Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Jennifer w on April 25, 2014, 04:50:37 pm
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Hi there, I'm new to the forum, so a quick introduction. We run a small/med sized operation supplying services for commercial and domestic rentals. The two guys we have that carpet cleaned for us are both retiring, so am looking to replace them. Apart from being fairly physically able, what other qualities should I be looking for in employing people to do this?
Are there any obvious ones spring to mind?
Thanks in advance
Regards
Jen
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A quick over-view:
Dependability; honesty; and common sense.
You can teach anyone with the above qualities if they are willing to learn and have the interest.
Believe it or not, those basic requirements above (IMHO) aren't that common.
:'(
Best;
Ed Valentine
cross-American.com
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Thanks for your reply Edd, I'm thinking the same really. I'm guessing after a week working with the guys leaving the business anyone should be able to clean the carpets we clean fairly competently . Although I'm sure ill be corrected if this is not the case!
I was just wondering if there were any special hidden qualities needed for the job?
Perhaps if anyone knows they could advise...
Regards
Jen
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We may as well all give up then if everything we have learned over many years can be taught to someone off the street in a week . I take it this is a wind up del
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They'll be pretty crap still after a week, think Dels right, wind up.
If they are hidden qualities I guess it doesn't matter if they have them or not. lol
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Sorry I hope I havnt offended anyone, it's just that the carpets we clean arnt exactly precious. What I mean is setting up the machine, using it and packing away properly.
Surely this can be picked up in a week or am I missing something?
Regards
Jen
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Jennifer
Where are you based and have you considered subbing the carpets
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Hi Jennifer, look at it like this, anyone can hire a Rug Dr, or buy a Vax machine and clean their carpets. But letting agents don't generally allow tenants to clean their own carpets because of the poor results and maybe shrinkage. Every one on here aims to be the very best, to get the best results, which you simply don't get with untrained operators and the above type machine (not saying you have a DIY grade machine like that)
So you are looking to employ two guys, is that solely to clean carpets or will they have other duties, because if they are only cleaning carpets for you, and they don't have time to get the experience in dealing with all manner of types of stains and marks different carpets, best practice etc you could send them on a NCCA or IICRC training course and maybe a specific spot and stain treatment course.
Remember also that to gain experience will take time and if you have valuable carpets or carpets that must be cleaned LM then it may be a costly learning curve. In a week they will be able to set up and pack away, but are you looking for DIY or professional results?
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Cleaning carpets IS fairly straightforward, though you do need to be thorough.
It's knowing how (best) to clean them that takes the knowledge, experience and skill.
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Hi guys, thanks very much for the above posts, very helpful. After the last couple of replies before I thought maybe sarcasm was high on the list of being a carpet cleaner!!
Anyway, we are based in east anglia but work mainly in the London/herts area for big office block refurbs, housing associations, letting agents and block managers.
The need for me asking was Weve had the same two guys doing it on a self employed basis for nearly 11 years but they are both going at the same time. There is one van mounted system, and a padding system which I'm sure is a textatherm.
It is a small segment of the business, but something we are going to have to keep going at the moment.....although if it became a real hassle we could give to another company.
I'm thinking of looking for ex forces type people/person, so turning up on time and looking presentable SHOULD be as standard,.....the rest I thought could be taught in a week, however I may look into one of the courses. Initially I dismissed these as I still have a vivid memory of attending one in a place called Alltec in the early 2000,s, which seemed to be all about marketing, with technical knowledge as an afterthought . In fact we tried to purchase machines from them, but were ignored really , which was a surprise..
Thanks for your help again guys, if anyone has anything else to add I'd be grateful.
Regards
Jen
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Alltec are under new management since you used them, they were well known for their marketing course that helped a lot of carpet cleaners. They are closest for my truckmount servicing, and, I've attended the courses there, run by the IICRC. They will also provide training but more specifically for using one of their machines, like most machine manufacturers/importers, NCCA and IICRC training is not specific to any manufacturer and more in depth.
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One of my operators was trained in well under a week and still going strong 18 months later and does a great job with out any problems and works on his own mostly, he works mainly on domestics. I have another operator who works on commercials and even though he is extremely intelligent he can be a bit too clever and goes off on a tangent sometimes and try's things out of the box that don't work in my eyes so I always go on jobs with him but I do leave him to it in the same building and us two can get through a massive amount of lm cleaning in a day. So every person is different and some will need more on going training than others. If you are not very experienced in carpet cleaning or don't have time to train them properly send them on a course and if they are doing upholstery cleaning send them on a upholstery cleaning course even if you train them on that aspect. Make sure you can pay them as much is viable.
Forget sub-contracting which has been mentioned. It is more hassle than it's worth for the small cut you get and from my experience of using sub-contracting workers is the quality of their work is truly appalling. You are better off training someone from scratch with your high standards. I have 2 fulltime carpet cleaning operators and also 3 more that I have trained up who work when there is any odd days spare, so if anyone leaves I have an operator to replace them.
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Thanks for the reply Richard, I,ll maybe give them another look.
I can't see how these ncca Certs and the like can count for a lot if they can be done in a couple of days. Also when my estimation of a weeks training was met with such derision. It's not like asking someone to learn to be an electrician or similar in a week is it??
I'm guessing there can't be too many different factors/variations to cleaning a carpet, unless I'm hugely mistaken?
Again, thanks for the replies
Regards
Jen
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I've just spoken to one of our retiring guys and he just told me for the last 8 years he's only ever used one chemical, which is a micro splitter ,he just has a higher mix in a sprayer for any stains, seems to work fine, so I guess we,ll be sticking with these methods,. So maybe the courses would be a bit fruitless...?
Regards
Jen
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I've just spoken to one of our retiring guys and he just told me for the last 8 years he's only ever used one chemical, which is a micro splitter ,he just has a higher mix in a sprayer for any stains, seems to work fine, so I guess we,ll be sticking with these methods,. So maybe the courses would be a bit fruitless...?
Regards
Jen
Whilst it is ONLY carpet cleaning, your retiring guy is far from being a professional, and it is only by luck and not judgement that he has not made an expensive mistake. Seems to me you came on here looking for advice that matched what you were thinking, and now that you have received that you feel vindicated, and will now employ someone who will have the bare minimum of training and no experience and expect it to all work wonderfully.....
Well again if past experience is anything to go by, it will.... but beware... the first mistake could well be very very costly....
You may of course think that I am being sarcy... I'm not....
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The thing that really really worries me is that you have just found out your operators methods after 8 years ???
I found that unbelievable!!! :o
So have you been carrying out commercial work without METHOD STATMENTS or CHEMICAL DATA SHEETS . You must of if you did not even know what they where using!
This all sounds like a recipe for disaster and you are lucky to get away with it so far.
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If you are still with us Jennifer!
Remember that you are on a professional forum, we aim to provide the best service possible for our customers and would not dream of using the same one product for 8 years!
A lot of guys on here have decades of knowledge and experience, and you are asking if it can be learnt in one week. The training is an ongoing thing, to remain IICRC certified for example, you increase your knowledge and skill by continued training.
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My word, I'm sorry to rattle a few cages, I never expected people to be so touchy.
In terms of what I know about the cleaning of carpets, not much that's why I'm asking the experts. The carpet cleaning equates to 6% of our turnover, so it isn't really at the top of the list of priorities.
In terms of method statements, we have a company that does these for us, and would include the whole job, ie ceiling grid replacement, air con, refrigeration, refurb, decoration, re carpet(OR CLEAN), so I'm sure there's no issues there in doing a mention of the chem.
And "hector", I never said it was ONLY carpet cleaning.......that was you.
Regards
Jen
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Also Richard, I appreciate this is a professionals forum. We meet the requirement needed by our clients which is simply "clean carpets". They couldn't give a monkeys how or why they are cleaned how they are..
I think we may be in two different sectors of the market. I just wanted some ideas on what sort of person enjoys/is good at/has the right attitude to clean carpets for a living.
Iv now formed a few of my own ideas...
Regards
Jen.
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Jen what's your company name & website address ? We could give better advice if we had basic information about who you are..... a quick read of your website might help us.
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Hi Mike, that's really nice of you(your website is absolutely brilliant) if I may say so. I think I may be on the wrong forum in terms of the advice I need, I think maybe an HR forum may have been more sensible . It's probably not fair me asking the experts if I have no interest or passion in carpet cleaning.
Having said that I do find some of your members attitudes a little odd!!
Anyway thanks for all your help again
Regards
Jen
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Well ,all I can say is that after reading through the posts all Jen wanted was some advice and seemed to get attacked for asking!!! :-[
Its about time some of the "carpet cleaners" on here stepped off their high horses and realised that they are not performing brain surgery!!!!! And yes they are "ONLY" carpets for god's sake. ::)roll
There are a few people who seem to find time to answer most posts and are rude and arrogant with it.
I will probably get abuse for saying all of this but could not give a monkeys, at least Mike acted like a gentleman , where as some others just sounded like spiteful school children who need to get a life.
Jen , if you would like any help or advice email me and I will do my best to help.
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Brooke don't give me credit for what I don't deserve, my polite response was just to smoke out whether Jen was for real, concidering her IP address was situated in Scotland not Norfolk as in her profile
It's funny how people disappear when they are asked for an email address or company name. I think the other answers were not carpet cleaners getting on thier high horses more the recognition of a potential hoaxer
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Mike, thanks for your comments. All my business information was filled in on the form, as was my email address. Sales_livingwall@outlook.com
I havnt disappeared, I just decided to post on a HR forum instead....
I don't know the first thing about ip addresses so can't comment on that, all I know is I'm in east anglia on an iPad.
We don't have a live website at the moment as trying to scale down, not grow.
I,ll still keep membership on here, I'm sure they'll be a time when I need advice on carpets as opposed to HR.
Regards
Jen
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And thanks Brook by the way..!
Regards
Jen
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Jen
A lot of these Guys have spent hundreds on training So to say all you have to do is mix a micro splitter is a bit of an insult to what many on here are trying to achieve even when cleaning rentals.
I would suggest you go along to Alltec and do a couple of their training courses yourself,
As you are in Norfolk I would suggest one of the qualities would be waking early in the Morning for the long drive to London or herts.
If they have to get equipment up many flights of stairs for the blocks you do strength, so you could be right you need a commando type person.
Ps I believe one of your vans and supervisors? lives in the same road as me.
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Maid2Clean Glasgow
maybe thats Jennifer ;)
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Jen,
Would it not be more beneficial to knock the carpet cleaning on the head. At 6% of T/O its worth dropping. Give more attention to the stuff that's in demand and grow on that.
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Of course you can teach 2 staff inside a week to clean carpets to a high standard.
There are some clowns on here, thinking they are skilled craftsmen.
like you sais , once the basic customer cares skills are in place, cc is simple , of course there needs to be supervision to keep the quality up.
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I would also add... find someone with NO ambition whatsoever. There is much less chance of them leaving to start up on their own.
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Thanks guys very helpful..
The "no ambition" one is interesting..
I think that covers an awful lot of different people, for different reasons.
Regards
Jen
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Well Jennifer I think you may, unintentionally, have identified the difference between the "it'll do" cc's and the "do it right" cc's. Whilst I'm sure you rate your two, soon to be retired, guys highly, to learn after eight years that they only use one solution, at different ratio's, and "it seems to work" is, well, disappointing. If we offer a professional service I would assume we should act in a professional manner. We can all go down to an artists suppliers and purchase some brushes, but they won't make us a Rembandt. If you intend to send out your new guys with the same attitude may I suggest you increase your liability insurance? Sorry, obviously I must be one of Jasonl's "clowns". And there was I thinking investing in training & knowledge would help me achieve a higher standing with my clients and bring bigger job tickets. Then again, perhaps I should have just gone to B&Q and hired one of their RD's. Apparently they'll do just as good a job.
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Jennifer did not ask about chemicals and equipment at first . She asked about people.
Assuming the employer has the right chemicals and equipment, and employs people with common sense and customer care skills , the actual cleaning process is VERY VERY simple.
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Jennifer did not ask about chemicals and equipment at first . She asked about people.
Assuming the employer has the right chemicals and equipment, and employs people with common sense and customer care skills , the actual cleaning process is VERY VERY simple.
Until you come across a viscose or silk, Belgian Wilton or Acrylic Axminster, are they going to know how to recognise these, let alone clean them, after only a week? But then again as they are only in the market for office carpet , lettings, etc type of cleaning maybe a week would suffice, and anyone who is reliable enough to turn up for work would do.
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Hi, thanks for your answers again guys....even yours Adrian.
Keep them coming.
Regards
Jen.
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Hi Jen,
I've been following your posts on here and thought I'd respond with my personal experience of working with various people in the cleaning industry.
I've been involved in the cleaning industry as self-employed and as an employee with various contract cleaning companies since 1980. In that time I've worked with a range of good cleaners and some real strange characters. The cleaning industry by its very nature of odd cleaning hours; generally low pay, part-time and casual work attracts all sorts of characters, with varying degrees of social skills and temperaments.
Meaning some people you could give advice to regards their standard of work and other's who if you tried to discuss their way of working with them, went off the deep end (to be polite) and some who walked off the job, rather than take some friendly advice, even from the company boss!!
If your still looking to employ two new staff have you thought about the qualities of the two retiring carpet cleaners you have working for you now, and seeing if you can find two new employees with the same or very similar character traits as these two.
Just my thoughts on the subject and good luck in your search for reliable employees.
Regards Phil
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Thanks for the "thanks" Jennifer, I think. Wasn't having a pop btw. You're the boss, it's your business. Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Asking your original question, then posting about how your guys work does suggest that, maybe, your eye hasn't exactly been on the cc'ing side of your buisness. There are those of us who actually take a pride in what we do. We don't see a client as just someone to take money from. Not suggesting you do, but Jasonl's "clowns" comment didn't help with your thread. There's absolutely nothing wrong with training, and ongoing training. It makes us better trades people. Maybe monkeys can clean carpets, and for peanuts, but some are better monkeys than others.
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Adrian , surely you dont deny there are some clowns on here ?
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Adrian , surely you dont deny there are some clowns on here ?
;D
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Adrian , surely you dont deny there are some clowns on here ?
I couldn't possibly comment Jason ;D
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Thanks for the reply Norbert, very interesting.
Regards
Jen