Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: The Carpet Cleaning Pro on June 10, 2012, 06:33:47 pm
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A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialized set of tasks and to complete them for a fee.
Definition
The main criteria for professional include the following:
1.Expert and specialized knowledge in field which one is practicing professionally.
2.Excellent manual/practical and literary skills in relation to profession.
3.High quality work in (examples): creations, products, services, presentations, consultancy, primary/other research, administrative, marketing, photography or other work endeavours.
4.A high standard of professional ethics, behaviour and work activities while carrying out one's profession (as an employee, self-employed person, career, enterprise, business, company, or partnership/associate/colleague, etc.). The professional owes a higher duty to a client, often a privilege of confidentiality, as well as a duty not to abandon the client just because he or she may not be able to pay or remunerate the professional. Often the professional is required to put the interest of the client ahead of his own interests.
5.Reasonable work morale and motivation. Having interest and desire to do a job well as holding positive attitude towards the profession are important elements in attaining a high level of professionalism.
6.Participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavour often engaged in by amateurs b : having a particular profession as a permanent career c : engaged in by persons receiving financial return
7.Appropriate treatment of relationships with colleagues. Consideration should be shown to elderly, junior or inexperienced colleagues, as well as those with special needs. An example must be set to perpetuate the attitude of one's business without doing it harm.
8.A professional is an expert who is master in a specific field.
So do people see us as professionals, or... just a trade???
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As professional tradespeople
They are never going to see as one of the 'Professions,' doctors, lawyers etc, of course not, why would, should they?
Simon
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So do people see us as professionals, or... just a trade???
The question was 'Do people see us........' not what we think of ourselves.
I believe it's split, for those who initially see us as tradesmen, will change their stance if you've been called out to deal with a tricky stain and achieve the desied result that they couldn't, suddenly they'll see us as Professionals.
My opinion of what the public perceive as professionals are for those occupations where qualifications and training are manditory, and controlled by organisations. Carpet cleaning isn't.
For me the word professional means someone who is paid a full time wage to carry out a specific trade.
Technically the players at the football club I support who play in the Conference are professional football players which is the same as Premier League players are called, because they are paid a full time wage to play football, the fact that several of them aren't as good as they think they might be doesn't change what they might put on their passport applications ;D
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Professional is as professional does ;)
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They can call me Shirley Bassey as long as they put the dough in my palms.
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They can call me Shirley Bassey as long as they put the dough in my palms.
Go on then give us a song Shirl ;D
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See the second half of my post ;)
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We are simply cleaners.
Anyone can clean a carpet in a week or two. Professionals go to university and then do lots of additional education before they can call themselves professionals.
How dare we even suggest we are on par with such folk. ;D
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Wooden Spoon Alert!!!!
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wynne,when you go to a carpet that is filthy they are calling in a pro person because its something they cant do thereself
i turn up with a headful of knowledge,ive been trained,i have about £17.000 of truck mounted cleaning equipment,i am uniformed up ,i have a company image with experience of 27 years,i rarely advertise as i have built a customer base
you can call yourselves what you like! personally im a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner!!
( i can hear the tune from the dambusters as im typing this) ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Professional is in the eye of the beholder!
What counts as professional to one person, would not necessarily be the same to another. :)
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Thing is you can turn up in a suit, with top of the range equipment, but you're still a cleaner, I'm not even sure if it's considered a trade? I don't want to knock it but it seems some people here think they're working in canary wharf and won't get out of bed for less than £50 an hour ::) I think those type of people make a mockery of the 'profession'.
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We don't charge less than £50 per hour, neither should anyone else, IMO, I don't go to work in a suit, or work in Canary Wharf ;D
Simon
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I really do think people generally see us a cleaners.
If we go around talking to custies and telling them we ain't worth much and that anyone can do the job then it just confirms the stereotype.
When I work for a custy for the first time they soon change there perception and if they don't I really don't want them as a long term client anyway.
Ultimately we are business people and anyone who runs a profitable business is 10 times the YES man in a suit doing a 9-5.
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That's a fair point, you could see us as businessmen in sales, marketing, and some cleaning :)
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In any type of 'work' there are what one calls 'professionals' and 'others' - call it trade or whatever.
In our industry, I have found there are two types of 'cleaners'.
In the last month I have been to a couple of new clients - in both cases I have been confronted with averagely soiled carpets and in both cases the clients have pointed out a few stains where they have said that they weren't to concerned about these as the carpet cleaners they had used before were unable to remove them and thus they had accepted that these were permanent. In one case the stains didn't cause me a great problem - the second case required a fair amount of work but had a positive result.
I charge accordingly - and thus regard myself as a 'professional' in this particular industry. The ones that cleaned those carpets before me are obviously 'trade or others'.
I know a number of carpet cleaners - a limited number on this forum - who fall into the 'professional' catagory
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Hi Elliott
Good point and a situation Im sure most of us face almost daily.
In your case did you 'know' you could remove the stains before attempting to and so set the price or did you determine the charge after obtaining the desired result?
Sometimes I think pro stain removal should be an additional fee, depending upon the result.
Thanks
Mark
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What's wrong with tradesman? A master carpenter is still a tradesman yet the difference in workmanship between that and someone who struggles to bang two bits of wood together is enormous! I don't really think of it as a derogatory term to be honest
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We are not listed as a trade on wikipedia :o but 'carpet layer' is.
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I dont think being a carpet cleaner is a trade.
I would consider it a service.
Lets be honest, there is no barrier to entry, anyone can become a "professional carpet cleaner"
There is no regulation, sorry NCCA and TACCA people ;) but there is no real regulation of this industry or industry standard.
Its fairly easy. I don't think I've worked in anything that didn't require ongoing education or personal development.
As a carpet cleaner, we are a cleaning service, that's all really. Nothing more, nothing less. Everybody has to know something about what they do for a living. I'd bet washing cars can be quite technical. I'd certainly think twice about who washes my Ferrari ( If I had one )
But I don't consider myself to be a cleaner, very far from it actually. I may do the cleaning, but I am a business owner, a professional. I do the hiring/buying/selling/negotiations/marketing/strategy/planning/budgets/accounts.
So I call myself a business man, very few people can run a business like most of us do, it takes guts and brains.
But my helper: He's a cleaner, he's not a tradesman
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I'm a carpet cleaner which is, well, just a cleaner (sorry to burst any egos out there). I don't call this a trade as it's just, well, cleaning. You can set up within a day and off you go. Whether you have the latest t/m or porty, this, that or the other, it's simply cleaning. You may be a businessman running your business and you maybe successful, but you are still a cleaner, a carpet cleaner and that's what most member's of the public persieve us to be :)
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That attitude is exactly what separates the guys who earn minimum wage money from those who aim and achieve higher ;)
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That attitude is exactly what separates the guys who earn minimum wage money from those who aim and achieve higher ;)
You can have a different attitude and aim to earn high, however, no matter how you look at yourself, you're still a cleaner albeit a carpet cleaner!
Are you embarrassed to say you're cleaner? I'm not. I clean carpets for a living, I offer a service and that's what I do. If you try talking up cleaning as a trade and make carpet cleaning or any cleaning into something technical and grand then people will just laugh behind your back. Get over it, we may be businessmen running our small businessess, but we are just cleaner's at the end of the day. (And now along comes all the suppliers on here saying different to sell their gear) Wait for it......
If you want to have a trade or profession behind you go and become a dentist, doctor, mechanic, electrician etc etc. ;D
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We are businessmen/women running a business and all it entails which is the 'glory' part of it which is no different to any small shop keeper.
There are 'some' elements of the job it that require a certain amount of knowledge above that of let's say.... a road cleaner but at the end of the day our chosen job title is Carpet Cleaner which requires at it's basics no formal training or qualifications.
I have a trade to my name which is Plant Mechanic, that took the best part of 4 years training with exams before I could honestly say I was a fully training Plant Mechanic, and even then I honestly say there was still a lot to learn and experience before being totally competent.
We can be professional in our approach to the job which is different to the actual job as a profession or trade.
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Carpetpiles is right, the original question was what do OTHER PEOPLE see us as? No matter how professional or good you may be, you/we are just cleaners in the eyes of the public, and even though some here expect and think they deserve to be earning as much per hour as a doctor etc, you do not command the same respect as these professions, all we do is take away dirt from carpets :) Just be happy that we can earn as much as we do, for what is really easy work.
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all we do is take away dirt from carpets
That might be all you do :)
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If you have a low opinion of yourself and what you do, how is anybody else going to have a better perception of you ? The truth is that there are a lot of poeple in the industry that do not even realise the amount of knowlege, skills and equipment that you need to be seen as a pofessional.
How many on here will use this forum as a substitute for putting their hands in their pockets to invest in themselves and their businesses, by getting proffessional training.
Yes there is a lot of information given out on here but there are also a lot of myths and bullpoop spread about by people.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com
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Personally I would like to earn more than a Doctor.
Key thing to remember here is that you are the boss of a business, doesn't matter what role you play in it.
That business can make you fortunes.
I learnt this lesson early on:
4 members of my family are chartered accountants, my uncle is a CFO of a listed company.
His brother (my dad) cant add 2 and 2 but he is an entrepreneur and has always run his own businesses, various kinds...
My dad's business, which are Corporate Bed and Breakfasts earn him more money than my uncle who is a CFO.
My dad and I are the same, carpet cleaning is my business. I earn the same as my siblings who are advertising executives.
I run a carpet cleaning business and my customers talk to me on a same level basis because that is the image I project, I've never had anyone look down at me or perceive me to be just a cleaner, never.
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Personally I would like to earn more than a Doctor.
Key thing to remember here is that you are the boss of a business, doesn't matter what role you play in it.
That business can make you fortunes.
I learnt this lesson early on:
4 members of my family are chartered accountants, my uncle is a CFO of a listed company.
His brother (my dad) cant add 2 and 2 but he is an entrepreneur and has always run his own businesses, various kinds...
My dad's business, which are Corporate Bed and Breakfasts earn him more money than my uncle who is a CFO.
My dad and I are the same, carpet cleaning is my business. I earn the same as my siblings who are advertising executives.
I run a carpet cleaning business and my customers talk to me on a same level basis because that is the image I project, I've never had anyone look down at me or perceive me to be just a cleaner, never.
That's great, BUT, you're still a carpet cleaner!
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Warren,
Head -----> Brick wall ;D
Let the guy get on with it, he knows best :)
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Warren,
Head -----> Brick wall ;D
Let the guy get on with it, he knows best :)
Well, I wouldn't say that BUT I think you're trying to be, or wanting to be someone other than just a small business man / carpet cleaner ;D
Try applying for MI5 or MI6 ;D ;D Now, that's a REAL job!!!!
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My sister tidys the house before she goes out in case she gets burgled while she is out, this weekend she traveled for 4 hrs in trousers so tight she was complaining all the way, just so a spotty 17yr old receptionist didn't think she looked 'common'
Her Life is controlled by strangers she has never met because she is so concerned by what over people will think of her.
All These people who are worried that people see them as 'cleaners' need to set themselves free from the chains of self inflicted worry.
Call me a poopshovellingbumlickingjisumwipingmuckspreader..... I couldn't care less, how is my life effected by what anyone else perceives me to be?
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I think people are now starting to associate the word 'professional' with making lots of money. They are unconnected.
I bet there are people on here who read a post about padding with a rotary and encap and are making double or triple what some on here who have been on every single course.
Sure you can get certain stains out, you can retuft a carpet, sort out other people's messes but that's not a guaranteed ticket to riches.
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My sister tidys the house before she goes out in case she gets burgled while she is out, this weekend she traveled for 4 hrs in trousers so tight she was complaining all the way, just so a spotty 17yr old receptionist didn't think she looked 'common'
Her Life is controlled by strangers she has never met because she is so concerned by what over people will think of her.
All These people who are worried that people see them as 'cleaners' need to set themselves free from the chains of self inflicted worry.
Call me a poopshovellingbumlickingjisumwipingmuckspreader..... I couldn't care less, how is my life effected by what anyone else perceives me to be?
Spot on. The majority of us are one-man-band carpet cleaner's / small businessmen - simples!
Why make out that your someone special?
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"Spot on. The majority of us are one-man-band carpet cleaner's / small businessmen"
You've made progress, well done.
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"Spot on. The majority of us are one-man-band carpet cleaner's / small businessmen"
You've made progress, well done.
;D Still a carpet cleaner though (no getting away from it) and the public don't like to pay cleaner's alot do they?
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My sister tidys the house before she goes out in case she gets burgled while she is out, this weekend she traveled for 4 hrs in trousers so tight she was complaining all the way, just so a spotty 17yr old receptionist didn't think she looked 'common'
Her Life is controlled by strangers she has never met because she is so concerned by what over people will think of her.
All These people who are worried that people see them as 'cleaners' need to set themselves free from the chains of self inflicted worry.
Call me a poopshovellingbumlickingjisumwipingmuckspreader..... I couldn't care less, how is my life effected by what anyone else perceives me to be?
Your sister is concerned about the impression she gives off and so do you. We all do. Impression is everything.
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""Still a carpet cleaner though (no getting away from it) and the public don't like to pay cleaner's alot do they?""
This is precisely why you should change your idea of yourself.
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""Still a carpet cleaner though (no getting away from it) and the public don't like to pay cleaner's alot do they?""
This is precisely why you should change your idea of yourself.
Huh ???
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I'm going to contradict myself here, but anyway.
If you clean something a house cleaner can clean, then you are a cleaner. :D If you are cleaning an 18th century tapestry you are a very well paid cleaner and Mrs Mop a poorly paid cleaner. But you're still a cleaner.
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I'm going to contradict myself here, but anyway.
If you clean something a house cleaner can clean, then you are a cleaner. :D If you are cleaning an 18th century tapestry you are a very well paid cleaner and Mrs Mop a poorly paid cleaner. But you're still a cleaner.
Whey hey, you got it brother ;)
Now we're making progress!
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I can't remember which footballer it was who was being abused by some fans in the street but he just laughed at them and said "I would love to stay and chat, but I have to go buy my mum a new house" ...Do you think he gave a flying f#ck how others 'perceived' him?
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I think we have gone off track.
My points are that we are a businesses, allbeit small.... yes
And, with the impression thing.
I'm talking about the impression we like to give off to customers.
Do you not dress smart for them because of how you wish to be perceived? Or do you not give a flying duck?
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Dave Liahona doesnt give a flying ............ and look how he dresses and looks.
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I think people are mistaking being professional for being A professional (in the traditional solicitor!accountant sense).
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I'm a businessman I used to be a carpet cleaner when I worked for someone but then I didn't go out selling or do paper work make decissions on buying machinery etc
Shaun
PS I'm also a landlord/property magnet ;D does that make me Rigsby
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quote author=Shaun_Ashmore link=topic=153885.msg1277468#msg1277468 date=1340124562]
I'm a businessman I used to be a carpet cleaner [/quote]
Shaun, if you're not a carpet cleaner, then who does your work for you?
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I clean carpets as well as doing invoicing does that make me a bookeeper?
Shaun
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I clean carpets as well as doing invoicing does that make me a bookeeper?
Shaun
So, basically you're a carpet cleaner like the rest of us ;D
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I'm not sure what a property magnet is? :P
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I stick to fridge doors.
Shaun
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Shaun
Come to think of it you do look like Leonard Rossiter ;D ;D :D ;)