[james roffey]

Went to clean a 3 pc suite today really expensive one too in a nice house i inspected inside the cushions and every cushion has a bright yellow upholsterers mark written inside every cushion, Oddly the customer prior to cleaning it asked if i had liability insurance, i decided it was too risky to clean it was a white cotton suite, the customer was unhappy saying it has been wet cleaned before, i don't think whoever cleaned it before noticed these marks and although i think it unlikely that a problem would arise i thought it better of it and walked after explaining and apologising.

Will never know if i did the right thing.

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

if not sure head for the door you done the right thing 

[Deep Cleaning Solutions]

I am always wary if insurance is one of the first things they mention.

[Hilton]

IMO, should not be turning down business for this reason,

Get yourself a roll of shrink wrap,

Take the cushion cover off, wrap the cushion in shrink wrap put back inside the cover and clean away.

You can tell the customer the reasons behind doing this and ask them to wait a day or two then remove the wrap, or if your passing pop in and do it for them, good chance to inspect your own work at the same time.

[james roffey]

Hilton i should have been clearer

It wasn't the foam cushion that had this mark, it was the inside of the upholstery.

[richie]

May i add.....many years a go i cleaned a suite.  Did all the normal checks (looked for in on the foam cushions and on the fabric).  All appeared to be ok for wet cleaning.  Turned out it was a nightmare.  There was ink on the foam that i wasnt able to check and on the fabric.  On this occasion i was lucky.  My insurance company really dug in not to pay out and it was settled in the end by the company that made the suite.

[Hilton]

Hi James,

I would have done the same,

The shrink wrap would prevent any moisture getting into the cushions so with lots of dry passes it would not wick back,

Years ago we used to put dry clean over the marks so any moisture would just disperse around the them.We would also do the same around the beadings which were notorious for bleeding.

[james roffey]

The way i looked at it was that bright yellow permanent marker was on the other side of the fabric any moisture reaching it could pull it through to the surface, the customer was very short with me a told me to leave, i explained with a little tact, that he would be more upset if i damaged his furniture, to which point he said again that it had been cleaned before without issue, but when i suggested he sign a disclaimer he said, " no you have to make a decision" which i did it may well have been cleaned before but i was not happy to carry on his attitude suggested if i did get a problem he would be less than sympathetic 

[wynne jones]

Think you did the right thing James, if someone mentions insurance I always quiz them about it and gauge their attitude. Sometimes they just want reassurance they are not dealing with a fly by night but walking is the right move if your gut feeling is they are after a new one.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

Jim, you made the right decision because that is what you felt, think of all tension you would have felt waiting for potential problems.

I  had a rug a couple of weeks ago where they asked for insurance details and then took pictures before I started.

I almost walked but the lady was nice and it was the husband who was applying pressure and I don't like bullies.

The rug was really straightforward but I wish I'd doubled my prices!

Cheers

Doug

[Kinver_Clean]

I think I would have done the same- even after 30 yrs in the trade.

If you get a negative response from the start from the customer always think twice and then again- trust your vibes.
The two times I continued with a job after getting bad thoughts back from the cust were both disasters and cost me each time.
I was at a seminar years ago where the well respected lecturer said - Trust your instincts and never do business with anyone you do not like.

[CleanerCarpets]

I think I would have done the same- even after 30 yrs in the trade.

If you get a negative response from the start from the customer always think twice and then again- trust your vibes.
The two times I continued with a job after getting bad thoughts back from the cust were both disasters and cost me each time.
I was at a seminar years ago where the well respected lecturer said - Trust your instincts and never do business with anyone you do not like.

spot on - agree totally

[james roffey]

Don't do business with someone you don't like.

I think that is excellent advice, the last two weeks i have had two problems the customer that wanted a minging rug looking like new and this one, like the advice i would not say that i disliked them but i didn't warm to them like i do with most of my customers.
Yesterday i spent about an hour chatting to this old lady she was so nice we chatted about old films and shows, her father made amateur films in the fifties went all over the country,i got the feeling she did not get to speak with many people and was a bit lonely but she was so interesting, she was delighted with the job and i walked out of there with a smile, sometimes i love this job, other times  :
.

[Chris Straker]

I think you did the right thing ......... them markings can be a bugger, thought they were a thing of the past now !!

[Paul McHugh]

Hey James as one of the new guys, what a great last post that was
you probably made the old lady's day as well as your own,
I hope when (I can Find a half decent Van) that one or two
of my days will be like that
cheers
Paul Mc

[Paul Heath]

You did the right thing.....ask for insurance details before you start...
If it had been cleaned before why not call the same firm to clean it this time??
Alarm bells ringing....walk away
The joyss of being in business for yourself....you choose and when

[Mike Halliday]

you made her unhappy and she won't use you again, this is the worst case scenario of this situation, but look on the bright side she can't slag you off to her family and friends.... what would she say?......

  "that nasty carpet cleaner James Roffey wouldn't clean my suite because he couldn't guarantee to clean it without causing damage"

how would her saying this to her family & friends harm your reputation?  

now look at the other side of the coin, you clean it and ruin the suite... just imagine the damage she could cause to your reputation.

refusing to clean will never harm our reputation.

[AshWhite]

If she gets someone else in who DOES damage the suite, she'll gladly give you another bite of the cherry next time

[james roffey]

Paul i am sure you will have days like that, i have met so many nice people doing this job and it's one of the best parts of this type of work.

Mike under normal circumstances i would agree i have been careful with their precious piece of furniture, but he was well and truly p...d off with me, said his wife would be furious, that i had wasted their time, to be fair to them they said i should have noticed this on the quote i did. maybe they have a point but this is something i do before i clean it on the day, like a dye bleed test.
This is the first time i have come across a mark like this if it were a regular thing then yes of course i would look every time i do a quote, i also forgot to add that this guy phoned the day before i had the job booked the first time last week, he wanted to re-schedule for today.
There was just something about them that made me uncomfortable, maybe the insurance thing i don't know maybe something else

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

You can sleep like a baby.....Had a custy cancel three times in my road and today not there,
Their just not worth it. well done for walking