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Laura one of my guys just broke the mixing container. I have been using the same one for eight years now. I can’t believe that it made it this long because it was a 2 cup glass measuring cup. R.I.P. The thing that I look at is how well does it pour. Sorry to say I went out and bought a new one from Walgreen’s. I did not even stop to think that I should have ordered it from H.B.
As for the plastic protectors I was given a roll of protectors from a rep during the ICS photo shoot. It was a new item that they were looking at and asked me to try it out. It looks like a roll of 3.5 clear tape and the size of a roll of duct tape. It is cut a lot like toilet paper it is perforated in squares but you can pull off as much as you need. this makes it great for larger items like rockers. Another benefit is that it sticks to the bottom of the chair, and acts like a slider as well. I will show it to John next month and see what he thinks.Here is the link to the ics magazine article.
http://www.icsmag.com/CDA/Articles/Breaking_News/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000284406
It looks like everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame.
I think that some of the operators are looking pass the hole and don’t even know it. I was reading the post on gaurdsman in the upholstery section and it looks like one guys contact has turned in to something for everyone. As times are slowing up for operators now is the time to show what being part of a franchise can do for them. POWER IN NUMBERS. I think that if we as state owners start pulling our resources from our operators I think that we can share their contacts across the country. For example Dan Childs has been booking RC willy warranty jobs for awhile. It has overflowed into other territories around him. We charge $95 per job and usually is only a cushion or a spot. If we start posting more opportunities like these on the bulletin board it might get people to start using them. I know of a few operators to say the least that have never even read one post. If they realized that there is some free leads that are being posted they just might start looking these up. We have operators cleaning all sorts of commercial accounts just like these. The companies already like the Heavens Best work. It only makes sense that they would consider using us in different cities as well. Right now are number one priority should be to make our operators stronger. This will cause a ripple effect in sales down the road.
I do not have the option of hooking up a washer at my shop. We have no water or sewer in the actual shop. We have a common bathroom that is 3 doors down, and a hose one down. When I do go to the laundry mat we call it”operation dumbo drop” Meaning I take up all of the largest machines. I will usually spend $20 in coins. Even if I could, I would not do it at my shop. We go through to many pads. I make sure that I keep track for tax reasons all of the cost I spend. If I was to do it at the shop I don’t feel that I would be able to take as big of a deduction. I do have a nice new washer at home. All I know is that it has a steam setting and came in red. I paid way to much for it, but every now and then I throw in some car mats for my clients and wash at home. Don’t think I won’t deduct that on my taxes either. For those of you who are not a corporation, don’t forget about all of the tax right offs you can. If you are a corporation it is to late you should have been reading this before march 15th.
Dan Childs told me once that he made an arrangement with a dry cleaner back in Oregon and would pay 25c each for drop off services. That’s not a bad deal either.
Pricing for water damage may depend on the area you work. I charge $35 per day per fan and $85 for the dehumidifier. If they call out servpro or another large company they should be paying about the same or a little more. The blue book for the ins. companies are standard for the nation I believe.
Ron is absolutely correct with his concern. I would not recommend everyone running out and taking on water damage without researching it first. There is a lot to know first. You are taking over another persons problem. As soon as you touch it it is your problem now. I have been doing it for 7 years now and I am certified. I still take ongoing training to keep up with all of the new regulations and technology. The rewards are great, but the responsibility is even greater.I spoke with Rick up in Boulder Colorado today. He took a picture of his van and the magnet is the shape and actual picture. This is exactly what I was looking for. He said that they have been a huge hit with all of his customers. He is mailing me a sample and all of the ordering info. I will post the results. I will contact the company and try to see what I can do about a HB deal. I think that it would be great if we could. order them through corporate, but I will have to see if that could even be a possibility. It’s not like Adam does not have enough to do already. Either way I will be back in touch. I think that this could be great. Most of my clients don’t even see our van parked outside when we are cleaning. Now they will be able to recognize the van around town.
Ron you were the one that I was talking about with the old logo magnet. Like I said it looked great, but I am looking for the new logo package. In fact it is because of your magnet that sits on my file cabinet near my desk that I started pursuing this again. I have had three different people comment on your magnet that came into the office lately. That is proof to me that it does work. Thanks for the inspiration.
I no longer have a washer at our shop. I use to have a front loader that was dedicated to cleaning pads only. My wife almost killed me when she caught me using our personal front loader at home once. I highly recommend buying the extended warranty. It saved us 3 service calls and parts. There is one catch. The warranty is voided if used for anything but personal items. Meaning that the first time you put a pad into the machine you are technically out of warranty. I just told them that my kids go through a lot of clothes and that is why I had an extra machine in the garage. Now I am back at the laundry mat. We go through to many pads to clean on site. I was spending to much time washing. Even though I was doing it at the comfort of my own home, I still was always at work. Now we work out of a shop, with a small office. When I come home the work stays there. I take the pads to my favorite laundry mat that has a nice coffee shop next to it and I look forward to washing the pads.
Don brings up a great point. Just like the carpet cleaning bible preaches test on an incospicuous spot first. I have not burnt my hands with the product , but that might have to the years of raking carpet. I wander how many sq. ft of carpet I have raked in the past eight years. Be on the safe side and where gloves if need be.
Barry I have been doing dye and repairs for a long time. There is a learning curve. What once would take me twenty minutes to do a patch now takes five. The great part is now I am much better and I charge more for working less. $30-50 for 5 minutes of work ain’t that bad. Most of the time they do not tell us on the phone. They usually figure that it is permanent and they will just have to live with it. Once you say that you can fix it for them they are willing to pay more for the service. Chances are they have been already told from a previous cleaner that it is permanent. Once your guys are trained up and proficient they will be able to do small spots that are the average that we see in homes in the same amount of time as removing a red stain. We do a lot of apartments as well as homes. 90% of the apartments use the same tan carpet. We have a premixed bottle of violet mixed and ready to go. We can dye twenty small drips in just a few minutes. If the guy shows up and it will take a long time for multiple spots/ and repairs we treat it like someone trying to add a sectional couch on the way out the door. We set up another time/date to perform the services that are required.
Brando thanks for the link. It is amazing how much Heavens Best is coming up in the market place. I imagine that when the competition sees a Heavens Best van roll in to a new territory they are scared. Back when I started with HB I was laughed at from the local companies. I flew under the radar because they did not take me seriously. Looking back I don’t blame them. Our logos were twenty years out of date, and at first they made fun of the name. They thought we were a right wing cult carpet cleaning company. Seinfeld did not help in that area to much either. The on where Kramer warns George that his carpet cleaners are part of a religious cult. We had a company that started getting nervous about our fast pace success. They tried to tell everyone that we were a small fly by night company that does not even use real chemicals. Supposedly I was just mixing up products in the back of my garage.
Fast forward 8 years and look at us now. Customers love us and our competition fears us. We are in the spotlight in so many different avenues. This truly is a great time to be in the business. By the way that competitor that was spreading rumurs now calls on us for advice.a new product that I just started using is the Magic Eraser. It is sold everywhere in the cleaning supply isle along with 409 and simple green. It is made by M. Clean. I don’t know what they ave in that sponge, but I was amazed at how well it worked. It is simple get it wet ring it out and start cleaning.
Nothing worse than cleaning for a customer that is not home and seeing a cat. On the way out the door notice that the cat is no where to be found. Did not think I let it out but could not know for sure. Saw a cat ouside across the street. Could not remeber what exactley it looked like. Chase the cat down the street and on the way back to the house the neigbor asked what I was doing with their cat. Thank god I did not throw it in and leave. Later found out the cat was in the closet.
Lew thanks for the info. I will get one and post the results. I have never had a problem using a customers water, but I do feel it is more professional not to. I like to show up and have every thing on hand. When they ask if I need to hook up water or If I need anything extra the answer is no we always come prepared. This heater could make a big difference in how I do things from now on. I always carry 5 jugs cold and 4 jugs premixed for a hot solution per van. We use the hot for only the bad jobs. If this works I will be using it on every job.
Lew you are able to do things that most of the cleaners out there are not. Think!!! I would warn other guys that might not know about using extension cords. If you absolutely have to use one make sure that it is a Heavy duty cord. I don’t know the gauge scale off the top of my head but the bigger the better. Also try to use the shortest cord that you need 25 or 50 ft. I blew out a motor due to using an extension cord on my advanced buffer a few years back. It cost $1100 for a new motor. So if any one needs parts just ask. I am interested in the water heater. Can you run a premixed 2.5 gallon solution through it. If so I mill go get three of them tonight. That would be the best investment I made all year.
