Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: john martin on September 18, 2014, 09:41:25 pm
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... at the back of the base of the couch .
I rarely get a callback for anything but i got one today ... this guy said he stuck his hand deep in the crevice and found a few crumbs . I sucked out the side crevice and dipped the tool a couple of inches in the back but it was too tight to get right in there .
So this guy will have me drive 20 miles each way to vac the crevice proper . Is that a legitimate complaint . I told him to call me if had any issue whatsoever , perhaps he saw that as a challenge , you made my 12yo couches look like new but hey i found crumbs, smartass.
Anyway i faked sincerity and sounded pleased to hear from him ... im out that way next week anyway .
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usually i do not go that deep, only what is visible by pulling the fabric a bit down
when i did an upholstery course i was told not to put your hands that deep as there may be something sharp.
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I would say that you tell customer that you use a vacuum tool in crevices but you are unable to check to see if all debris has been removed due to health and safety as you would only be able to do this with your hands and you don't know if there might be any needles or sharp object there etc, i.e danger of HIV and a host of other nasties.
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The health and safety thing is good but it might just annoy him at this stage . I found a long kirby crevice tool at home which should impress him , i suppose i could have used it if i had it on the van :) Shows the sort of thing that can potentially bother a customer after u left though even though u think the job turned out great .
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I clean the fabric the crevice is the customer problem
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we are carpet and upholstery cleaners, whilst I do vac out the crevices as a matter of proffessional pride, I am not going to remove all the debrise frome inside the suite. The equipment that I hae invested in is not designed for that. Unless you are advertising wrongly ie using stupid terms "like new" etc, then the customer has nothing to complain about. The debrise that goes into a suite is not upholstery cleaning.
I would have reacted to the call a little differently to you, in all the years in the business I have not seen anybody advertise that they will remove all the crap that has fallen below the upholstery.
Peter
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I'd teach him over the phone how to use his crevice tool on his vacuum cleaner.
Your too soft John :)
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There is often a hidden reason behind these kind of spurious complaints. Perhaps the guy thought it was a lot of money and sought to find a fault with it to incur more costs on you.
Simon
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I thought this was a euphemism ;D
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I thought this was a euphemism ;D
It was difficult to word it without writing a Julian Clary sketch ...
could be something like that Simon , wife wants it done ,husband reluctantly agrees .
and he sees me making good money for a couple of hours work .
Still its an affluent little village and a neighbor asked for a card so its worth staying on the right side of the guy .
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Yes we do. I think it's a valid callback.
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Get out of here!!! A few crumbs that because of where they are you can't see in the first pace?????
Simon
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I would run the crevice tool down where I could, but not go rummaging down the back of someones sofa, needles etc.
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Looking at it realistically, if you are worried about finding dirty needles down the backs of suites then you are working for the wrong people ;)
I would explain to the customer It's more about vaccing up coins and valuable small items, say just last year you were accused of stealing an engagement ring that was later found in your vacuum container, it was left on the chair arm and fell down the crease.
I would push down on the seat to slightly open the crease, if I saw some crumbs or fluff I would vac it out, I would'nt stick a crevice tool down into the unknown and vac up anything I couldn't see
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Tip the settee forward 45 degrees at the same time. Most stuff will fall out as you push the base as Mike suggests.
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I meant Sewing needles
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Looking at it realistically, if you are worried about finding dirty needles down the backs of suites then you are working for the wrong people ;)
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1411216913_WP_20140121_002 (800x414).jpg)
Check this one out that I cleaned earlier this year, needed to go in the skip !!
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how about showing us the before picture then Mark?/
:P
;D ;D
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1411218357_WP_20140121_004 (800x450).jpg)
Here you go Hector ;D
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;D ;D
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We are not magicians, we can't guarantee to remove all stains, every last bit of dirt from the carpet and realistically every crumb from an area of the sofa which could contain potentially dangerous items.
If it's a few crumbs deep down what's stopping the customer using their vacuum cleaner to remove them, rather than expecting you to drive 40 miles?
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usually i do not go that deep, only what is visible by pulling the fabric a bit down
when i did an upholstery course i was told not to put your hands that deep as there may be something sharp.
radek - yes I remember that comment by peter h at prochem way back on a training course - he said hypo needles etc but i remember thinking Im not going looking for business anywhere like that as the other guys have said wrong type of customer - although I was surprised to find a set of scales with white powder on it under a bed once!
in terms of the PITA customer you just smile sweetly and grin and bear it like the OP said - you do it with good grace and you get brownie points for turning up (again) simples...