[wayne zabel]

Did a quote about 2 months ago for a very "pushy" sort of lady in a big 5 bedroomed house.

The carpets were not badly soiled, cream thick piled luxurious sort and she told me they were nylon  before I had chance to do a test.She said she'd had a guy round to do them and she'd told him to leave because she said the machinery he was using was damaging her carpets.I think the guy must have been agitating after putting dry compound stuff down.She said he wasn't going to use water.

Anyway she then tried knocking me down on price,which I did do a little.I never heard from her again 'til today and wants the job doing.I know from the sort of person she is she will want perfection.Makes me wondrer wether shes had other quotes and found them more than mine so now 2 months later shes called back.

Can you see any problems with HWE on these carpets.Iam wondering why the other guy chose dry compound.

I'm wondering if its worth doing this job for this sort of customer and are there any pitfalls you experienced guys can see?

Thanks guys

Wayne

[markpowell]

Clean using HWE mate,
Cant see you having any probs, any stains/spots should come out without much work if they are nylon.
There are loads of new set ups only offering "dry cleaning"
Tell her you can do it but the previous quote was only valid for 30 days, go back to your original quote.
Mark

[james roffey]

Do burn test  float test to identify fibre see if Belgian Wilton type check backing, my main concern would be the customer sounds like it may be more trouble than it is worth, i get them where you just know anything other than an amazing result will do, luckily most are not like this and are completely satisfied with what is realistic.

[markpowell]

Take the job on Wayne, dont worry about the customer been funny its part of the job, be in control, bring there expectations down a bit before you start the clean.
Mark

[wayne zabel]

Cheers Mark,I take it that from the lack of other response to this post that there shouldn't be any problems.

[clinton]

Maybe do it with a l m cleaning system and they will come up a treat i they are not really to soiled by the sounds of it..

[Jim_77]

Wayne, this is a type of customer you need to get the hang of dealing with, because they are the type you'll earn the most of your decent money from.

They do seem to come across a bit pushy but the reason is they've probably been cocked around and ripped off by tradesmen in the past.  Try hard to stand your ground on pricing (she can afford it), do a good job, be very friendly, polite etc but without being submissive like a butler or she'll treat you like one.  An air of confidence goes a long way, they need to see that in you.

Quite often once you've won their trust, these type of customer will be very loyal and you'll actually find they relax around you, selling decent priced work to them in the future is a doddle if you start off on the right foot.

[Joe H]

Thats very sound advice Jim 

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Good post Jim; my thoughts exactly.

Roger

[wayne zabel]

Well I did the job yesterday and after entering the house like a nervous kitten it couldn't have gone better.Once inside I calmed down and got a bit more confident.The carpets were a lot worse than when I first went to see them but cleaned up great

After doing the first bedroom that was full of shoe polish and make up marks the lady of the house had a look and couldn't believe how well the carpets cleaned up.After that it was a piece of cake and she was delighted with the job.It turns out that they have some rental properties that she has promised to let me clean soon.Hopefully I will get some good referals too,lets hope so as I'm still looking forward to the day when I can go full time CC

Thanks for all the advice and help offered.

[Jim_77]

Feels good doesn't it

When you have a bad time of it (as you do now and again) you just have to remember this sort of positive side of the business to keep you going.

That horrible snarling monster with big pointy teeth (the customer) suddenly becomes another welcome addition to your income stream, just by dealing with her the right way

[james roffey]

Feels good doesn't it

When you have a bad time of it (as you do now and again) you just have to remember this sort of positive side of the business to keep you going.

That horrible snarling monster with big pointy teeth (the customer) suddenly becomes another welcome addition to your income stream, just by dealing with her the right way

Very reassuring to here this type of positive advice i still get butterflies in my stomach before some jobs.