We did a condo job and the technician said an elderly council member followed him around and asked a lot of questios and offered some advice as how best to clean the carpets.
A week later he calls and is not happy with the job. Says there is problem areas ie: still dirty.
What is a good way to educate someone who thinks they know best how to clean a carpet? I believe he thinks there should not be a shred of dirt left after an intial cleaning even though it has been a long time between cleanings. We are also supposed to start a maintenance program with him but unless he lets us be the cleaning proffesionsls instead of him we will not be able to please him.

Ken Martin

Ken,

I produced a marketing piece for cleaners who are using the Cimex/Releasit system with the very thought of explaining the process to the potential client...

http://www.excellent-supply.com/Commercial_Carpet_Care_System.pdf

For those using this system feel free to print it out. You can even e-mail it to Kinko's or your favorite color copy center and they can make some killer looking glossy fliers out of it.

The idea is to explain the process in simple terms. Keep the conversation focused on how this cleaning system will fix their problems. Explain that the detergent you're using (Releasit) is a powerful detergent. It's a low moisture product that does not exacerbate the problems in a commercial carpet that wetter methods commonly will. Carpets dry quickly. And it's built with a polymer and a fluoro-chemical that will help to leave the carpet in a more soil-resistant condition. We'll also sometimes mention that we're using a machine that was imported from England (sounds cool).

Be sure to mention that variations of this cleaning process are being used throughout the entire commercial carpet industry. Everyone from DuPont, to Collin's & Aikman, to Interface, to carpet cleaners all over the world are now using this type of cleaning process.

Then talk about you. Tell him how long you've been in business. Explain what training and certifications you've acquired. And then stress to him that it's because of your commitment to staying at the forefront of the industry that you're using this new cleaning technology. If you want the older technology that doesn't work as well for this type of carpet we can provide that too.

But Ken in the end understand that there are some customers who are techno geeks. Theses are usually men. And they're usually pinheads who won't get off your back as they follow you around and watch your every move. Customers like this are often never satisfied with anything you do and are generally not worth having.




Rick Gelinas

Two choices.
Decide if you want to work for this type person, if you decide to go ahead with the program build in enough profit that you can afford to go back to touchup "his" areas of concern. We have a few contracts like this and we go back and do what ever it is they are not happy with, over a period of time it usually goes away by it's self and the complaints stop.

The other choice as Rick said is to try and educate them to what you are doing. Remember this: PEOPLE DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, TIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE! when you use this approach. I would rather work for people how demand the most from us than those how don't have a clue what they want, once we please these people we have them as a client for life.