[derek west]

i know ive not been going too long to give advice but sometimes you veterans see things so easily and naturally that it doesn't bear mentioning.
dr carpet kindly referred me for a job.
cheers rogde.
red wine on a wool carpet, told them its a min £50, but also said if i dont get the stain out i don't charge.
got there and saw the stain, asked what they'd tried, white wine and blotted they said, ok good, i could of just picked the rug up and said see you in 2 days but i decided to look closer as the light was dim. asked to put extra lighting on and got down close to the stain, brushed the pile a couple of times and said, have you tried anything else on this stain, husband oh actually yes i have, brought in some un labelled spot and stain remover, then i had to show the guy where he'd rubbed, he'd taken the colour out of the rug where the wine was, it hadn't budged the red wine, but stripped the wool of its original colour, you had to look closely but you could see the 2 different colours where he'd basically bleached the wool. if i'd of taken the rug and got the wine out, they would of seen the white bleach stain and probably blamed me for it. some things are worth a second look. anyhoo i still took the rug home and got the red wine out, took it back and showed them, the white patch was very visible but as they knew it was there they were happy with the fact that the red wine had gone. decided not to charge them as the rug was still ruined by the white patch, after a lot of argueing i took a tenner off them as they insisted. going back to do there lounge dining and hall carpet nearer xmas and they want there suite doing in the new year.
sometimes a bird in the hand is not always better than 2 in the bush.
derek
ps, this is just for the newbies like me.
making the obvious more obvious.

[pete sween]

Thats a good post Derek. You seem to be applying yourself very well. And I agree, Roger is a top guy and a great conversationalist (until about 11pm and then it dodes'nt matter eh Rog?)

[Ken Wainwright]

Derek

Well done mate.  Just goes to show the value of a thorough inspection. It can save you £ooo's over the years

One thing I disagree with though is your pricing policy. You started off well, professional inspection, asked the right questions, accurately assessed the work required, gave them a quotation to carry out the work to attempt to minimise the damage THEY had caused. Then you tell them that if the damage THEY had caused is so severe that successful remediation isn't possible, then you wont charge them  Whether the DAMAGE is rectified or not, you should be chargeing for your time, products and service.

To make me laugh even louder, you successfully removed the stain, and you still didn't charge them  Oh dear, my tummy really hurts now.

Safe, happy and PROFITABLE cleaning
Ken

[clinton]

Hi derek

Was going to say with my web site going out to all cheshire i could pass any on that would be to far for me to travel mate sometimes i get calls in northwich nantwich and those areas 

[pete sween]

Ken is right there Derek. Always get paid. It's cost you to arrive at their door has'nt it?

interesting subject given April eh Ken? Looking forward to yours (and although I doubt most won't admit it) I'm sure many others are too.

Pete

[derek west]

see where your coming from ken, but that £50 i turned down, - £10 which they insisted on giving me has allready been added in incriments to the lounge carpet dining and hall, and then the suite next year, they loved my honesty and loved the way i refused the money, sometimes psychology works better, its a gamble but when it pays off it pays well.they will remember me a lot longer than the guy that got the red wine out and did charge, but i know for a fact i'll get that money back, and i'll also get talked about to there friends.
its just my way of doing things ken all though i don't make a habit of it, just certain circumstances. i'm sure i'll be making you laugh some more in the near future.

cheers for that clinton, ditto mate. and anyone else within 40 miles of me but not 10
derek

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

My pleasure Derek. Thank you for your few kind words.

Incidentally I know exactly where you are coming from with your pricing.

Incidentally Derek, a bird in the bed is even better than one in the hand...oops, sorry to lower the tone.



Pete

I promise, I really do, to try and keep going longer on the beer than 2 o'clock next time we meet. My presentation is already starting to take good shape but I must at least try to make sense when I present it the night after the beer, Incidentally I think I'll probably be around for 2 nights this time.

Rog

[pete sween]

You'll be a welcome addition to the second night Roger and don't worry about the 2am bed down, I went before that. Look forward to seeing you there. Costs taken care of by ccdo of course.

Pete

[colin thomas]

derek, i think that ken and pete are way off the park in their views, that 'freebie' will get you loads of referalls and more work from that customer, it's called the 'hare-krishna' effect, give something for nothing and people will pay you back, they feel they ought to. that freebie will be money in the bank (as long as you don't do it too often!)

colin

[ollie]

Derek, Ive tried to do loads of jobs for free but most people insist you take something but its not being stupid in my opion, its setting yourself up in your area as a reliable and honest tradesman which will pay dividends in the long run. Ive had more work than I can remember from doing things like you did. Just a couple of weeks ago a very wealthy custy of mines daughter spilt tomato ketchup on the carpet so I nipped around as quick as I could 20 minutes job done. She eventually insisted I took a tenner for fuel etc. The next day her dad phoned and I got a £205.00  job from him.  Coincidence???