[john smith]

i am in two minds as whether to attend a leather cleaning and repair two day training session, i was wondering if  you more established technicians can shed some light on the demand for the service?

My thoughts on it are:
Possibly two major franchises have their name and number on any contact information, so surly they get the lions share of any demand, for instance we have a guardsman 5 yr warranty on our leather sofa, how many more thousands of sofas out there have the same company information,

Is there really a niche in the market for us independants?

Your thoughts are greatly appreceiated

John

[John Kelly]

John, as much as 50% of suites are now leather in some areas. As you say a lot have labels, but this also goes for fabric.
I would recommend doing a course and take advantage of this market. It is not rocket science and people have been cleaning them for years before any formal training was available.

[stevegunn]

If people don't know you do it you won't get any work.I recently had a double sided A5 leaflet go out one side carpet cleaning the other side leather cleaning I got more interest in the leather cleaning than the carpets.

[LTT Leathercare]

Warranties will not cover leather cleaning.

The major problem is that consumers buy leather thinking that they do not have to clean or look after it ( some retailers actually tell them this)  so part of the cleaners job would be to educate the customer that if they clean it regularly and look after it they will keep it looking good for a long time and will not need any major work doing.  Too many consumers leave it until the leather is wrecked before calling anyone in and by then it is too late.

The warranty market with people such as Guardsman, Multimaster, etc. is huge and this market is generally served by leather technicians. 

The market now is so big (at the last furniture show it was between 70% - 80%)
and cleaners are in an ideal position to see leather in customers houses and talk to them about what is required.

 

[darren72]

I clean on average 3 suites per week mostly,in the last 6 months ive cleaned only 2 leather suites i think most people clean there own leather suites its a pitty prefer cleaning leather than fabric.

[LTT Leathercare]

Leather can be maintained on a regular basis by the customer and this is essential, but it still needs a good professional clean every year.

The best way to go is to get a contract for a yearly clean and then sell them products to maintain their suite during the coming year.  If these are good, simple to use products which are different to the professional ones you use they are more likely to use them.  This also makes your job easier when you go in to do your yearly clean.

Hope this helps

Judy

[Ben Staerck]

Hi John,

A lot of the leathers out there that people need to repair or restore are quite old and past their guarantee. Most people let things get very bad before they do anything about it.

You are right in saying that most of the new leather is covered under guarantee and the warranty companies have technicians who repair it when it damages. However, these warranty companies (except guardsman) sub contract the work out to other companies or individuals. So when you become confident and improve your leather repair skills, it may be worth contacting them to offer your services locally. It is also a good idea to write to local furniture shops letting them know of your services.

We also pass work onto people in areas who we have trained. We send out about 10/15 job requests a day to people we have trained over the country. On average you could expect to get at least 1 job a month form us.

[LTT Leathercare]

John

The same applies to us.  We are passing on cleaning and technical work on a regular basis from consumers who phone us,  also a lot of work from the insurance industry who use us as a referral centre for claims on leather furniture.  There are a lot of places that you can register your services with to gain work once you have done the training.  The LTT course is recognised widely by the retail industry and is also endorsed by the Association of Master Upholsterers.

It would be a good idea to complement your cleaning skills with repairs but it is not necessary as we believe there is a good market out there for cleaning.  Once people accept that leather needs cleaning just like everything else in the home.

You do need to market yourself well so that people in your area get to know that you can specialise in this area, otherwise your training will be wasted.

If you come along to one of our free seminars which we will now be taking all over the country you will be able to judge for yourself whether there is an opportunity for you.  Let me know where you are in the country.

Regards
Judy

[Mike Halliday]

just to tag some thing onto this;

I'm putting this paragraph on my leaflet, what do you think....

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT LEATHER SUITES
Most people wrongly believe that their leather suite is easy to take care of.  A simple wipe of a damp cloth is all it needs to keep it clean, but unfortunately this is not true.
When you bought your suite you should have been given a ‘leather care kit’ containing a cleaning solution & protection cream, if you have been using this kit every 4-6 months we congratulate you on your diligence & care of your suite.
BUT… if your suite is over 12months old and has not been properly maintained it needs attention now!! the pigmented finish might already have deep creases where dirt and soil can penetrate deep into the leather, 
I one of only3  ******* qualified leather cleaning & restoration technicians in the East Yorkshire area . I can offer a light clean, full recondition & re-application of a protection coat on your suite for just £95. ( a major restoration clean of a very soiled suite will cost a little more)
This service will dramatically extend the life of your suite and keep it as beautiful & luxuries  as when it was new.

...........................................................................................................................................

its not word perfect but you get my drift, I'm aiming for the top end of the market who can't be bothered or are too busy to take care of their suite.

[LTT Leathercare]

Sounds good Mike.  Adding extra information for the customer goes a long way in the educating process.  We find so many consumers either buy or are given cleaning kits and they are still in the cupboard unopened.  If this comes through their door it gives them good advice and markets your services well.

Regards to you all
Judy

[stevegunn]

I've had a fair few jobs from Ben at Furniture clinic another benefit of doing furniture clinics course.If customers search google for leather cleaning furniture clinic is top then on their site is a link for a network of leather repair techs more than paid for the course.At the moment its free too, Ltt also have one but you have to pay to appear on it.

http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Professional_Leather_Services.htm

[LTT Leathercare]

You do not have to pay to appear on our site.  The reason that we no longer post technicians on our site is that as soon as you advertise them they are pinched by other companies and targeted which is what has happened to those we posted there. 

We hand all our jobs out to technicians who have done our course and are suitable for the work required.  We keep comprehensive databases of all the skills that our technicians have so that we can send the right technician out to the job.  Again this more than pays for the course in the first place.

[stevegunn]

I apologise Judy when I did the course there was a charge to appear on your site.

There you go another reason to consider getting some training you are passed work by your suppliers.Its all about letting your customers know your services have a look in YP how many actually mention they clean leather not many I guess.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

the market is growing for this and its about time a did a corse but theres so many which is the best to do ? i dont care about the cost just want to know which is the best

[2cleanright]

1stclean - going on the furnitureclinic course next month. I will let you know what I think of it!

Cheers, Glyn

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

cool great stuff

[ianharper]

guys

as i have said before, i think that we are now moving into becoming "specialist cleaners", from allergy treatments to leather and many hard floor coverings.

as people have more choice we need to match that change.

respect

ian harper