[mark_roberts]

What sets you apart from your competition in the customers eyes?

Mark

[strakercleaning]

Allerg-STOP................. because no one else can offer the same service locally 

[paul@ctcs]

Where do I start  

Punctual- I try and get there 5 mins early

My Eclipse- The most powerful machine of its type in the world

Micro splitters-  I explain the advanteges of this method of cleaning and customers love it, this virtually guarentees I get every job and they will never let nasty detergents near there carpets again

Allerg-Stop- I'm the only technician in the  area and one of only a handful in the UK.

Results- Customers always very happy and often hear "Its much better than the last time it was cleaned", resulting in a good number of referals.

Telephone- With Emma answering calls in her professional but friendly manner a good first impression is achieved.

Value- All of this for quite a bit less than much of the competition

Last but not least my youthful good looks and Greek god like physique

Paul

[Barry Pearce]

Mark.
When you have gained respect for your many skills and you are though of as a sledge hammer, you are then sent with confidence to crack nuts!
Barry

[CARPET KNIGHTS]

Allerg-STOP

[stevegunn]

I look like Minty :

[Mike Halliday]

some of you need to think more carefully about your answers

the question is 'What sets you apart from the competition?' once you have made an appointment with a customer then you have no competition,

'Competition' is only  relevent when thier is a risk of losing, so what makes you different must be something that is apparent before the appointment is booked.

So...

wearing a uniform is not relevent

a '100% money back gaurantee' is

hope this makes sense

Mike

[Matt Read]

Purely telephone quoting you're right mike...on site quotations i would give the job to the uniformed chap if he was up against a chap in jeans and trainers.

i think you need to look the part , decent van ,machine's etc we talk about the pro's and con's of all the diff cleaning methods here but to joe public they want you to look and act professional and use equipment that looks complicated basically !...i speak from personal experience having started from scratch with an old bt van and a numatic machine ! Many many years ago i might add 

[Dave_Lee]

Me, no one else can be me, talk like me, come across like me, I am unique and so are you.
Dave.

[strakercleaning]

Paul, Told you that using the Grecian 2000 would pay off.
You telling us that now you look like a 2000yr old Greek 

[eco freindly. peoples champion ron .sherlock]

for a change i agree with matt nch,

[Karl Wildey]

And I agree with Sherlock.

[Matt Read]

peace and harmony at last ...ahhhhh 

[stu_thomson]

matt, have heard that youve upgraded from your numatic to one of those bissell power washey thingys....

 stu

[Matt Read]

got rid stu...didn't have a smiley face on the front 

[Nigel_W]

Mark,

A very good question that all business men should give lots of thought to.

Did a quick list of some of the reasons why I think my customers use me. It is not exhaustive but you will get the idea. I am also not trying to say that other carpet cleaners in my area do not do some of the same things. However I do think it is a large collection of small things that keep the customers coming back with enthusiasm. I have worked on this over the years as I have always fought shy of advertising and direct marketing. I don't do leaflets, yellow pages etc so I needed everything to be right to keep the phones ringing.


Smart Uniform - Shirt, tie proper shoes etc
Clean and polished equipment - nearly all blue and coordinated.
Clean and neat/tidy personal grooming
Overshoes
Dust sheet to protect floors
Being seen to treat all client belongings with great care
Stain removers with Designcare labels
Itemised quotations
Quotations emailed from van within 10 minutes of leaving site (if required)
No hidden extras
Straight forward honest advice - underselling gains trust
handtooling edges
Drying carpets with airmovers for quick use ( where required)
Upholstery dry to use that day
Able to remove draught marks (in 95% of cases)
Always individually deal with stains not removed during normal cleaning
Being able to clean carpets,  rugs ,upholstery and curtains. We offer a taking down service that includes intricate pelmet treatments.
Offering specialist stain removal service
Web site
Account facilities offered for payment
Computer system that enables all client details to be called up almost instantly.
Flexible attitude to fitting jobs in.
Smart tidy van with tons of equipment on including truck mount
Always get owner(me) on job and I am enthusiastic about cleaning. People like you to enjoy your job not hate being there.
Only work on recommendation (people like this)
Celebrity/ interesting client list (people like this too)
Confidential (they like this even more)
Always under - promise and over deliver results
Not being tied to one type of chemical/system
Cal to confirm bookings day before
Always arrive on time or call if a problem occurs
Being boringly reliable
Taking the time to talk - and remembering small details about clients life
Top quality cleaning results - I had to say this!
Phone calls returned promptly
Email on the go - so message replied by return
Always booked 2 to 8 weeks in advance. Makes people comfortable that you are in demand.
Replacing furniture in place so no out of position indentations
Cleaning skirting board behind beds and cupboards
Re-fitting carpet where required as part of the clean
Repairing and spot dyeing carpet when required
Re-assuringly expensive but not ridiculous
Able to deal with cleaning the most delicate expensive fabrics and carpets without breaking into a sweat.
Been around 15 years in the same areas
No constant mailings - just simple hand written reminder post cards at agreed intervals
Job right first time - no need to call back
Complaints rare and dealt with immediately
Accidents  rare but owned up to and rectified immediately

Nigel

[mark_roberts]

Thanks Nigel

Your the man.

Most of what you have is on my list except the 8 week booking bit and the re-assuringly expensive bit.

Did you ever get that demo of the CFR and what did you think?

Mark

[paul@ctcs]

Paul, Told you that using the Grecian 2000 would pay off.
You telling us that now you look like a 2000yr old Greek 

Its Lifting the Eclipse in and out of the van, and the steroids

Paul

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

Confidence

Cheers,

Doug

[Martin S]

Never mind Doug, i'm sure you'll come out of your shell eventually.