[Steve. Taylor]

Just had a call from trading standards, they have taken the bait but not the switch
on a lounge dinner 28ft x 15 ft had the test patch clean but refused the price of £260
for the clean.

They are asking me for a quote in writing to complete the job.

[clinton]

Weres that steve 

[Steve. Taylor]

Hi clinton Romsey outskirts of Southampton mate.
They would not say who did the test patch. but if i was a betting man i would go for

ENTER-----

[Bob Allen]

I had a call from trading standards a couple of months ago asking to define a maintenance clean, it was obvious who they were talking about but he didnt/couldnt say who it was. I let him know about a few of the storys ive heard.
P.s im based in Portsmouth

[derek west]

tell em £259 steve and that includes improving the test patch.

[wynne jones]

I would give them a price for a normal lounge job but explain you can't say for sure until you have seen it and tested it. Who knows what they have done to it and you will have to do extra to get it right.

[clinton]

Thought it was them steve with out asking you

[Neil Williams]

£260
Allowing for the fact this company with it's turnover must be vat registered means they are charging at about £4.80 sq/yard.
Now, for one second I'm not backing this bunch in the slightest, but it'll be a bit rich of some on here to preach on about what a bunch of criminals they are when they boast on here about charging the same amount.
It's the bait and switch bit that winds us up I know.

[wynne jones]

Neil, tell me how much I should be charging then, would it be a bit less than you by any chance. 

This is confusing two completely different things though Neil. Someone who values what they do and so does the customer. And someone who thinks they are getting one thing at one price then being psychologically coerced into another with a huge differential in price advertised and price demanded on the day.

[Neil Williams]

I think you might be getting a little confused that I agree with Enterp and what they stand for.....I don't and hope they get closed down and with a bit of luck one of them goes to jail (but i guess that's hoping for a bit too much).
Bait & Switch....bad, immoral, illegal, unfair, pikeyish
But
How many times have some on here tried to outdo each other with how much they think a job is worth....there are enough who won't even put the key in the ignition unless they know they will be charging £4 sq/yard. I read enough posts about getting £7 / £8 on enough jobs.
So the point I was making is that their prices might be in the same bracket as some on here. So I suppose I need to say that getting £3 is considered a good day for me.

*****Could have worded all that better. The point I'm making is that if Trading standards ring 10 carpet cleaners they might find that £270 isn't that high, it's the bait and switch bit that they will hopefully get them on*******

[wynne jones]

So what would be a fair price and when does it become an immoral price. Who decides Neil?

Some people charge £40 and that's too much in my eyes for what they do, however if someone uses a professional year in year out and pays £300 who are we to say they are immoral?

As carpet cleaners we tend to get stuck on the value as being solely in the clean, that's not always how Clients see it.

[Steve. Taylor]

Derek what if i cant get the rest of the carpet as good as the test patch :

[derek west]

play the old vanish card. "they must of used vanish and bleached it love"

[Paul Heath]

Steve recommend you use some "Pureclean"... or have you used it all up ??

[Matt Seymour]

Regardless of the price it would be a piece of cake for any carpet cleaner worth his salt to get the rest of the carpet like the test patch.

Enterprise's super duper clean and test patch is just Prochem Trafficlean "rinsed" with Extraction Plus or some cheap equivalent of it.

Good to hear trading Standards are finally doing something.