My First Job! QUESTIONS!

1. When I was spraying I probably got some on the baseboards, should I immediately go and wipe them all down? or is it not a big deal? Should I just not spray really close to the baseboards?

I wipe the baseboards down after cleaning a room. Keep a small towel in your back pocket.

2. When I was buffing I went at a moderate speed. I would go all the way across the carpet, move half a buffer length down, and then go all the way back across, and repeat. Is that the proper way? Could I have gone faster since the carpet was in really good shape?

This depends. Usually I like to swing counter clockwise, but that is just me. If the carpet is cleaner rather than dirty, then sure you will complete a room quicker as you aren’t having to remove as much soil/stains.

3. When I raked after buffing it seemed like there were still lines in the carpet from where I went back and forth across the carpet. Is that normal? I had to really rake it different directions to get rid of it. It was a real basic carpet… low cut nylon I think.

What Eddy said!

4. When I was done with a room I would look at the pad and even though the carpet had looked really clean before, there was still some dirt on the pad. Should I then go back over the room till there is no dirt coming up onto the pad? I just went ahead and moved onto the next room.

This will come with experience. I can know before looking at my pad if I need to flip it over. You will eventually be able to tell based on the friction between the buffer and the carpet. You just get a feel for that.

5. I had to move a desk… I moved it, vacuumed behind, sprayed behind, and buffed behind, then moved it back. Then I sprayed the rest of the room and finished buffing. Should I have let the carpet dry at all before I moved it back?

Don’t move desk. If it’s a large piece I just don’t move it. The largest piece I will move is a sofa…no sectionals. I inform the customer on the phone that if there are large pieces that they should be moved prior to our arrival.

6. I used 101 with some Citrus Booster on the carpet… it wasn’t soiled much so I probably could have gone with just 101 right? If I just used 101 should I add Orange or Cherry Almond Deodorizer to it or just use it by itself?

Personally I don’t use CB, some do. If I were to use it then it would only be 1-2 oz tops. I do put orange deodorizer in it though.

7. When do you all use the finishing towels? Are those the thicker towels that we get?

I use these when I’ve cleaned an area (usually a traffic area) and there is still soil. I will very lightly spray the area and go over it with the towel.

Trevor brings up a good point about when you can put a piece of furniture back in its place. I’ve come across spots on almost all of the carpets I’ve cleaned where the previous steam cleaners had left too much moisture down and then put wood or metal furniture back on them too soon. There is always a wood or rust stain on the carpet. Is our fast drying time good enough or should we place something under the legs of the furniture to ensure that it doesn’t bleed? I often find that the carpets usually dry well within the hour we advertise. I have not felt uncomfortable cleaning under/ behind a sofa or end table, grooming the carpet, and putting them back in place so that I can clean the open areas. Am I making a mistake by trusting the methods that I’m employing? I use the EZ Moves slides to move the furniture around, but are there any cheap, furniture slides out there that you can leave under the customer’s furniture to prevent bleeding? Thanks.

Be very careful of furniture leaving wood stain marks if put on wet carpet. Use the plastic tabs from coorporate if you are putting wood back on wet carpet. Otherwise they do make styrofoam blocks that you can put under furniture as well (any chance of adding these to our products?). Use the tabs for metal as well. About the only thing we put on wet carpet is plastic, and make sure there isn’t a metal post in the middle. Gordon had the right ideas. Another idea to is to just not get the “hole” where the furniture leg goes wet. Really, what is under it anyway that your vacuum can’t get rid of?

All of these questions raises another question!! One thing I have thought about we could consider adding to the franchise training is local “field training”. I know I could have benefitted from this. In other words, after attending corporate training in Rexburg new franchisees would return to their home and perform several days of field training with an experienced “certified” operator as set up and supervised by the state owner. Such “field training” would be done in a nearby area and the “certified” operator doing the training could be compensated by corporate as part of the franchise fee. The new franchisee would be the ‘second man’ on the truck and experience hands on daily routines as well as the opportunities to ask lots of questions. This would add to the overall confidence of beginning operators. “Certified” operators performing the training would be hand picked and trained by state owners. As we grow, I think this is going to become a real need!! What do ya’ll think??

Watching an experienced operator work does help out Trevor. Even though I still have my fair share of questions it helped me out a lot. I don’t know if it makes financial sense, but maybe training could be extended longer in the future. I learned tons, but it is a lot of info in a short amount of time.

Welcome aboard fellow Hoosier. A lot of great advice given here and as you gain more experience, it will start to come together.

Dan

Hey Ron that is great news! I believe that is one way we can insure even more success in the future overall as a franchise – more hands-on training!! I have been through the Subway franchise training twice – the number one franchise for several years. Their training is two weeks long. During that two weeks you clock 30+ hours in working in a fully operational store – doing everything you can imagine! My last training store was unbelieveable – and I took my own skills to a new level – a unit that averaged 25-30k per WEEK! We can and should mimic ideas of other successful franchises. I applaud Cody for extending the training another day – but I also see that as we grow the need for better field training, in-state supervision and “inspection” will need to also grow! Just food for thought – I think we are on the right path! I’m getting my new van logos installed next week & I am PUMPED!!! Go SPURS GO!!!