[carpet guy]

Just watched a very impressive advert for a " powerfull " carpet cleaning machine, which miraculously cleans carpets, leaving them dry in a couple of hours. Also cleans stairs and gets coffee stains out of upholstery, in a single pass.

Must be good, as it's endorsed by a couple of elderly " professional " carpet cleaners. One of whom claims it has quicker drying times than the  powerfull machines, used by professionals. While stating this the advert shows a T/M being used. You don't see the machine. but there is a fair length of two inch piping visible and an operator, working a carpet lance in typical overlapping fashion.

At only £499 I could get four of these, for the price of a portable and get four Poles to do a street in a day and make me loads of money.

Or maybe the Poles, will see the advert and buy a a few themselves, they only need a deposit of £49 to get one.

The

[klinger (spa clean)]

is it the one with the pregnant woman in it?..if it is your so right, i,ve never seen or heard so much tosh, he,s bad but she,s bleedin awful  (presume your on about RD)

[carpet guy]

Yep, but it looks fantastic to the consumer.

[Ian Gourlay]

I watch it every night when I cant sleep .

[klinger (spa clean)]

Yeah we all know its only dry poster paint powder they sprinkle on the floor, you could suck that up with a B+D dustbuster

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

It is misleading but then so is so much advertising.

The drying claim is probably true on the basis that if you only put down a small amount of water,  it won't take long to dry.A quick wipe over with a damp cloth will dry much quicker that a truckmount

We know it also won't clean very well but the advertisers are confusing the viewers by not actually doing a proper comparison.

A few weeks ago I ran a poll asking how much CC's actualy believed of suppliers claims and the results showed a reassuring scepticism.

These adverts are actually good for CC because they stimulate interest in our industry, something it is not very good at generally.

Maybe as a forum we should develop a strategy to raise the profile of CC in our local areas.

Cheers

Doug

[carpet guy]

What Doug says is actually true..............whether it's c/d vans buzzing about, or the dreaded Vanish, anything that stimulates interest is good for stimulating people into action

[glenda hollis]

Just watched a very impressive advert for a " powerfull " carpet cleaning machine, which miraculously cleans carpets, leaving them dry in a couple of hours. Also cleans stairs and gets coffee stains out of upholstery, in a single pass.

Must be good, as it's endorsed by a couple of elderly " professional " carpet cleaners. One of whom claims it has quicker drying times than the  powerfull machines, used by professionals. While stating this the advert shows a T/M being used. You don't see the machine. but there is a fair length of two inch piping visible and an operator, working a carpet lance in typical overlapping fashion.

At only £499 I could get four of these, for the price of a portable and get four Poles to do a street in a day and make me loads of money.

Or maybe the Poles, will see the advert and buy a a few themselves, they only need a deposit of £49 to get one.

The

Which bit of what you wrote relates to misrepresentation?

[carpet guy]

Claims that the machine will clean better and leave carpets drier than a truckmount, or the suggestion that the consumer will, achieve a better result than a professional carpet cleaner, the suggestion that the machine will cut through heavy soiling and remove coffee stains, the use of two " mature " gentlemen suggesting the machine compares well, or is superior to professional h/w/e machines.

Misrepresenting reality, or truth, through creating misconceptions.

[Kev Loomes]

I like the way it bangs on about dustmites and allergens. The clever bit is that they dont actually say that anything will be removed  :, but anyone at home will subconciously digest it as if it will. Smart advertising.

I like the way they remove the juice and coffee as soon as its spilt - DER. But again, someone at home will think that it will take out old stains. Subsequently they are safe from any litigation!

With the so called pro - well he is a yank, and getting paid  . The guy over here was just a retailer - bit pointless really.

I suppose its good and bad for us in a way. Good that it brings 'cleaning of carpets' out in the open and into peoples minds. And bad because they will presume that the RD is the best system on earth and once they get disapointed with it, wont bother calling a professional because in their eyes we arnt as good!

Swings and roundabouts I spose.

Kev

[glenda hollis]

Claims that the machine will clean better and leave carpets drier than a truckmount, or the suggestion that the consumer will, achieve a better result than a professional carpet cleaner, the suggestion that the machine will cut through heavy soiling and remove coffee stains, the use of two " mature " gentlemen suggesting the machine compares well, or is superior to professional h/w/e machines.

Misrepresenting reality, or truth, through creating misconceptions.

Oh i see now, forgive me as i thought from the way you wrote it that you were telling us what it did, i did not realise that these were actual 'claims'.

[carpet guy]

Ah well, Glenda, you're not the first, to find my use of language, difficult to comprehend, but it pays to read the full post.

robe e

Incidentally............I'm not condemning, or criticising the machine, which  I know can do a fair job, but the marketing is " misleading " to say the least.

[glenda hollis]

Oh i read it all. If you are unhappy you have every right to complain to the Advertising Standards Agency. I would.

[garyj]

I think it's the best piece of carpet cleaning advertising I've ever seen. It's not misrepresented at all, it can do everything they claim. It is more powerful than any other machine in the range it is representing. One of the guys in the info-commercial says he has used commercial cleaners in the past ( doesn't say professional carpet cleaner, but means the same to the viewer )and they have left the carpet really wet, some cleaners on here have said that they have had to go in after other carpet cleaners to put jobs right. In the wrong hands and with wrong technique the powerful machines we use are going to cause what we call overwetting and what the customer calls soggy wet carpets.

Rug Doctor have done what all of us would love to if we had the know how and a huge advertising budget, created a fantastic piece of advertsing.

Last week I had my machine out twice in one day in my own home cleaning up firstly a cup of spilt tea then an hour or two later cleaning up muddy pawprints from the dogs, if I had a Rug Doctor to hand in the cupboard I'd have used that rather than set the Ninja up twice, better still, someone else could have cleaned the carpets for a change.

Watch it again, I would say it hasn't misrepresented anything, it's a great machine and does everything they claim.

 

[garyj]

Playing Devils Advocate for a second and presuming I don't know anything about carpet cleaning:-

I'm young(ish) and fit (ish), if my girlfriend said she wanted the carpets cleaning in the house and had been quoted £200 ( or more ) to have everything cleaned. I'd be very tempted to go to my local B&Q and hire a RD and have a go myself. I would be pretty impressed with the amount of gunk that came out the carpet, proberbly have a go at the car mats with it as well (just to get my money's worth for the 24 hours I'd have it) and be convinced I'd done the job of a professional so be feeling pretty chuffed with myself, and best of all saved hundreds of pounds. 

My customers don't know if I'm using a RD or if my Ninja has a 135psi or 400psi pump, they don't care as long as the job is done and they are happy knowing they have made the right choice. Some are happy because they have paid hundreds and had the best job possible, some are happy because they've had there carpets cleaned for 30 quid.

It's all down to advertising and perception at the end of the day, and RD have done what no one on here has the funds to do.

[Joe H]

I wonder how many machines they need to sell (or hire) and how many "bottles" of cleaning fluid etc they need to sell to pay for that infomercial?
Anyone have any idea how much TV space like that costs?

[carpet guy]

Gary

A Ford Mondeo will do the same job as a Ferrari, getting you from A  to  B, but it will not and can not perform as well as a Ferrari, so, if an advertising campaign, deliberately gave the impression the the Ford could equal, or even better the Ferrari's performance, it would be misleading and misrepresentative of the truth.

What you described in your post, is exactly what the public perception will be of the r/g and I agree about the adverts impact, which is why I posted in the first place.

I have watched the growth of the "domestic" cleaners and they are selling very well, but the r/d pro, is in a different league  and what you suggest about many people, weighing up the cost of getting their carpets done is spot on.

If I am quoted a price for a service,which I consider to be outrageously expensive, working out the hourly rate in my head, as most people do, I would hesitate and if I was capable of doing it myself, for a tenth of the quote, I would, as would a growing % of the public, seriously consider, doing it myself.

On the other hand, if I was aware that I could phone  the guy who cleaned my mothers carpets, for what seemed a reasonable sum and did a decent job, I would probably make that call.

T V and Radio advertising is powerfull