[Just a cleaner.]

I occasionally clean domestic carpets as a sideline to my main business which is general office cleaning.  I haven't bothered to get specific insurance for carpets.

A year ago I cleaned all of the carpets in this big house.  At the time the lady was so pleased with the result that she called me 10 days later to clean her mothers carpets and suite.  No problem!  I left a carpet cleaning flyer with both ladies as the daughter said she would like me to come back in a year to do her carpets again.

Now a year later the daughter has rang me to book her reclean.  After we agreed a time.  She started to whinge about shrinkage on her very large lounge carpet.

Why has it taken her a year to complain?  And why has she booked me again?

I'm sh itting my self.  What would you lot do?

[Ian Gourlay]

Personally I would tell her she is outside the guarantee period.

Do you really want to do Carpet Cleaning,

if not Sub Contract the work out to one of us.

If you do Get Insurance and promote this part of your business.


If you have a dodgy customer do not do business with them.



Hard I know but Ive just spent all morning putting off a dodgy customer

[Just a cleaner.]

HI Ian

I'm thinking of getting seriously into carpet cleaning, maybe taking one of the courses offered by prochem or chemspec.  Looking toward joining NCCA.  Does anyone have advice on which course to take?

This customer has really forced my hand to getting insurance.  Can anyone reccomend a decent insurance company for carpet cleaning liabilities.

Cheers
Norman

[nick.solution]

Hi Norman

Follow your first suggestion and join the NCCA and book yourself onto their course as soon as you can, with regard to the carpet shrinking it would be normal for a customer to offer a complaint in a realistic time period, one year on is expecting a little too much, even if threatened with legal action it would be reasonable to suggest anything could have happened to the carpet after one year,

However how loud can the customer shot and can she effect or damage your business?

Best regards Nick

[woodman]

Hi Norman

I am going to come at this from a different perspective,

You must have made a good impression on this customer for her to invite you back again, assuming that
you did infact shrink the carpet.

This can only be good news and you must be doing something right (apart from overwetting the carpet ).

Have you been back and checked it has shrunk and not just come of the gripper,if not when you recall check this over.

Do you know what type of carpet it is, if not get this checked it could be a Belgium Wilton if it is leave well alone you are not qualified enough to clean it.

As for complaining a year later,if in fact that is what she is doing, explain to her in a nice but firm manner that you can not take responsibilty a year a later she should have informed you immediately after she noticed it.
I can only think she isn't that bothered about it and you have kept a good customer.

[Just a cleaner.]

Definitely not a wilton of any description.   She says it's polyprop.


:PI keep thinking I'm going to appear in the next series of house of horrors.

[woodman]

This is why you need to know,

Belguim Wilton IS nearly always polypropelene and not a Wool carpet as the name might suggest.It's a cheap product that doesn't like a lot of moisture.

Confused, well your not alone countless cleaners have made the same mistake, usualy only once

[Derek]

Hi

Maybe as a goodwill gesture you could arrange to refit the carpet when you next go to clean.

The main thing is ..go and see what the problem is as quickly as you can....you may find its nothing and you will have worried for nothing

Mountains and molehills spring to mind

Cheers
Derek

[Fintan_Coll]

Norman, I'll bet it is a Belgian Wilton.  They look more like Axminsters than Wiltons but the similarity ends there. 100% Polyp. apart fron the weft thread they are very prone to shrinkage .

[Just a cleaner.]

Come to think of it, while I was cleaning it I noriced it was of the gripper at on side of the room.  Possibly just needs refitting.

[Phil Marlor]

If it was Belgium Wilton you would have seen it shrink before your very eyes when you were cleaning it last year, it almost shrinks immediately.

Even when well gripped down it still pulls up the grippers especially on concrete flooring and pulls away from finishing strips by the doors.

Phil

[Len Gribble]

Phil and the rest of the guys

Don’t you just love it after doing you inspection every think appear ok then getting a call later in the day from the customer my carpet has shrunk, then to find out the carpet has been off the gripper more times than you have had hot dinners due to renewing speaker/phone cables this is not just a BW problem.

Len

[Dynafoam]

Len,

I find the worst to be satalite cables, they are pretty chunky and the chaps how do the installations not only  mess up carpet fitment, they never vac up the dust from thier drillings. The grey stuff from  building blocks can be bad enough, but some red brick dust surrenders its' pigment.

Steam let off, back to BWs.

John.

[Len Gribble]

Ok John back to BW

Norman as Derek recommends as a good will gesture refit the carpet, on the broad side extreme care should be taken.

Len

[Dave_Lee]

First thing I would do, is go round to inspect, if they have recently re decorated I would suspect that they have lifted the carpet off the gripper and have been unable to re secure it - a common thing. Belgian Wiltons can be very difficult if not impossible to re stretch once shrunk, Axminsters are normally no problem in their lengh but difficult in width.
Dave.

[Just a cleaner.]

I'm back had my computer down with a virus and then had too much paperwork to catch up with.  I forgot all about the discussion.

Turns out the woman wasn't too bothered about he carpet shrinkage I managed to clean it with a lot less water this time - after I made an inspection and refitted  the loose gripper.

Another succesful job well done.  She wants me back in November to do the whole house.

Thanks for all your help You have all helped me through a really scary time.

Got my NCCA pack the other day and will probably enrol on next course.

Cheers
Norman