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Viewing 15 posts - 61 through 75 (of 564 total)
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  • in reply to: Coffee Stain #152992
    pacheco
    Participant

    without me going back through all of this and checking..how about carpet dying?

    in reply to: LMCCA #149291
    pacheco
    Participant

    Can anyone explain why, when I go into the site and click on United states and then put Iowa, Idaho or any other state into the box, up pops Brite Carpet Cleaners? nothing else? For the entire state? Every state…

    And no one to communicate with there?

    Thanks, I am really perplexed..

    in reply to: LMCCA #149288
    pacheco
    Participant

    I can find us by only…repeat ONLY typing in my zip code. A nearby zip gets nothing and the state gets the same company for all states..I guess it is just my computer…

    But it does the exact same thing for Idaho for me…

    I am obviously doing something stupid…

    in reply to: LMCCA #149286
    pacheco
    Participant

    I can find no operators now, unless I look for their specific zip…not state. Also, they have no phone number listed in the site that I could find….none.
    If I was looking for a cleaner in PA, only one shows up, and they are the same one in all states…strange

    in reply to: Restaurants #152950
    pacheco
    Participant

    I wouldn’t waste my time, nrg or equipment on any place like Houlihan’s … that being said we just did a great job on restaurant regular acct, terra cotta tile for little time and great deal. Great trade.

    Restaurant trades are great…dentist as well.

    in reply to: Television advertising #152675
    pacheco
    Participant

    Perception is reality …to the one perceiving, anyway.

    Each operator is the perception of the reality of HB to the world…any unprofessional looking van, operator, driving and other actions all place us in a pigeon hole by the observer.

    No amount of advertising can overrule how we look and act and do.

    By pricing in the upper 1/3 or so of our competition, by looking sharper and acting sharper, by doing our jobs above and beyond, we will do far better in the long run than our competition.

    Chem Dry did it again and took out 2 full color pages of advertising in the Verizon book. We refuse to try to compete with that by reducing our 1/2 page ad to a credit card size.

    Amazing…we still get their ex customers…

    P.S.-Instead of TV which is terribly expensive and must be conducted repetitively to do any good, corp might look into magazine ads…selected and targeted…something small, just to get the name out there.

    in reply to: Money savings tips #153098
    pacheco
    Participant

    Some good ideas…Ron…how can you freeze in AZ???? Rare and with some difficulty, I guess.

    For 5 1/2 years I had been bringing anything that could freeze inside when it got into the low teens and when a space heater could not keep the van inside temp above 32… It can be a real pain bringing stuff inside every night.

    2 weeks ago we completed the construction of a simple structure inside the garage and covered it with plastic and have a flap for a door. The garage is unheated, but able to accept a 6x8x6,5 ft tall structure and is totally enclosed to trap heat.

    To date, it got down to 19 the other day and inside tent temp with no heat on at all was 42. the back of my fireplace is exposed in the garage and the heat from that is enough to keep the garage moderately warm….at least not freezing.

    I have the heater available, if required, but I know it is saving money by not being used at 1700 w for all night long x 2 vans.

    I gotta take a picture of this thing…looks dumb, until one starts paying the PPL bill. Also, it is very easy to unload into from the vans which are right in front of the door, much easier than managing to go in and out the front door, again saving money. (Cost of structure was zip. We used all scrap, or excess materials.

    One thing we did several years ago was to consolidate all water based solutions into one small plastic bin. In single digit times it goes in and out fast.

    Hope this may spark a thought in someone…Dave

    P.S.- A slightly perverted viewpoint….I really wish the price of gas was higher…it kills our competition, just a minor irritation to us.

    in reply to: Raising prices? #153071
    pacheco
    Participant

    Because I have never charged by the square foot, just how much does one charge for an average bedroom? 3×8 + 4×10 + 3×8 and then total and multiply by .27-.35 or whatever..is that how it is done?

    How do you quote over the phone? By giving the customer a number for how much per square foot?

    Having trouble for 5+ years wrapping my mind around this.

    Thanks,
    Dave

    in reply to: Moving furniture extra #153086
    pacheco
    Participant

    Someone once asked me to mone an upright…they then left and returned in an hour or so. The piano had not been moved and they were a little ticked at me, until I went over and showed them the front legs we all but falling off.

    I hesitate to move anything that I would not want to purchase. No antiques, no loaded anything furniture wise, tvs, consoles, computers anything electronic is pretty much off limits. I go by the rule that the last person to touch something is usually the culprit when it doesn’t work.

    If it is valuable, I let them move it…or clean around it saying that it is clean dirt under it anyway.

    in reply to: Moving furniture extra #153083
    pacheco
    Participant

    Dave,

    I must have missed something…you did a job for 2.5 hours for $350 and are ticked that you blew an hour of that time waiting for furniture to be moved… I wish i had all those jobs here.

    How were you charging to not move furniture to make $350 for only exposed carpeting?

    I may have missed something someplace…doesn’t make too much sense to me. I would have thought that if you cleaned less, the you would have made less..with all the furniture, much less.

    I agree on the piano…never ever touch them….very good advice.

    in reply to: Crypton Upholstery #153091
    pacheco
    Participant

    This may sound stupid, but it might have been cleaner with the soil removed…maybe?

    I had a frantic call one time after I had cleaned a sofa. She said there was a dark band around the sofa and she wad totally pissed… I turned my van around and returned to the scene of the crime.

    The area where the cushions hit the sofa had not been faded by the sun coming in the sliding glass door it was facing. The band was the unfaded area.

    Food for thought and those new to the business..

    May help someone.

    in reply to: over-soaking carpet #153017
    pacheco
    Participant

    Gotta be careful in bathrooms & kitchen with tile & grout.

    When you get near the cabinets or other edge, the grout may have gaps in it and that gap allow water to go to the area below. Happened once several years ago….perhaps the new system handles this but must exercise caution. In our case, no damage, but could have been disaster it something was moved 3 ft closer into the affected area..

    in reply to: Coffee Stain #152987
    pacheco
    Participant

    I must be missing something..I have always had very good experiences with coffee and tea. I have been using the powdered coffee remover from 5 years ago, mix a little strong and then spray, dwell and then extract, may take an overnight to allow to disappear. I only mix a quart at a time.

    Never had a problem with it. Really though the little dribbles and associated coffee/tea spots I find come right out with 101 with a punch of OD in the spotter btl.

    Just my 2 cents
    Dave

    in reply to: over-soaking carpet #153015
    pacheco
    Participant

    We have steered pretty clear of cat urine and their stains…#1 they almost never ever go away and #2 the odor remains almost always..

    The times they do go away and the odor is removed are rarely worth the effort and agony…

    I have always hated cats and still feel that the only good one is the dead one…sorry PETA supporters.

    in reply to: Question for those handling credit cards. #153023
    pacheco
    Participant

    About 10% off last year…almost zero real estate cleanings and a couple of heavy hitters last couple of years are not hitting due to real estate death here.

    Anyway, we researched it and it seemed easier for us to use Paypal…I know,,,I know,,,but we also do EBay and were already signed up. With CCs we always run through before the work is completed since many either are over limit or not otherwise in use… call wife with info and she enters and voila..we begin. Got stung the other day though when she told my son she was paying cash and then switched to cc..over limit.

    We get 1-2 a month maybe…and we can take any card with Paypal…

    Not the cheapest, but for the 2 of us, the easiest.

Viewing 15 posts - 61 through 75 (of 564 total)