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Carpet Cleaning Issues - Carpet construction, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, equipment, events, etc.

What to charge (suite)

Posted by stevegunn (Steve Gunn), 25 March 2004
What are you guys charging at present for stainguarding a suite i went out today and quoted £70 but the customer had been advised by mr slap & dash he would do it wait for it £12 Shocked  
Posted by John_Flynn (John_Flynn), 25 March 2004
Same price as you Steve £70.00, my Mr Splash and Dash used to advertise all items protected, I think he used AQUA, but recentley I asume that the Trading Standards have had word as his ad as changed from the one he has been using for the last 4 years.
Posted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 25 March 2004
Steve,

£12 is not bad money for spraying a little water from a 1pnt triger sprayer  Wink

I charge £70 - £85 presently.

John.
Posted by pre-vac_Nick (HolmansUKLTD), 25 March 2004
3pce between £60-£80 but i dont get a lot..... Maybe i dont push it enough??!!

Anybody got any tips on selling protector?

Regards

Nick
Posted by Dave_Parry (Dave Parry), 25 March 2004
I charge £20 / Seat so 3 seater sofa and 2 armchairs + £ 100. Protector (Prochem Aqua seal £ 40). Just ask if they want it and sell the idea to them.
Posted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 26 March 2004
I am at £60

But like you all I have a company in this area that cleans and protects for £45.

Does anyone know for a fact that they use water.

If not what are they using and where do they buy if from.
Posted by stevegunn (Steve Gunn), 26 March 2004
Found these prices today from olympic cleaning

Upholstery Protection
To keep your upholstery looking new for longer


Prices as follows
3M
SCOTCHGARD       CHEMSPEC
                            ENVIROSHIELD  

Five Units £105.00 £105.00


Foot Stool £10.50 £10.50


Armchair £21.00 21.00


2 Armchairs £42.00 £42.00


One 2 Seater £42.00 £42.00


One 3 Seater £63.00 £63.00


One 4 Seater £84.00 £84.00


Minimum charge of £ 47.50 inc VAT

All above prices include VAT at 17.5 %
Prices as at 16/03/2001
Above prices quoted are for services undertaken within 35 miles of our offices, we would be happy to quote for other areas.

Posted by adl (dave555), 26 March 2004
Dont know where they pulled them prices from. 4X 5litre bottle of enviroshield (same as stainshield professional except in a different bottle) costs £228.50 + VAT ammassing to £268.48 This is ready to use allowing to do the job properly and covering ALL the suite .........Work out the profit margin for yourselves (i think there not doing it properly) 3 piece suite stainguarded correctly £150.00

Carpets Stainguarded properly £4.00 per square meter
Posted by Christal_Clean (Bryan H), 26 March 2004
Dave

Are you offering guarantee for £150 ?  and is anyone else for prices being quoted ?

I charge £80 for a new suite,  but about half that if I clean it first, but no guarantee in either case.

I used to offer Stainguard guarantee from Stapro, until it went belly-up.

Bryan
Posted by SteveTruman (SteveTruman), 26 March 2004
The guarantees are not worth jack unless you have them backed by an insurance company. I payed to have a leather suite protected 4 yr ago new £160-00 D.F.S. ( I Know ) When small print is read it covers nothing....... but when it was sold you dont see the guarantee as it arrives with suite.. When i was franchised the protector was backed by an insurance co. dont know if they still cover it... But same as above £100 new and £45 if ive just cleaned it as it is only 15 mins. work extra with no guarantee.

Regards

Steve
Posted by adl (dave555), 26 March 2004
No my clients get sold this product as a guard, they get told that they stainguard is not a total protection against stains, but it, in theory, places a barrier between the fibre and the stain, under no circumstances should this ever be sold as a 100% product, they also get told that this is not designed so they can clean spills and stains up themselves but they shoud allways call on a cc to take the stain out properly.
When they ask how long it lasts you should never give them a definate answer but instead tell them all the usuall bumf about foot traffic and wear and tear, and depends if they spill chemical on carpets and it reacts with the stainguard bladybladybla and so on, we work on the principle of never selling this to our customers but instead explain what it does and wait and see if they want it. tell them if they want a guarantee use scotchguard system as its mainly an insurance policy and they proberbly have cover on their house insurance anyway
Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 27 March 2004
Dave

The Scotchgard system, as you called it, was originally backed by 3M financially but in the latter stages this was transfered to a specialist company similar to the ones used by other protection supply companies.

The original 3M warranty concept was excellent and  profitable BUT it all went to pot when the application of product was extended to the retailer in line with the practice operated by Guardsman...  
Believe it or not Guardsman had 87% of the post treatment market and to compete 3M had to go down this path.
Whilst 3M had the majority of the mill treatments... Guardsman supplied silicone treatments at the time and this could not be used in mill treatment operations.

I know for a fact the both companies suffered from poor application by retailers.

It has already been mentioned that the small print on the warranties meant that it was percieved to be of little value... much of this wording was a 'blanket' coverage...

e.g. It was found that if you came across chewing gum on a flock fabric and solvent was the logical way to remove it, the solvent, in turn, attacked the glue which held the tufts.
An exclusion was inserted into the warranty but it didn't differentiate between the fabrics as most consumers wouldn't know what a flock fabric was.

Cheers
Derek
Posted by adl (dave555), 27 March 2004
Derek,

Cheers for that every little learnt is a great asset.

I didnt know it was backed by 3m

I will bear that in mind for the future. You must however agree that alot of ccs do apply not enough to save costs as it is an expensive product to buy (a good one that is) in return for not applying it correctly they are doing more harm to themselves than good, it is no wonder that you hear the same remark over and over again "my friend had that done and it didnt work"
I would say generally that if this industry is to improve and get the proffessional back in front of all ccs then a lot of improvement is needed by the yee ha cowboy brigade.

Cheers Dave
Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 27 March 2004
Dave

You are so right....
you only have to read some of the posts on the various forums to realise that many people within our industry do not fully understand protectors, how they work, their limitations and what to do if a spillage occurs.

We are our own worst enemy often in more ways than applying a protector.

It is my belief that very few members of the public, our customers, know what a clean carpet is... many accept a 'perception' of clean ...

I suppose I have put my foot in it again with a statement like that ...but if it stimulates a good debate then so be it

Regards
Derek
Posted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 27 March 2004
on 03/27/04 at 16:29:35, Derek Bolton wrote:
Dave

It is my belief that very few members of the public, our customers, know what a clean carpet is... many accept a 'perception' of clean ...

Regards
Derek


Too true !

On many occasions, during the pre-vac with a macine that the client does not recognise as a vacuum cleaner, first-time customers have said "Isn't it comming up well?". They are then surprised when I tell them this is only stage one.

The same thing often occurs after agitation with the Host machine. In both cases I could take the money and go, leaving a satisfied customer.

These are poeple who lack any proper yardstick by which to judge the results.

I occurs to me that there are, in all probability an unknown number of CCs who are in much the same boat and splash away,  maybe for a matter of years, thinking they are doing a good job, when in reality their standards are set too low.

Regards,

John.

Posted by Dave_Lee (Dave_Lee), 27 March 2004
John,
Couldnt agree more. Not too long ago I saw a high priced TM operator clean an expensive beige twist pile carpet. For the money he was charging you would think he would have had at least a little interest in what he was doing. It didnt look like it to me. He literally, did a quick prespray ( catching the wooden furniture as he did - and not bothering to wipe off) followed by a quick rinse off. No second vac only stroke and no special attention to traffic lanes and sit areas etc. He just mentioned that he had been trying to waste time as he didnt want to seem Too Quick - given what it was costing them. He thought he was doing a good job, though he admitted he had never seen anyone elses work. I dont think he was on the right track to build up a good repeat business, more likely inevetable eventual doom.
Dave.
Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 27 March 2004
Dave

So you have seen my work, wouldn’t you charge that knowing I have to drive 250.8miles 3.51 hours and fuel £31.43? Grin

John I take it that your vac is a Henry and the customers is Dyson Huh

Derek, John & Dave

Joking apart No argument for me

Len

Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 28 March 2004
Hi Guys

Thanks for being kind to me ...I thought I was the only one with this idea.

The operator with the largest piece of equipment doesn't necessarily produce the best performance.  Wink  Grin (make of that what you will)

I honestly believe that most of us would welcome the opportunity to see other cleaners in action and assess the results of their efforts... not in a critical way but to see which techniques (the key phrase) perform the best.

I think ALL would benefit from such an experience.

Regards
Derek

Posted by Les (Les), 28 March 2004
Sorry Derek
I'm pretty broad minded....but no way is anyone watching me in action Shocked
Blimey...and then you want to copy my best techniques Shocked Roll Eyes
I can suggest some reading material if it helps  Tongue Grin
Les  Wink
Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 29 March 2004
Les

I do understand and Yes, I suppose we would all feel that way to some degree...
BUT it is only like sharing techniques/experiences over the Forum.

Others may have 'secret' techniques too

Cheers
Derek
Posted by Les (Les), 29 March 2004
Uhmm Derek,
I was being 'Suggestive' Nod Nod Wink Wink, No wot I mean  Wink Watching me in [b][/b]Action[/u]...Stealing my best [u]Techniques[u][/u]..Penny dropped yet? Grin
Oh well that's another comedy script for the bin  Wink
Les
Posted by Kinver_Clean (Kinver_Clean), 29 March 2004
A few years ago I was spotting a suite in an upmarket furniture store in the west Midlands.
A spotty youth was pumping up a sprayer with protector in it to do a suite. The manager came across and asked if he had finished yet. The youth said he was just going to spray it when the manager told him to give him the spray. 'This is how to do it ' he said as he waved the spray at the suite. 20 seconds and it was finsihed 'come on he said Down to the pub.'

Good £120 worth!
Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 29 March 2004
Les

You made a very relevant point.....

Trevor

I think your manager came to a store here in Leicester ...this particular guy I refer to sprayed a three piece suite with his overcoat and briefcase in the other hand.

Cheers
Derek
Posted by Shaun_Ashmore (Shaun_Ashmore), 29 March 2004
I don't want to get into 'dogging' but I wouldn't mind seeing an old master (no offence intended)like Derek at work.

Shaun

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