[Mike Halliday]

done 2 jobs so far this week were all I've had to do was take in the vac & envirodry, both carpets were like new but the home owner had had some building work done so wanted them cleaning.

I could have set up the T/M and given them the full mounty, but they didn't need it.

 so we moved all the furniture wiped down the skirting boards( like we all do) then vacced them..... then ran over them with the envirodry..... then vacced them again,

We charged the customer the full price.

was this ethical?

considering the customer engaged our services to clean the carpet ( meaning removing all the dirt) which we did .......in our professional opinion we did exactly what was needed to to remove any dirt. the carpets would have looked no different if we had done a full wet extraction but with what we did the carpet were ready to use immediately.

I will admit we do this about twice a month

[robert meldrum]

If you could only do that with every job  .............Yes Martin I know you've cracked it and good for you.

If I could do that I might get another 10 years in the biz !

[Joe H]

If it had been a real minger would you have charged extra over and above your "norm"?

or said .. well its swings and roundabouts - today its a minger, tomorrow its a vac and envirodri

[derek west]

just asking the question means you feel unethical.

if everyones answer was youve ripped them off, would you defend your self or hold your hands up and not do it again?

derek

ps... my answer is, if she's happy and your happy then everybody's happy,

[Mike Osbourne]

Derek

What about these con artists that charge £400 a suite, if the customers happy does that make it all right then?

[derek west]

Derek

What about these con artists that charge £400 a suite, if the customers happy does that make it all right then?

mike o
what about just answering the question for mike h.
its his question and his thread afterall.

derek

[Mike Osbourne]

God you really are slippery aren't you? 

[derek west]

God you really are slippery aren't you? 

is that your answer?, bit below the belt that mike

derek

[Mike Osbourne]

Not if you were a politician it would be a compliment.

Here's another question, not aimed at you Derek. :

If someone invites you to 'clean' a brand new carpet, what would you do?

Do you say I'll do it, charge and do nothing but hoover it, after all it is clean.

Do you refuse because you can't clean it?

Or do you find out why it's important to her to have it 'cleaned' ? First.

[derek west]

the last option.
derek

[Paul_Ashworth]

Or do you find out why it's important to her to have it 'cleaned' ? First.  

This is a Good Point, i've often been out on a survey and thought i doesnt really need cleaning but when you ask the customer its because its smelling.

Mike H
I think your in the wrong, Look at it from the customers point of view they have paid you for a deep clean and might have even picked you for your equipment, now they feel short changed.

I did an 80/20 lounge carpet on friday that didnt really need cleaning but beacuse she had cats thought it was smelling, i still hoovered it, Didnt Pre spray as it didnt need it only in the doorway, i still cleaned it with the T.M but put very little water down, she was delighted as it was dry when leaving as i turbo dried it

Paul
 
  
 

[Mike Osbourne]

That's what I would say Derek and it always surprises me how many people don't ask. They would either get on with it or refuse. When you ask it gives you the opportunity to use your expertise and give them what they REALLY want.

I find this particularly with ECO cleans which also raise ethical and moral twangs of conscience but asking the right questions makes you sit easier with your decision because you have clarified what the client is really after.

I know this reads as a load of b******s but I think it goes some way to answering the question.

[from edge2edge]

Guys surely if you give a woman what she wants then life is much easier in my opinion.Dont argue the merits if she is satisfied.Regards Alan(swindon)

[Mike Halliday]

what prompted the question was I did a womans daughter and she told me I had given her  mum a quote in July and I told her the carpets didn't need cleaning and it would be better to wait another year then she would see a difference. Her mum 2 week later had them cleaned by another company.

I was trying to do the right thing  but the woman was'nt interested in what was the right thing she had the idea in her head that the carpets needed cleaning. so I decided then I would no longer turn away clean carpet & upholstery, I would give the level of clean that was appropriate to the condition of the carpet.

[Joe H]

We charged the customer the full price.

was this ethical?

What you have just said Mike seems ok - give the customer what they want, after all you lost a clean last time.

But in your original post you added the above words, and then said you do this twice a month.

What is your concern?  cleaning a "clean" carpet, or charging for a dirty carpet clean?

[Andrew Briscoe]

You would be suprised how many new carpeta are dirty before they get into a customers house.

I used to be in cpt sales, and have visited many massive cpt warehouses, 1000's of rolls
stacked to the rafters in dusty atmospheres, stacker trucks running round consantly creating more dust and fumes.
Unwrapped on cutting tables, before being re wrapped and back into racking.

Done many callouts for a friend who has a shop, with marks from fitters glue, and stacker poles etc.

Andrew

[Simon Gerrard]

Mike,

If you had told the customer what you were proposing to do, then that would have made what you did ok. To do what you did without putting it to her and seeking her approval  wasn't very professional.
As has been pointed out, the customer may have their own reasons for wanting the carpet cleaned and because you didn't clean it she may well not have got what she wanted, but you marched off with the money in your pocket. Naughty boy!

Simon

[Barry Livingstone]

mike Until I read your second post on this i thought Robin hood wore a mask!!!

But as you say another customer got their carpets cleaned, So If it was me well id have to think about it! But yeah Its a bit UN-ETHICAL........but i dont think you worry about what the big man upstairs thinks!!!

But on the other hand you can never slag off a splash n dash guy again ever!!!!!

[robert meldrum]

Ethics really don't come into this scenario............someone asks for a service to be supplied as THEY feel the NEED for the service.

Supplying the most appropriate service and charging as you normally charge is a straightforward business transaction SUPPLYING a WANT or a NEED.

As already pointed out by Mike H ............If he refused the customer would probably get someone else to do it. It's happened to me before and probably to a few others on here.

As Mike O asks.............Is it less ethical to carry out a task to achieve the best result by using your knowledge and methods, than to grossly overcharge the gullible ?

We all know that the service carried out on this occasion has removed at least 80% of the soiling within the carpet fibers and improved the touch and appearance of the item

[Dave_Lee]

The aim of the game is to remove the soil. We all have equipment that is capable of doing this. Isnt it up to the PROFESSIONAL to decide which piece of equipment is required to carry out each job efficiently.
It is I guess a natural assumption to a CC whose main equipment is HWE, to use it on each and every job, however obviously, this is not the case.
I did one of those horrible synthetic suade suites the other week. It wasnt heavily soiled and I didnt want to wet it too much, so I pre vacced, pre sprayed with Pure Clean, agitated, wiped over with cloth moistened with the same and then with a cloth dampened with plain water, and finally with a clean dry cloth. The result was as good as it could have been with any method, and the customer was happy.
I can see customers being confused even suspicious when they have called you after seeing your advertsing, raving on about how powerful your machinery is and how by using it, they are going to get the best clean, and then you do the job - you use something else.
As for the original question, was what Mike did 'Ethical', its easy to reply, yes or no.  I'd say its down to the Professional at the time to decide which method to use and if he s a true Professional, which Mike is, he will come to the correct decision.
Dave.