[Kev Martin]

I have probably banged on about this before but for those of you that missed it I am going to re iterate how important it is to do a test area when restoring hard floors.  This is critical when you are grinding and honing but also very important even if you are only cleaning and sealing.

So Why?

1.  It tells you how long it is going to take you both in labour and materiel's.
2.  You get confident that you can do it and any cock ups or problems can be ironed out now at this stage!
3.  It shows the client your capabilities and gives them confidence.
4.  Now is the time to discuss final finishes, sealers and appearance.
5.  It stops any of "He Said" "She Said" "You Said" regarding the final job they have seen it and agreed it.
6.  It allows you to accurately cost the job and plenty of time to order the correct materials.

It does not matter if you have done the same type of floor before still "DO A TEST AREA".  It pays off in the end otherwise I promise you one day it will come and "Bite you up the Ar££ hard"

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

[Jim_77]

Must admit I haven't really got the hang of getting customers to agree to test areas being done.  It's not always as straightforward as it sounds - there is a big conundrum here!

The biggest obstacle is if you are looking at quite a neglected floor, there's no point doing a test area up a clean corner... you have to do it in one of the worst bits to show how it'll turn out.  So then you have to ask the customer if you can make a nice shiny clean little area in the middle of their otherwise shabby-looking floor.  A lot of people have a problem with that!  They don't want visitors coming round and seeing it like that.

As it is only at quote stage they obviously have not agreed to having the work done so they could potentially be left with it like that, if they don't accept the quote... I know the point of this is to secure the work but they don't want to feel obligated into accepting the quote because it (in their view) will be the only way of getting rid of the clean patch in the middle!

Also... depends on what type of floor I suppose but in some cases if you put a sealer on just a test area is there not a chance of never getting that bit looking exactly the same when you do the whole lot?  I'm thinking of "Enrich n Seal" here, which cannot be fully stripped out once cured, according to the labelling.

I know it's a different thing but I did a metre square test area on a vinyl composition floor in a working men's club, cleaned & applied several coats of topical sealer as you do... they accepted the job and when I was finished you could still see the test patch!  Bit embarrassing, that!  I had scrubbed and stripped over the area really well but it just did not look the same.

I know some stones will not have this problem but I'm thinking more towards limestone hone & seal kind of jobs... it's quite a worry, when you've had your fingers burnt in the past!

Any tips Kev?

[Kev Martin]

Must admit I haven't really got the hang of getting customers to agree to test areas being done.  It's not always as straightforward as it sounds - there is a big conundrum here!

The biggest obstacle is if you are looking at quite a neglected floor, there's no point doing a test area up a clean corner... you have to do it in one of the worst bits to show how it'll turn out.  So then you have to ask the customer if you can make a nice shiny clean little area in the middle of their otherwise shabby-looking floor.  A lot of people have a problem with that!  They don't want visitors coming round and seeing it like that.

As it is only at quote stage they obviously have not agreed to having the work done so they could potentially be left with it like that, if they don't accept the quote... I know the point of this is to secure the work but they don't want to feel obligated into accepting the quote because it (in their view) will be the only way of getting rid of the clean patch in the middle!

Also... depends on what type of floor I suppose but in some cases if you put a sealer on just a test area is there not a chance of never getting that bit looking exactly the same when you do the whole lot?  I'm thinking of "Enrich n Seal" here, which cannot be fully stripped out once cured, according to the labelling.

I know it's a different thing but I did a metre square test area on a vinyl composition floor in a working men's club, cleaned & applied several coats of topical sealer as you do... they accepted the job and when I was finished you could still see the test patch!  Bit embarrassing, that!  I had scrubbed and stripped over the area really well but it just did not look the same.

I know some stones will not have this problem but I'm thinking more towards limestone hone & seal kind of jobs... it's quite a worry, when you've had your fingers burnt in the past!

Any tips Kev?

Jim

I take on board what you are saying!  The sad fact is that there are customers out there who imagine that they would like to have a job done but have never really thought it through.  In my mind the first point of contact is the telephone and as you all know the usual question is "Can you give me a Ball Park Figure"  Then the figure normally gets rid of 50% in my experience.  The next stage is to get into their property to do a test area.  This in my experience is not a total commitment but at least it is something better than a chat.  It also gives you time to look round, accurately measure, identify what you are going to clean, make notes regarding their Hand Made Wallpaper, the £50K Siematic kitchen. the white carpets throughout etc and any other pitfalls there may be.

So your in!  You have measured up and sorted all the pitfalls.  The next thing is to do a test area and yes you do need to do it in the dirtiest place so you can establish a method and cost out your labour and materiel's accurately.  However, you only do the test area to 80% of your ability because ultimately it will look a lot better than the rest anyway so they will be impressed and Jim you won't have that working mens club scenario when you go back.

Kev Martin
Tiling Logistics
Marblelife Ltd

[brilhoservices]

Thanks for sharing.

[stoneshine]

if you are a well equipped and PROFESSIONAL you do not need to do a sample patch!!!! to find out if you need to order your consumables . You should be able to quote a price by just looking at the floor.
You can carry out a sample test patch to show the customer the result of a restored floor carried out by you.

[Kev Martin]

if you are a well equipped and PROFESSIONAL you do not need to do a sample patch!!!! to find out if you need to order your consumables . You should be able to quote a price by just looking at the floor.
You can carry out a sample test patch to show the customer the result of a restored floor carried out by you.

AMIR

I don't think I have ever read such a ludicrous statement!.  You wonder why you get banned off Forum after Forum.  You look at any floor and quote a price?  So you walk in and look at a floor and then you have the price???  You really are just an idiot!!!!

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

[terrazzoman]

very well said.......kevin