will not know the difference.

Similar to above posts it is service and the wow factor that wins customers not power of machine.

Now speed of job, performance and Technique of the operator, well now thats different 

[carpet guy]

Excellent responses gents, this is much more measured and moderate than would have happened even a year ago.

I agree the wow factor is supplied by you, not by your equipment, but leaving a pleasant smell, looking clean and tidy, being pleasant, wearing little shoe covers, all add to the wow factor.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

It's also important that the custy sees us using eqiuipment unavailable to them and that looks professional.

I find customers particularly like gauges as this gives a 'space age' apperance to some and makes them think the machine is better.

One aspect we rarely touch on is the relative apperance of the various makes, some look more powerful even if therye  not, others look like wheelie bins.

Cheers

Doug

[Jeff Lydon/Greenie]

You don't by a TM for a better clean, you are professionals with a truck full of tools, you are already cleaning perfectly, a TM is a time saver and a money maker.
Now that said you can leave carpet much drier and extract more with a TM, so that is worth mentioning as well.

And there is a fair difference between a single vac porty and a machine with multiple vacs for the same reason of drier can equal cleaner.

Did someone mention heat was a time saver as well and promoted better drying, that is worht mentioning.

Of course you could just put a properly fitting glide on your porty wand and cut your drying by half and move on.

[*paul_moss]

Would that be a Green Glide by any chance Jeff 

Only kidding I have 2 and they are a god send 

[Mike Halliday]

I tend to think the only people obsessed with power are the one who don't have it :

when it come to power of the machine then we are talking about 3 things, heat-vacuum-water(flow& pressure)

so its simple;

1)heat clean better & quicker,

2)vacuum remove more water so leave carpets dryer,

3)water rinses better so removes more dirt.

that's why people want bigger more powerful machine so they can increase the efficiency of the above 3 things

of course you can achieve the same results with a low powered machine, but it takes longer and is harder.


Mike
(3 replies have been added while typing)

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

Excellent responses gents, this is much more measured and moderate than would have happened even a year ago.

I agree the wow factor is supplied by you, not by your equipment, but leaving a pleasant smell, looking clean and tidy, being pleasant, wearing little shoe covers, all add to the wow factor.

 trust me i can get the same results with a extracta bx   (single vac) as i can with my t.m. !!  it would take a lot longer and i would need to turbo dry every thing but it would still be as good

looking from a womans view

if you turn up with a house vax then your on a loser but anything bigger then thats i a good starter what ever the make ,

 the most important thing is to make the lady of the house feel comterble with you !   if you do ,  your on a winner , women dont like creepy , smelly, prevy  blokes and if your any of these they wont care how big your cleaner is you wont be going back so its not all about the power its the total package

one thing you have got to rember is that these suppliers have got to keep selling you stuff your they will go out of buisness it wonted be good for them if everybody keped the same gear for ten years would it ??

[lands]

I was one out. It was 16 not 15. Shaun's point is extremely valid (re undersell) as is Pauls re envirodri etc. Did a small job today for a guy who's had his done regularly by a TM b4 and this time he was well impressed. The difference was the envirodri (used dry first prior to vac and then again after pre-treat). "never seen anything like that b4" (the envirodri) "I'll be using you from now on mate" were his words.

Not that its relevant but he had 2 mercs, an M3 BMW and a 355 Spider and guess what.......no tip.

Pete

[maxcarpets]

I still say a T/M roaring away gives a more professional image with what you say as the WOW factor. Just my opinion, we use portys & t/ms so I can judge this quite well.

[Joe H]

No tip Pete - thats why he has 2 mercs, an M3 BMW and a 355 Spider.

Not had a customer yet that has said "I am disappointed - I was expecting a truck mount"
Had many a customer say how pleased they are with the finished job.