[Geraint Jones]

Hi  Everyone

Im new to this forum but i've got a fair few years experience in the field.

Anyway , I've also got some holiday cottages  so last year I had to buy  9 , 2 seater leather suites, italian jobs , not cheap but not expensive -middle of the road stuff, the supplier was a very well respected furniture store locally , I asked how do I maintain them(as I have zero experience with leather), the boss replies  ' big bucket of water and some fairy once a year & just give it a good scrubbing'    alarm bells rang straight away as I know the damage fairy does to carpets.

My point is  if the proffesional retailing trade have these ideas regarding maintanance & cleaning then there's no wonder there's lack of information for the consumer, as a consumer you surley listen to the guy you brought the product from.

Maybee these 'Leather experts' might think of chanelling their expertiese towards the retail sector as well as us cleaners.


Geraint Jones

[carpetguy]

Good morning Geraint

Unfortunately, the consumer is dependent on the people he deals with, at the buying stage and, as is usually the case, no training has been done, regards cleaning and maintenance of the products.

The emphasis is on selling the advantages and benefits, which we know, could include, ease of maintenance.

Unfortunately again , this area has been hi jacked over the past thirty years, by national companies, who sell the consumer a form of insurance / maintenance plan and the retailer gains additional revenue from these sales.

Also, the retailer is able to avoid the hassles of customer complaints, by passing them to the " maintenance provider " So they avoid the need and expense, of adding maintenance, to product knowledge, at the staff training stage.

At our level, there is very little we can do..............or is there ?

[Ben Staerck]

Lots of retailers sell leather care kits. Others don't as they know that leathers easy to clean, and so just tell the customer to wipe it over with something. Normally just a damp cloth.

I've never heard of a retailer recommending fairy liquid, although lots of custmers tell me they use it, so that may be where the advise is coming from.

[carpetguy]

I think most sell kits, Ben............for the salesman, it's an add on, which means, more commision.......as you know, they can get as much as £50 for a little box, that gets used once and stuck in a cupboard, then produced, when we ask " what do you use to clean your suite "

rob

[stuart_clark]

I have used Chemspecs leather cleaner and conditioner and have attended the chemspecs leather cleaning course, but this stuff can leave the leather a bit sticky! I have used Prochems leather cleaner and conditioner and got good results ! but the best I have found was one from research Products ie Dry-Fusion they do one called Tanners choice cleaner and conditioner and then you can apply a cream protector

[Len Gribble]

On returning a rug today just had to ask the customer who recommended milk!!

(Me thinking it was JL as most things come from that store even down to the vacuum, kitchen-sink talk as ken puts it) once again I was wrong it came from a custom & bespoke company dating back 75 years that recommended it! (Looked at their web site not the run of the mill high street nor sales person)

If the suppliers on this forum want a lead to them send me e-mail if any thing comes from it payment in kind and will be declared.

Len

[carpetguy]

Len.........

As I said, I had a dairy business years ago and if not thoroughly cleaned, ie, steamed ,  milk stinks, unless there's something we don't know, going on...............

Why don't you sell it to Ben and Judy, as a new Bio degradeable product with miraculous qualities, have you tried it on carpets, fabric suites, etc, this could save the planet !

rob

[Len Gribble]

Rob

It’s very rare that I do leather, I do carry two brands but no expert,  :-[did not ask the question with customer how she applied it and dilution rate, as did not want to intruded as the customer is valued big time. The offer too J and B are there.

Trick of the trade are best kept secret!

Len

[Ben Staerck]

If the suppliers on this forum want a lead to them send me e-mail if any thing comes from it payment in kind and will be declared.

There are loads of furniture retailers that don't sell kits. They can't be bothered to sell a kit for £30 when they sell a sofa for £3000. Its an insgnificant amount.

The shops know the kits are available they just don't want to sell them. I appreciate the offer, but I can't see them changing their mind now. thanks anyway.

[Mike Roper]

I am certainly getting more work in leather cleaning & colour repair of late without really pushing it , mainly word getting round that I do it. Last week I cleaned & refinished 20ish wing back antique effect chairs for a hotel. This week coming already got 2 suites booked in to clean ,1 to quote, & dye transfer from cushions to sort out on a cream settee.
I started doing courses in 2003 & have done about 6 days courses since then & intend to carry on doing refresher days periodically to keep learning. Cost wise I have certainly got my money back and more besides & think there is as much work out there as I want to push for.It takes time to pick up the skills involved & more time to practice them to get the experience which is difficult to do when looking after your core carpet & upholstery work.
Refering to another topic on the go at present about pricing- I would say I was doing some of  these jobs for less than I could charge but realise I am still learning hence take longer & view them as good experience . When I feel totally confident I will be looking at premium rates & willl deserve them.
Mike

[Ian Rochester]

Back to the original argument, LTT or Furniture Clinic:

I have used LTT and found them to be very professional, I use their products, especially the protecter.  

However I also use the Extracta cleanser which I find to be more effective than the Maxi that LTT supply, it also came out better in Andy's test when I took a sample down on the course.

I met Ben from the Furniture Clinic for the first time at the NEC on Wednesday, purchased a tub of navy balm from him for my own leather suite which is looking quite "distressed" and I must say the results are significant, even the mother in law commented on the change!!!

We probably do 1 leather suite a week, against 4-5 material suites.  People don't always realise that there is a professional cleaning service available, even if you do advertise the fact.

I fully advocate a pre-inspection for all leather cleaning so that you can get an idea of what's in store for your clean and prepare accordingly.

I can see me using a mixture of suppliers in the future for my leather cleaning needs, similar to all the other cleaning services we supply.  Wouldn't life be boring if we all used the same machinery. chemicals, techniques, vehicles, clothing, etc, etc, etc!!!

[carpetguy]

Well said Mike.........a very businesslike and mature attitude, which should benefit you greatly, as you develop yourself and your business.

rob

[spickandspan]

Did my first leather suite today fantastic results could not have tackled it without the encouragment and training i recieved fron Andy of LTT.
Many thanks to all.

[colin thomas]

my two pen'th is that i me the guys from furniture clinic at the show and they couldn't have been more helpful, i got about a courseful of answers from them until i got too embarrased to ask any more question for free!!  but also last year i had a problem with a possible clean of nubuc and LTT could not have been more helpful, i 'phoned them about 3 times to pose questions about the job and they gave me all the help i asked for. i would try each ones cleaning chemicals and see which you prefer but then comes the question of who's course to go on!!

colin

[Geraint Jones]

I went along to the LTT  stand at the show and spoke to a lady about a training course, to be honest she wasn't over  helpful , gave me a brochure and that was basically it , asked further questions and was told the relevant info was in the brochure , I'd didn't really inspire me to sign up so i'm now looking at other options, they might be very professional but in this industry customer service is also high up the  ladder I would have thought.

I was always  taught not to take any one foregranted.


Geraint

[Ian Gourlay]

I do not want to be the heavey handed moderator, but i have decided to lock this topic.

As far as I know both companies offer training. and each has their strengths .

There are also other companies who do training.