[david@zap-clean]

Me again...

As a start-up, I'm not yet kitted out to up-sell carpet protection. 

Do you usually offer this service?  I'm unsure at this time if I should be considering offering it (at this time).  Is it a worthwhile product for the consumer?

[*Hector*]

It is not always worthwhile to the consumer... but it will increase your profit and turnover considerably....
I do not offer it at all, but there are some who offer if to all and sundry.....

Have you been on a course?? as they should have covered when it is useful on there...

[david@zap-clean]

I've been on several courses. 
Protection was mentioned, briefly.  I was left unsure of its value to the customer.

Ok, perhaps it's something I should consider as an optional up-sell.

[Ian Gourlay]

If you are going to succeed in selling it you need to bran wash your mind that this product is a benefit

So your first assignment is to research the benefits if you put in the effort you will remember better than someone giving you the answer.

Not that I am trying to stop the thread

[wynne jones]

I would put all my efforts at this time to cleaning a carpet as well as it possibly can be and building a relationship with each new customer.

[Allan Simmons]

Wynne is right that you have to do the best job possible and build the relationships, but you can also make the recommendation for those that would benefit from protector and this will help build that relationship too.  We get people tell us the chose us because we did offer a protection price, when others hadn't even mentioned it.

The other benefit of offering the protector is that there is a good margin in it.  This means that you can 'give away' that margin by making an offer on the Clean & Protect service, so you still get a good price for the cleaning, without having to discount the cleaning price at all.

Al.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Im surprised nobody has done a protector course showing what is achievable without over selling its benefits also things like ph balance, wear, life span, the items it should be used for and the ones it shouldn't also how to apply and how to advise on the sale.

The supplier would not just make on the course but also on the protector as well as spraying equipment probably all bought on the day of the course 

Shaun

[Simon Gerrard]

I was at a customers the other day that had booked clean and protect , the carpet was trashed but for some reason she thought protector would help. I told her it was a waste of money (£50) I could have gone along with her misconception of what protectors actually do, but didn't, sadly many would have taken the money.

If you want to build a lasting relationship with your customers, it has to be built on trust and selling people products they neither need, nor in reality want, is one sure fire way breaking that bond of trust.

If a carpet comes clean after years of use, why would it need protector to make sure it does the same next time?
Upselling things like a second carpet cleaned half price, etc, gets you an extra sale and gives your customer a benefit they can see. The difference being  that the customer thinks you've done her a favour cleaning something for half price, rather than a rip off merchant who sold them something that doesn't work, which they will find out in due course when it doesn't do what they thought it would do.
Having said that we do protect some carpets that are vulnerable to staining, light coloured, kids, pets etc, but only ever when i'm satisfied that the customer may gain some benefit.

Simon

[Jim_77]

If a carpet comes clean after years of use, why would it need protector to make sure it does the same next time?

But that's not really the purpose of a protector.  Its purpose is to allow the customer to more effectively deal with day to day spots and spills that occur.

To pick up on what you said though, as the years go by and soil gets ground in, the carpet will clean up less and less well each time.  A good protector, properly applied, WILL enable more effective cleaning of ground in soil.  Unfortunately not all carpet cleaners actually understand protectors so there will always be an element in our industry who dismiss the product.  I've seen its benefits enough to know it works and to know when and when not to recommend it

I totally agree with you Simon that in some cases the customers do not have the right perception of what a protector does... and I'm pretty sure I would have done the same as you in that case, i.e. advised against it.  If they abuse their carpets they need to clean them more regularly - I advise in those cases to save the money on protector and switch the focus to re-booking in X months time.

There are, however, plenty of customers I clean for who want and need it, and I see the benefits next time I clean them.  Some of the carpets I look after get protected every time I clean them, these are the carpets I enjoy cleaning the most

[Simon Gerrard]

Jim,
My stance on protectors comes from the three years we were a Scotchcare Services company and applied a lot of protector. During that same spell we had more complaints than we'd had in decades, not because we had done anything wrong, but because people's perception of what these products do and what they actually do is the problem. We had people ringing up to complain that their carpet had got dirty again, even though we had protected it, which is absurd. In the end we dumped Scotchcare and stangely the complaints stopped.
We never misold it and were always at pains to explain what the product does, and more importantly, its limitations.
This is why I think you have to be mighty careful who you sell it to and it must be on the basis of the customers need and not the need to gain an extra sale, which I fear motivatives the majority who seem to apply it willy nilly.

Simon

[Kev Loomes]

We have been selling protector for over 10 years, and we have honestly never had one single complaint.

I guess we have either been very lucky, applied it correctly or sold it correctly (or all 3). I think if we had received any complaints then  i think we naturally would have reconsidered actually offering it due to ethics.

So I agree with both Simon & Jim 

[david@zap-clean]

Thanks for the great information everyone. You've all been very helpful.

[Simon Gerrard]

It's not that we had lots of complaints, but complaints none the less, which I hate. They all seemed to revolve around the misconception that protectors are some kind of impenetrable shield that protects their carpet from everything, including getting dirty. The problem with it is it doesn't stop the really bad stains, tea, coffe, Ribena etc, unless they do a really thorough job of blotting them out as per the instructions given them when it was applied (which was by the book)
The argument that protectors help stop the minor stains is true, to an extent, but then so do the free spotters we give to every customer and they seem to really appreciate the gift, plus comment on how good it is and next time we go back and guess what, no stains. And why would we want our customers carpets never getting stained, or because it can help with resoiling, need their carpets cleaned less often?

Simon

[Allan Simmons]

What Simon says about any complaint is spot on, it's always the customers misconception of what a protector does.  Some people believe it is a bullet proof coating and the carpet will never get dirty or stain.  It is difficult to make sure the client is aware of what it will and will not do, some people, no matter what you tell them, will only hear what they want to hear.  Fortunately we have very few 'complaints' but we offer a warranty where we'll pop in for free if they can' get it out, usually it will come out.  I'm with Jim though on how well carpets protected respond next time they are cleaned, they are easier to clean. 

[COLIN BRIGHT]

i tell them it is good, it helps, but its NOT bullet proof, some months i sell loads, some i dont, i always give 2 prices and ask if they want it after they have seen the clean carpets, sometimes its not worth it but some it is

[Jamie Pearson]

Im surprised nobody has done a protector course showing what is achievable without over selling its benefits also things like ph balance, wear, life span, the items it should be used for and the ones it shouldn't also how to apply and how to advise on the sale.

The supplier would not just make on the course but also on the protector as well as spraying equipment probably all bought on the day of the course 

Shaun

Chemspec did this with Stainshield Professional