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I’ve already received another work order. It looks like it is going to be even easier than the first. They’re looking like they really might be a good way to increase my business.
I just did a job with Guardsman and will be making $160 for just under 2 hours removing various, small ink spots from a sectional. It was way easier than I expected and I agree that it’s worth a try for any operator.
Thanks Mike. I appreciate the support. I agree with you regarding people. You never know what personality types or expectations you’re up against. This is even true when you’ve done everything you can to set the proper expectations in your customers. As long as I know that I’ve been honest with my customers and done my best I can always live with my successes and failures. Later.
You’re right about that Mike. Even though you inform the customer some of them still expect a miracle and are very disappointed when you don’t deliver on their own expectations. With time I imagine I’ll be able to read my customers a lot better.
Don’t worry Dave. I’ve never used or attempted to use the buffer on the steps and I won’t. That’s what my Oreck is for.
Thanks Mike. I’ve tried it according to the other operators’ suggestions and although it did make a difference from the way I had previously done them it wasn’t what I was expecting. I’m going to try to double wash them tomorrow and see if that makes a dent.
I hear you Mike. I used to put the vacuum back up right away. Now, it stays with me til the job is completed. It’s good to hear that it’s not only me that runs into this problem though. For a while I thought it was because I wasn’t saturating these types of carpets enough. Then I started spraying a lot more 101 down and knew that it couldn’t be the issue. The only thing I hate about it is the extra time I spend re-vacuuming the fuzz balls up. The extra time waiting for the carpet to dry a bit can really put a dent in my dollar per hour. I tried vacuuming it back up too early once and clogged my whole vacuum up. That was a messy, pain in the rear to fix.
Thanks Gordon. I’ll check it out. It sounds way better now that I found that small nail in it. I conciously avoid trying to vacuum up anything other than dirt to spare my machine. The thing was so slender that I almost didn’t see it when it fell out onto my own low pile carpet. I think that the problem is solved for now, but I’m going to check out the fan blades just in case.
You’re absolutely right about learning from it Mike. I do charge top dollar for my area, but I still feel that I can and should take a page from you and charge extra if the carpet filth is that extreme. You make a good point about them asking for my services though. Why would they call me if the job they did was so good? It’s so obvious and I never thought about it from that angle. I charge 30 cents a square foot, but next time I’ll charge 50 cents and even much higher if it’s even near that kind of soiling again. I’ll include protectant in the pricing too. Either I’ll make it worth my time or I’ll price myself out of that sort of job. One thing I’ve already learned is that no matter how much you try to evaluate a job beforehand customers will still try to throw you with little after-the-fact surprises. Thanks Mike.
Well, a little of both. I had a customer who had absolutely horrific traffic areas and grime in the carpeting. It was REALLY bad, but I’ve taken on the filthy ones before and been absolutely astounded with the results. I did set their expectations really low before hand and almost didn’t take the job, but I did with a little pressure. I probably should have walked, but when you’re new you’re a little hungry too. 😉 Anyways, the FAE did make a difference in the carpet, but not a big one. Well, after the fact the customer told me that they had cleaned it perfectly just a few months ago. Yeah right. They maybe cleaned it several years ago. Several very rough, ugly, and filthy years ago. They said they did it with a rental steam unit (not Rug Doctor) with some home made Oxi-Clean concoction they made up. This was after I had already discussed with the customer before I started the work about the way that products like Resolve and Oxi-Clean can sometimes bond stains permanently to carpeting. I was thinking that maybe a second treatment of FAE might get it out a little more seeing that it at least made a dent the first time. After all of the really dirty jobs that FAE has worked miracles on I have to believe that it can’t be our product meeting it’s match. They did something to literally bond the filth to the carpeting and created some kind of impenetrable dirt force field blocking my efforts. I know that this situation could probably have been avoided by me. I guess it’s better to learn a lesson like this early on so I can grow from it.
I think that you’re right about the clogged airway. I just took it apart again and as I was doing it I noticed something was rattling around inside it. I checked the large object cleanout and nothing was there. I cleaned the beater bar and checked to make sure that it could spin easily. It was still making the noise. I then turned the Hoover upside down and shook it and after a second or two I couldn’t hear the rattling anymore. A really small nail was on the carpet that you could barely see. It was one of those really tiny, slender types that you would use to hang very small picture frames or things that are really light. It was about the size of a needle. After I tried it again the vacuum sounds 100% better. I wonder where it was getting stuck at? Anyways, thanks for the response Dave.
