[robert meldrum]

When all's considered, reality is what we perceive it to be and it differs from one person to another.

Some try to justify high charges by saying the they ALWAYS carry out 6 procedures when in most cases one will do the job adequately and enable pricing to be more competetive delivering better value.

If you make exaggerated claims to justify taking twice as long, or more, than someone else you will have great difficulty justifying them to the majority of customers.

A capable operator can leave a carpet as clean and dry in a single process and in half the time or less than the " must follow orders "pedantic style of the " go by the book " operator.

Retention and referrals are more likely to follow the former style than the latter.

[MAX Carpets]

With a porty yes, with T/M hardly ever.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

I think he(Bill Bane) is right, a truckmount has suufficent power a to remove particulate soil and other dirt without stirring it into the atmosphere.

Cheers

Doug

[fenman]

It is all about customer perception.
We use a pile lifter on every job.
We say to the customer " the first thing we do is vacuum, its not that we think you don`t its just that our vacuum is about 5 times more powerful than yours so we get out all the deep down dirt and grit that over time will cut the fibres and wear out the carpet "
We then use a large, heavy, very noisy pile lifter that always impresses the customer and we even get people thinking we have cleaned by just doing this.
Whether it is actually any better than not vacuuming I have no idea but to the customer the perception is we are doing a professional job and that is worth paying for.

[from edge2edge]

Fenman now thats what i want to hear.I have just bought a chemspec pile lifter for this exact purpose so going on what you said its £300 well spent.Regards Alan(swindon)

[carpetfitta]

 when i started out cleaning my first job was a deep piled saxony, was full of dog hairs that matched the colour of the carpet (dark brown with black flecks) an ear-ring embedded in the pile, lots of tiny stones in the hall section of the carpet...moral of the story...

"you cant always visibly see the sh*t in the carpet."

yes the customers may well get a good job without pre-vac, but for my own peace of mind, and for the fact that a 2k machine isnt bulletproof, for me pre-vac is an added insurance policy and somethin that customers appreciate.

[Ian Gourlay]

It does depend on the situation.
One or two companies have a method of water filteration vaccum either a seperate machine or an attachment I think ashbys do one but I believe it has never caught on.

I sometimes think this Pre Vac Thing is a sales ploy to justfy £5 plus a metre or to defrenciate yourselves from other Carpet Cleaners

Is it not posible to use a Truckmount on Vac only first

Could someone tell me why the Ashbys system is not popular

To me it make more sense than bringing in another piece of kit
Ie Vaccum,
Power agitator,
And Machine or Vac hosses
Why not an all in one system


An

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Ian I think the all in one machine would be a good idea for us but not for the customer as they want to see machinery that they think they are paying loads of money for.

I'd like to see that Ashbys machine I didn't know about that one, personally I'd like an upright water filteration vac a bit like the canister ones but with a brush roll it would be a good show piece for customers.

Shaun

[Mike Halliday]

it reads to me like vacuuming is done by some to give a perceived value or to justify a higher price.

 how about instead of doing something that gives a perceived value you actually do something that has an actual value.

 I think if you want to impress the customer rather than tell how good you are going to vacuum the carpets with your super-duper industrial vacuum cleaner, you explain that as part of your cleaning service not only will you expertly clean the carpet but as a finishing touch you will clean all the paintwork within the room. This will take the same  amount of time as you as you would have if you'd vacuumed in the beginning, but I think this will have a greater value to the customer.

remember the customer has a vacuum cleaner and use it often so won't be impressed with you vacuuming, but how often do they wipe down their paintwork? ( especially behind heavy furniture)



 

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

Mike, why not just clean the carpet.

I will only vac if it needs it, derbris, hair etc.

Not much point in investing 10-30K in a TM and then spending ages vacuming with a 200 Pound machine.

I know vacuuming is sold as the difference between a pro and an amateur but in my view this is a dated analogy, when so much money is now invested in high powered machines .

Cheers

Doug

[Mike Halliday]

Doug you're right, why not do what they called us for.... Clean the carpets!

my point is if you feel the need to go the extra mile to try and impress the customer then do something which they will value.

plus if we are in a quoting situation with another carpet cleaner we need to look like we are doing more than the other company, otherwise we are all doing the same so they might as well just chose the cheapest quote.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

Mike that brings us to USP's , mine are TM, dry CC, years of experience and stain removal.

Vacuuming isn't among them !

Cheers

doug

[C A Payne]

alway's vac before cleaning, even if the customer has vac'd, i like to spend a good amount of time vac'ing before cleaning... i use a sebo bs36... charlie

[robert meldrum]

Alltec had an inline filter years ago but dropped it due to poor sales.

[carpetmas5]

I have  not got time to read all this any way seen two meny times before if you do not vac the dust in the carpet WILL make mud, its only too easy to pre vac.

[Mike Halliday]

in all the years I've beed cleaning carpets i have never ever seen mud!!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2sMuVPMkkk

[Len Gribble]

I was very surprise to learn today an office which Wayne and I did Saturday only gets vacuumed twice a week if we are lucky (there quote) some areas are 24/7 did we no! He can’t his head round another method I use! He still thinks it needs a tank and hwe, he young and a perfectionist.

Mike

You ant missed much! There like muddy waters!
 
Ian

I’ve got one called a dust downer as the name implies 

Len

[Derek_Walker]

I am a firm believer in pre vaccing where necessary, but find that there are quite a few that do not need it as the client vacs regularly.
Also domestic vacuum cleaners are alot more powerful and efficient than they used to be so the carpets are not so ingrained with grit.
If a carpet is fully loaded with soil, as in grit, sand etc, I would imagine this would be harder to extract from a carpet once it is wet as it tends to stick to the fibres more on its way out, even with the power of a truckmount. Better to extract it as dry soil.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Derek's youtube videos on his website look good, who did them for him?

Shaun

[COLIN BRIGHT]

its all about the type of service you want to provide
some pre vac, some dont
some aggitate, some dont
some qoute over the phone, others go out to quote
i think it all depends on the market you are targetting

as long as YOUR MARKET ARE HAPPY then thats ok