[Paul Evans]

Whilst mostly doing domestics,
I look from a custies point of view, on my own standard lounge 1 hour from pulling up to drive away. at my price (irrelevant). Whilst I have been out with a truckie on many occasions (he does a good job no different to me ) But your domestic customer see he is only 20 mins.
This is where they look at value for money,

Shame they don't realise his greater outlay.
Its all a perception of value for money.
If joe blogs is on £10-£15 a hour, see you take 3 x that in 20 mins.  they think surely
is that value for time spent.

This is all from a custie view. What are tour thoughts (domestic not big commercial )

[davep]

Simon G will be along in a minute 

[Paul Evans]

Simon G will be along in a minute 

Dave

Think Simon does the massive ships that need the titan power,
if he does domestics along the way all well and good. I have a feeling is cream maybe on the ships.

[Mike Halliday]

To start....... the concept of what is value for money is a personel thing, we cannot say what another person considers to be value for money we can only project our own values onto them.


But....

To me that is the only downside to using a truckmount, (even more so as a 2 man team) we can do work remarkably quickly, so customers could think they are not getting value for money.

We try and combat this by making thier whole cleaning experiance a major event when we leave they know something big has happened.

[Paul Evans]

Mike

That is all I was saying there is a downside, Perceived value for money.
the truckie is in and out on a lot of jobs.
The portie has time to engage with there custies,

just my opinion

If I had loads of big commercials sure this would change.

[David Ware]

You could argue the perceived side from customer is that bigger machine is doing a better job. Other factors is customer can get on with there normal daily routine quicker.
David
ps just perceived 

[stuart_clark]

Paul
I have big commercials mate ! 56 stores this month alone but would I buy a truck mount ? No of course
 Not ! What would be tne point ? No truc k mounter could cleane as quick as me doing what I do and cleaning the carpets that ive always done on a regular bassis,  
what Truck mounters will never tell you how much they spend on petrol and serviceing, ask jamie pearson what the running costs of his machinery is ? Next to nothing ! The odd belt off a cimex and thats it

[Simon Gerrard]

I can say with some degree of certainly that value for money has absolutely nothing to do with time and has everything to do with quality. A lot of customers perceive additional value having a very impressive TM on their drive and when they get a fabulous job done they don't give a monkeys how long it took.
I don't know of any average lounges that you can do in 20 mins which is what I think Paul was suggesting his truckie mate can do.
Paul is right not to want a TM as he may not have the volume to justify one, which is fair dinkum.

Simon

[Simon Gerrard]

Stuart,
Running cost of a TM 4%
Servicing costs, oil, air & oil filter, spark plugs.
What's expensive about that?
Oh and an hourly earn rate? Well it's got three figures to it.

I've got a Cimex too and know exactly what you mean about LM costs, but we are talking about two completely different systems, each of which has advantages over the other.

Simon

[stuart_clark]

Simon my hourly rate today mate was  £155.56 and no costs apart from some cleaning solution ! I think it was £ 10.21 inc vat and lets say you earn £1500 per week thats £60 on petrol alone ! Over 3 thousand quid a year mate , but I doubt the petrol costs are only 4% as i  know a very large  cleaning company in newcastle with 6 truckmounts and there petrol costs are much higher than what you are quotating
P S   simon you obviously dont use your Cimex machine very oftern ! As you wouldn't bother  with a truckmount  as you would know you could clean a lot more poroductive and much more cost evective with a cimex, even on cruise liners  its not all about cfm and water mate ! Lol

[peter maybury]

Whenever this topic arises what the portable users fail to understand I that most truckmounters have progressed from using portables in the first place. In most cases it is professional pride in wanting the best tool for the job. If you are going into customers with a portable then customers will not say certain thing that they would say to a truckmounter, so you can only see the one side of the coin.
We hear the comments such as the last guy only had one of those electric things. So your opinions are also going to be one sided.
Truckmounters will normally have portables and encap as well.
If I jut used low moisture systems there are  a lot of jobs that I would not be able to take on because the system I just not effective enough in the first place and as a genuine person I am unable to effectively sell an ineffective system.
As Jamie will tell you himself there are areas on jobs that he will extract because of the soil conditions.
Having a selection of equipment allows you to service a much broader customer base with the confidence and the knowledge that you can provide the right system for each individual circumstance.
I am not as selective in my marketing as somebody who just has one system so can just advertise without having to target specific customers.
Anybody with any knowledge of the industry and training will understand that there is not one tool that is right for every situation and it is swings and roundabouts. Many of the jobs that I encap will have greater chemical costs than the fuel that I would burn using a truckmount , I am happy to have the choice in the first place. A truckmounters nightmare is having to use a portable as you are constantly questioning whether the bloody thing is working properly as the power is so so inferior to what we are used to using.
It took me about 10 year to understand the benefits of a truckmount and my biggest regret is the failure to make that understanding earlier, as I was biased myself.
A truckmount certainly changed my business and also a lot of my customers perceptions.
Those that see things as an us an but d them situation are wrong, we have just progressed, but are just thankful that we do not need to use the portable as often, it is jut a reminder of how life is so much easier truckmounted.

Peter

[clive ware]

Ive been truckmounting for 20 years and have  an lm system and high powered porty as well. I dont know any truckmounter who would choose a high powered porty over a tm unles he absolutely had to which is the case for me.
I did a flat 5 floors up last week and had already planned to take my porty up the lift but when I realised I could park pretty much underneath the flat I packed my porty away and chose to use my tm. Porty is used at a very last resort.
There are also certain situations where I would use lm over tm but these are also few and far between. I do quite a lot of nursing homes and a hospital. I`d rather use lm on these carpets and with the hopital. do so on the ground and first floor which are never that bad as they have them cleaned every 4 months but the top floor which gets pretty marked can only be cleaned with the tm as lm just will not work on it. I`ve tried everything on it - encap, dry fusion, texatherm etc. 

[gwrightson]

I first started cleaning carpets porty was my machine ,not because of choice but because of affordability in setting up , I spent a little time with M.H. in the early days learning the ropes , of course Mike been a tm owner I was in awe at the system and cleaning time on the job, how ever been a porty owner I was one of the owners always defending the porty v tm debate  on here and other forums, why ? when I knew the capabilities and speed of a tm, I was in hindsight defending my working methods using a porty when infact I knew dam well a porty did not come near to a tm in performance and earning potential,,,,,,,,,,, simples.

When the opportunity arose to buy a tm at the right money and after a little advice from my mentor I took the plunge , how my thoughts changed , I see all the same arguments by porty owners now, I understand their defensive mode, some will see the light one day m some will carry on with all the old reasons not to, and some will sit back hoping for the day they get one, I can hear the bullets now , but be honest ,stop looking for ridiculous reasons as to why you should not have a tm.

Running costs are minimal, I use red diesel both for running machine and burner,  yes I do have the odd problem like a coupling breaking perhaps m but nothing that hasn't been solved normally within 3 to 4 hours down time. and yes I have had to spend getting on for 1k recently on a new cylinder head and servicing other things whilst the tm was out of van, I can live with that, knowing it should last me for quite a while longer now.

PRICE   for time spent at a customers, well I used to be embarrassed by the time it took to clean a room , I felt a little guilty about the rate it so much easier and faster, not any more ,I justify my charge and time spent in home by informing the customer when surveying, explain why so quick, and why so much better, (ouch, remember I am selling, not discussing with a porty cc )  and vast majority are more than happy with the benefit of faster drying times, and amount of time in the home getting the job done.
My been there, done it, tried it opinions.
geoff
 
When I first purchased a tm a number of years ago now,

[clive ware]

Got to use my porty on first job this morning 5 floors up!!

[Simon Gerrard]

Simon my hourly rate today mate was  £155.56 and no costs apart from some cleaning solution ! I think it was £ 10.21 inc vat and lets say you earn £1500 per week thats £60 on petrol alone ! Over 3 thousand quid a year mate , but I doubt the petrol costs are only 4% as i  know a very large  cleaning company in newcastle with 6 truckmounts and there petrol costs are much higher than what you are quotating
P S   simon you obviously dont use your Cimex machine very oftern ! As you wouldn't bother  with a truckmount  as you would know you could clean a lot more poroductive and much more cost evective with a cimex, even on cruise liners  its not all about cfm and water mate ! Lol

I've got two TM's, Titan 875 and a Max 450D. The Titan runs on lpg is costs us 4%. The Max runs on red diesel which costs even less.
We do a very wide cross section of carpets from domestics to  filthy pubs and restaurants (a Cimex would be a joke in these situations), right up to cruise ships which specify the TM system because here are other elements to consider within the spec. The objective for a professional carpet cleaner is to be in a position to clean ANY carpet in ANY location, regardless of age or condition. In order to be able to do that you need more than one cleaning option, which is why most carpet cleaners have a range of systems at their disposal and not just one, just a mechanic has more than one spanner.
Case in point in the picture. A carpet in a pub that hasn't been cleaned - ever and is filthy. Would you choose LM for this, or RX20 and a TM. If you've only got LM then you don't have a choice and the choice is never made on cost. So you burner a few litres of fuel, so what! As long as the job is done right, who cares.

Simon

[Len Gribble]

Clive

Hope the lift works; do you get the water from the bin store? All that up and down just for water and duping! Use a TM it more efficient in the long run

[gwrightson]

Got to use my porty on first job this morning 5 floors up!!

Never mind ,  by time you have dragged that up the stairs, tm would have had it done . 

geoff

[Simon Gerrard]

Clive,
You need the exercise, so even if the lift is working you should hump it up there

[stuart_clark]

How many carpet cleaning companys are they in the uk ? I dont know the figures but I bet less than 10 % are truck mounters !  And you never get an honest answer from debates like this as no truckmounter wants to acept that his high powered portable could do just as a good good job as his high power truck mount, I know a lot of carpet cleaners including myself who has previously owned a truck mount who is more than happy to use a high powered porty  and certainly run a very profitable business  and never dream of using a tm,  I went to a job in north yorkshire last friday, a new customer to me but had used a local carpet cleaner with a truckmount previously, I wont mention names as I think the guy comes on here, but the customer was not impressed with his machine, all she kept going on about was how incredibly noisey the thing was  and how he had just done an ok job but nothing spectaculer,
also he had managed to shrink her £2000 persian rug, funilly enough she had'nt noticed the damage as it was rucked in the middle

[stuart_clark]

I think I would only ever consider another truck mount is when I am old and decrpepid like you Simon
as I will have dificulty lifting out my high powered porty from my van !

Only joking Simon ! Lol 

[Simon Gerrard]

We can all come up with stories about people using different systems to ourselves and use them to help us establish that our system is the best. The trouble is, debates like this are useless and usually end in people getting offended and all, for nothing.
The important thing, regardless of your preferred system, is that your customers are happy with your service and your business makes money. End of.

Simon

[Simon Gerrard]

 Stuart,
 

[stuart_clark]

Well said 

[bennymon]

The customer doesn't care what you use as long as there carpet is clean when you leave   . Del

[Neil Jones]

Who cares, I use a puzzi and just throw fairly liquid in. Cheap as chips, one trip from the van as I can carry everything and if I can fit in 12-15 living rooms a day I make £130 quid which where  I live goes a long way.

Plus Mike has taught me how to get cheap labour 

[Len Gribble]

Del

Don’t you mean the appearance of clean!!!!! With a porty!!!

Neil I take it you know Del boy

[garybristow]

ive got a prochem blazer,it is an entry level machine,i also use a prochem steameasy porty
they are chalk and cheese,there is no comparison also a living room in 20 minutes is cobblers
setting up,pre spray ,bit of furniture moving?
sorry cant happen
gary
and relaxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[john martin]

Isnt that a really old single vac ?  Its hardly the best candidate for a porty vs TM debate   

[stuart_clark]

You would be very lucky toclean an average room with a steem easy in 1 hour twenty mins!
One small two or three stage vac and a 50psi flo jet pump , hardly compares tosomething like a storm or a jag does it ?

[wynne jones]

I could never go back to using a portable because I've indoctrinated all my customers into believing that anything less is inferior and a lot of them told their friends this because I told them so and I am an expert. 

Of course they don't care what you use if you never sell what your using or yourself.

[stuart_clark]

So lets see, we all have to become Truck mounters to be an expert in carpet cleaning hmm

[Simon Gerrard]

Yup, that's about it, Stuart 

[stuart_clark]

Thats the Titan ordered !

[wynne jones]

So lets see, we all have to become Truck mounters to be an expert in carpet cleaning hmm

That was said tongue in cheek. My point is we all have to sell our offerings presenting them in the best way we can. To be perceived as an expert is a big factor in gaining the confidence of a customer, but then you have to deliver if you want to keep them.

If I was using a portable I would be extolling the virtues of my unique offerings.

[stuart_clark]

Its ok Wynne I meant the same mate

[Derek_Walker]

I wouldn't worry too much about the machinery, probably about 70% of the population think a rug doctor is the professionals choice, so anything bigger than that is going to impress them.

[peter maybury]

I did not choose a truckmount because it is truckmounted or because it runs on petrol. I chose to go truckmounted because it is a vastly superior machine to any of the 20 odd portable that machine that I have owned. None of them even came close. Like Simon I started out with a single vac oscilating pump machine, because at the time that was all I knew about. As my business improved so did the equipment. The difference between the two, is not just that one is built into the van and the other is not.
The machines are beyond comparison I only have a small truckmount but that produces 18 hp of power. That would equate to approx. the power you could get from 7 x 13 amp plugs give or take.
When I use a portable the drop in power is so vast that you wonder whether the machine is working properly. You cannot compare it to a truckmount.
The difference in power is far, far greater than the difference you would experience from going to a high end portable to something like a puzzi machine. I remember making the move up and it gave me result that were beyond comparison, and I did get results that I would have never achieved with the far inferior equipment.
You cannot make an informed decision on this subject by reading the information that some people talk about on here, you only need to see a truckmount alongside a portable to realise it I like comparing chalk and cheese.
It is always the porties, who compare their machines to truckmounts we who have experience of both understand that they are quite simply beyond comparison.

Peter

[jasonl]

Got one now myself , after dabbling a couple of times , got a water cooled twin wand chemspec  machine .

[*Hector*]

I thought you were getting out of this industry Jason? and going into financial services...

[Simon Gerrard]

He is in financial services, servicing his bank account thru carpet cleaning

[jasonl]

I did the training , but business has bounced back to well over pre recession levels , so Im back in .

[bennymon]

Len will you be coming to the TACCA day this year not seen you in a long time . Del

[Bob Allen]

I remember when i had a portable doing alot of rental propertys
the number of times there was no hot water, only one plug in the room (needed two)
also themachine would trip electricity, thats if the key meter hadnt run out ouf credit
all these things arnt a problem with a self contained truckmount.

[Darren O]

I still use my Powerflight 1350 for cleaning upholstery and doing the odd flat were parking is a nightmare it still does a great job wouldnt want to be without it but it dosent come close to the power and speed of a truckmount.

[ian harper]

Paul

your need to start using splash and dash in your marketing -)

http://chelmsford.cleaning-carpet.co.uk/carpet-cleaning-chelmsford/choosing-a-carpet-cleaners/

I with you on this, but i will be getting a Tm and just so i can offer the service as an upgrade and still be cheaper than most TM. by doing this the customer now has the choice tm or portable. and the over priced TM's will not be able to out market the portable any more with the "More powerful" we all know its emulsification that does the heavy lifting. and the real reason people that clean homes use them is because they are very productive and can say the above in marketing.

Ask a TM guy what he uses on a large commercial job?

so you might want to reconsider not getting a TM -)

If you had an upgrade to a TM for £10 would the customer go for it or not? it demonstrates to the customer that they should be using other reasons for choosing a carpet cleaner like qualifications and good trade memberships.

Its strange how many Tm guys do hard floors, funny that. surly they are so busy cleaning carpets? The reason its a USP and I dont like how they look down on portable machines. put two images side by side one portable and one, TM, no difference. so for the customer what are they really getting? a better cleaner carpet or just a more expensive one?

Trolls dont bother replying. it only my view, respect mine as I do yours.

[Peter Sweeney]

?

[Simon Gerrard]

Once again Ian I can't make out what you are sayin,g or who you are saying it to.

It is clear however that you have no fundamental understanding of what trucks mounts are, what benefits they bring to the operator and customer and why people invest in them.
You don't offer TM cleaning as an 'upgrade' it's standard to every customer.
You're very big on marketing, well then you would have a field day if you had a TM because they are as much a marketing system as they are a cleaning system.

Simon

[John Kelly]

Look at it as a grass cutter. The customer has a large lawn wants cutting. You can do it with a push along and it will do a fine job and customer will be happy or you can do it with a petrol engined mower, it will do a fine job and customer will be happy and you'll be on to your next job a lot quicker.

[Jamie Pearson]

A truckmount is a tool for a job not a USP.

Get the work, get the machine. Not the machine then the work.

A good example is an owner operator who is flat out and needs to take on a member of staff.

The option could be get a TM and become more productive. In the first year the machine would cost you the same as a years wages.

[Simon Gerrard]

I have to disagree with Jamie on this.
A truckmount is a tool for a job not a USP.

The USP value of having a TM is huge, provided you use it in the right way.
We get calls all the time saying, 'are you the people with the big machine in the van?' And our existing customers attribute the quality of what we do to having that big machine in the van (we all know that is not necessarily true) and because of that perception stick with us across generations.
Passers by ask for cards and looking at the machine say, 'wow, that's an impressive piece of kit.'
It is the fact that you have a piece of kit that looks so utterly professional that leads people to believe that you'll do a great job, which of course we do.
The machine is doing the marketing for you because it looks so unique and distinct from any other carpet cleaning machines they have seen and this helps generate sales that you wouldn't have otherwise have had.

That said, it is only fair to say that it is not necessarily the machine that does a great job, it's the person using it and we all know that you can do a great job with far less powerful systems.

Simon

[Glynn]

Simon
You are never going to convince them, or should I say, they are never going to believe you
 ( thankfully)

[Simon Gerrard]

It's all lies anyway, Glyn 

[Mike Halliday]

Ian makes a number of pionts.....

To answer one, would  A customer  pay an extra £10 for thier clean if a truckmount was used? (he suggests not) which might be the case if it was a single room and the carpet cleaner was going to charge £20. An extra £10 is a 50% increase in price for someone who has already chosen a budget clean.

Now if you were charging £80 and offered the £10  ' upgrade' ( Ian's words) then I bet they would..... plus what about the full house clean at £240, would the £10 upgrade be turned down?

I know carpet cleaners that up-sell deodoriser for £20 a room, I don't think up-selling a truckmount for £10 is difficult.

[wynne jones]

' i will be getting a Tm and just so i can offer the service as an upgrade'

Ian you are the troll, you just say whatever you think will wind us up. There is no logic to what you say and you contradict yourself all the time. Didn't you have a truckmount before and sold it and slagged them off, now you are supposedly getting one. I hope you do get one and stick with it this time.   

Your point about commercial is valid though to a point. I do all offices with LM on low profile, but what about a large club with wool pile carpets, you use the best tool for the job.

[Mike Halliday]

The commercial example is not a valid point it's the same as me asking if you use a wand on upholstery and when you say"no" me saying a wand must be over rated then.

Not using a truckmount on commercial jobs is the same as not using a wand on upholstery,...... it's not the appropriate tool for the job. .....It does not belittle a truckmount it just show it's not the right tool.

[Simon Gerrard]

Depends what kind of commercial job you're doing.

Simon

[mr muzzy]

Look at it as a grass cutter. The customer has a large lawn wants cutting. You can do it with a push along and it will do a fine job and customer will be happy or you can do it with a petrol engined mower, it will do a fine job and customer will be happy and you'll be on to your next job a lot quicker.

sorry mr Kelly the man from the company that I got my machine from told me, there machines were a lot better than any t m , he talked to me for a good few hours. going over everything about this subject,,
I think you need to talk to him too he seems to know what hes talking about xxsee you soon xx

[Simon Gerrard]

Which machine was he talking to you about?

Simon

[Glynn]

Look at it as a grass cutter. The customer has a large lawn wants cutting. You can do it with a push along and it will do a fine job and customer will be happy or you can do it with a petrol engined mower, it will do a fine job and customer will be happy and you'll be on to your next job a lot quicker.

sorry mr Kelly the man from the company that I got my machine from told me, there machines were a lot better than any t m , he talked to me for a good few hours. going over everything about this subject,,
I think you need to talk to him too he seems to know what hes talking about xxsee you soon xx

Does he have the initials JH by any chance and has a business in the North East ?

[David Ware]

Ian you are the troll, you just say whatever you think will wind us up. There is no logic to what you say and you contradict yourself all the time. Didn't you have a truckmount before and sold it and slagged them off, now you are supposedly getting one.

I can remember Ian on Cleantalk a few years back getting help advise and picking there brains about TM and carpet cleaning only to slag off the same people on his website about TM's
David

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Didn't you buy a prowler Ian and then market it as a cheap way to clean carpets ?
If I remember, you were criticised for that marketing strategy by both portable owners and truckmounters alike.
 

[wynne jones]

Didn't you buy a prowler Ian and then market it as a cheap way to clean carpets ?
If I remember, you were criticised for that marketing strategy by both portable owners and truckmounters alike.
 

You are right Steve, I remember the video he did which basically was saying don't pay me much because I'm quicker with a TM. Didn't make sense then either.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

http://chelmsford.cleaning-carpet.co.uk/carpet-cleaning-chelmsford/choosing-a-carpet-cleaners/

Did any of my truckmount colleagues actually read this link ?

Unbelievable  

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Apparently most splash and dash merchants are truck mounted ?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I don't think Ian is here to 'wind us up' Ian is in his own way trying to discuss marketing on social media something I know very little about, i just think that keeping up with him is the hardest bit.

Shaun

[John Kelly]

Its past your bedtime Keith. Yes Glynn he's just ordered a Turbo. You should have got one and sold your truckmount

[stuart_clark]

Whats a turbo ?

[mr muzzy]

Look at it as a grass cutter. The customer has a large lawn wants cutting. You can do it with a push along and it will do a fine job and customer will be happy or you can do it with a petrol engined mower, it will do a fine job and customer will be happy and you'll be on to your next job a lot quicker.

sorry mr Kelly the man from the company that I got my machine from told me, there machines were a lot better than any t m , he talked to me for a good few hours. going over everything about this subject,,
I think you need to talk to him too he seems to know what hes talking about xxsee you soon xx

lol yes mate just kidding with john Kelly

Does he have the initials JH by any chance and has a business in the North East ?

[*Hector*]

I don't want a truck mount because.....................................



It wont fit in the back of my skoda felicia... 

[Mr Dvae]

'Get the work, get the machine. Not the machine then the work'

isn't that a little like saying 'i'll get my daughter a bicycle when she's learn't to ride one"?




Dave

[stuart_clark]

No it isn't

[maxcampbell]

I've said it before, but it's what I believe - any CC'er who gets busy enough will end up with a TM.

Nearly all the people who do get TM's have worked their way up from porties, and wouldn't want to go back.

TM's do do a better job - if not in the cleaning, then in the drying - I was amazed at how dry we were leaving carpets when we first got a TM.

It is easy & obvious to charge just that little bit more, or convert a better percentage of quotes, when you tell people you've got a machine 7x or 10x times as powerful as the bloke down the road with "One of those little electric machines." (and it's self contained, hot water right from the start, etc, etc - it is a very easy sale for us if we're quoting against a porty user.)

We're all allowed to talk b******s on our website, but the link from Steve, presumably Ian's site, does seem to hit a high in this regard - we TM'ers are "creaking (sic) nuts", apparently.

Running costs are negligible compared to greater output. If you really want to spend time engaging with customers, you could get a helper, which allows that and more throughput, but my betting is that the answer is in my first sentence - you say you don't want a TM because you're not busy enough.

[Simon Gerrard]

I've got two powerful porties and only use them when I absolutely have to, today was one of those days. Lift it out of the van push it to the door, fill it up, plug it in, start cleaning, stop, fill it up again and empty it.........
Do they do a good job? Sure do, but god almighty what a palaver.
Next job done with the TM in a fraction of the time.

Simon

[Glynn]

I've got two powerful porties and only use them when I absolutely have to, today was one of those days. Lift it out of the van push it to the door, fill it up, plug it in, start cleaning, stop, fill it up again and empty it.........
Do they do a good job? Sure do, but god almighty what a palaver.
Next job done with the TM in a fraction of the time.

Simon

Which powerful portie Simon ?,
Iv'e never come across one of these.

[wynne jones]

I'm going to try and be as unbiased as possible here, I may fail but..

I can honestly say I have huge respect for someone like Hector. He knows what he wants for him and what other people think doesn't matter. He's working on a shoestring without a care in the world. The main thing though is his clients are happy and that's all that matters. He also takes a huge amount of stick on here with a real sense of humour.

However, I think getting a TM soon as you can will be the best decision you make. Sure, if you are sht at marketing you wont get anywhere and if you are a crap cleaner no TM will make up for that. As sson as you get yours you can role up to a pub or restaurant and SHOW them what you can do in 10-15 minutes. This is something I got off Simon off here a long time ago and it pretty much paid for the thing.  

If you are a go getter you can do twice as many jobs as a portable user and if you are a bit lazy you can make a lot more per hour and be home for Countdown.

Price and a fear of the mechanicals is what put people off but honestly after a month or two you will be laughing about how silly you were.