I do this for both fabrics and for Leather suites needing restoration as opposed to just cleaning. Only 5% of our leather jobs involve cleaning alone.
We do not do this in order to give our techs something to do in slack times - that's just a side benefit. Often this is done when the customer is going to away on vacation and most have more than one sitting area.
Cost of transportation is minimal, I have a low platform moving van with ramp and we pick and return rugs, fabric and leather furniture - about $1,200 worth per day. With good planning and routing, (which in UK may be impossible) costs are low.
Maybe, I am not as smart as all you folks but I've seldom if ever come across a white or off-white, never cleaned in 7yrs + natural fibre suite that I could not get far superior results with 2-3 cleanings than one, especially in heavily soiled areas. Plant cleaning has many benefits:
I have at my plant much better;
Distilled water for silk cleaning - which I would never do "on-site'.
Temperature and humidity control.
Air movement and lighting - I have three different types of light source.
Access to all my tools and chems - smelly, offensive or otherwise.
Vapour steamers, air compressors, irons and safe plastic drying racks for cushions.
Lower set-up times as everything is right there.
We have 18 inch high rolling platforms to place the furniture on, that makes for far less back-strain and allows for easily utilizing direct sunshine for very rapid drying situations.
No re-services or complaints - ever.
No claims for replacing damaged furniture - ever.
Much better control by management on every job.
And above all "time".....
Time the most important and least utilized element of the cleaning pie, makes for a more thorough testing protocol and better chemical action allowing gentler, more time consuming and safer methods.
I also get to see the results when completely dry and can re-clean as necessary. When dry-cleaning, I have a negative air cleaning location ( with an exhaust fan) for my own, my staff's, my customers, their pets and ashmatic/allergic children's health and safety. Did you know you can easily kill a parrot by spraying Teflon or Scotchgard in a house?
Final benefit is that the customer only sees the "before" when we remove the suite and the "after" when it is returned, all nicely shrink wrapped and looking "as good as new". Great presentation value. Every suite is photgraphed before and after and e-mailed to the customer. Again great for referrals. For jobs that go well, they don't see how quickly it went or how easy a pro can make it look to do. In Plant work has a much higher peceived value.
This truly separates us from the rest and results in a vastly superior referral rate. They never see any "oops", like browning or wicking which greatly lower their view of your professionalism even though you return to "fix" it.
It also renders a higher profit margin which is the point of the exercise.
We do clean synthetics on site and though the challenging situations in furniture are the minority, we have a monopoly on doing them here and so keep busy without difficulty, year round. Lots of your good cutomers may well be in Spain or the Swiss Apls in your slow time ?
Your thoughts please.
ps, ask yourself - out of, "on-site" cleaning or "in-plant" cleaning of rugs, which is superior ?
Both technically and by perception.
Are you really providing the "best possible" or "second rate" by cleaning "on-site" ?
