I got a phone call today from a carpet job I did about 3-4 weeks ago.

Lady is claiming my cleaning solution is eating her carpet right down to the underpad in spots all over.

my steps
colour fast test with all 3 products
pre vac
spot & stain, with all bio solution By Lifetime Solutions
extract with Encap Punch 1.5 ounce to gallon
Pad with Encap DS 4 oz to gallon and 6 in very heavy areas

been doing this with Relasit for over a year now, never any complaints, never any problems. Only rave reviews.....

My thoughts;
she had a splash and dash in 1.5-2 yrs ago, and they left lots of residue, that is coming alive now, or she is trying to scam??
Like I said, I will go tomorrow night and look at it.

Any thoughts,
Rick I could use a statement from you to assist on this one!

Thanks Ed

ps. forgot to add in,
also did her two chairs in the basement the same way; on one and only pre spray and punch on the other. So I Will take a look at those as well, as fabric, red fabric sort of velvet type, is a lot less durable than the carpet in her house!!! (ps she did not mention them and I did not bring it up, but I will photo them as well when I go tomorrow!!! )

None of the products. I repeat NONE of the products you mentioned could cause a carpet to disintegrate. Do you have any idea what it would take to dissolve carpet? LOL

There are only two possibilities. And you alluded to both of them.

1. Someone has applied some kind of a caustic spotter prior to your cleaning and it has become reactivated when you got the carpet wet. Don't dismiss this, it is a possibility.

-or-

2. She is trying to scam you.

In either case cut your ties with this client as quickly as possible! This person is out to wrongfully damage you. There is no possible way that the cleaning agents you used dissolved her carpet, not even a chance. Battery acid maybe, but neutral detergents - never.

Let this client go!









Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Your spot and stain has some H202 in it does it not?

Ken Jacobs - cleaningequipment.ca

Spot & Stain is not a Releasit product, so I can't comment on it directly.

However H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) wouldn't dissolve carpet.








Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

What fiber is the carpet made of?

Make you own luck,

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

What type of carpet is it?????
Test if Wool = problem H202 will dissolve/distroy wool

AUSSIE WEST

That is true about wool.

And keep in mind, if it's wool -- there's always a chance that the customer may have used an oxy product before you arrived such as OxyClean.







Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Update;

The carpet is a cheap, builders carpet that is poly.

This woman is a total scammer, or her real estate agent is!!!
As soon as I walked in the door it was fix carpet.. no.. what is wrong,, no..
It was you who ruined my carpet, buy a new one..

Did not matter what I said the only thing this woman wants for her ugly carpet is a new one. She even tried to blame me for the spot that the dog had ripped out using his teeth and claws, she pointed this out to me on the first walk through.

When asked about the basement and chairs she said they were fine, I said lets go see them, she said no, lets go upstairs. There are about 15 perfecly round marks, like you would get from a sprayer or spray can.

I felt it with my hands the problem to the fibers is from the Top Down, not bottom up. The rest of the carpet is fine. The chairs are fine The basement carpet is fine.

Offered two solutions, quickly first to neutralize it (myself or a colleague from another company) and then call in a carpet inspector, a Certified IICRC Carpet Inspector, Lee.

Her answer was "that is the stupidist thing I have heard, more stuff on my carpet and another carpet guy. She said no one is coming in here no you will PAY for my carpet, either buy it or pay the deductable" My answer was, now, I will do nothing until a carpet inspector has looked at this situation. She rejected the papers I have printed out to give to her and refused the carpet inspectors information as well.

SCAMMER ......
If I had done something wrong, I would have paid for repairs or replace, but this looks like it was sprayed after I was there.
(speculation) Perhaps the agent said this dog chew spot looks nasty, lets force this carpet monkey to pay, he is a small company and will not fight it... wrong......

Hey guy

is she in the GTA?

Hello Ken,
No she is in Durham in Ajax,
she also refuses to let a carpet inspector in. Also I think she sprayed the carpet with something, or there might have been some nasty off the shelf oxy/other product that she used for dog pee before, but, seeing as this is top down not bottom up, sprayed I think.
Also the spot & stain, at less than 1% H202 is never going to be an issue, especially when I have taken a swig of it and it did nothing but leave a slight tingle. I have also tested on a scrap carpet H202 at 3% left it for a month and nothing, I will try some at 35% today, just to see what happens.

ps. Ken I tried to call you from the website numbers, the 800# not connected and the other number no voice mail.

You're OK with that spot & stain, we drink it too

Our Help Mate A&B spotter has WAY more H202

Don't lose any more sleep over this customer. In 16 years I have never heard anything like this. She can't hurt your business...she's crazy. The next time you see her will be if you're cleaning carpet in the mental hospital.

Ken

Thank You
Ken Jacobs - Toronto
www.cleaningequipment.ca

Write something up that you want to bring in a carpet inspector.  The cost of the inspector will be determined by the results of the uinspection and test(s) the inspector conducts.

If the inspector shows that the issue is your fault that you will pay FULL costs of handling the issue including the inspectors fees, and refund of the cleaning money.

If the inspection reveals that it was anything other then you or your chemicals then she pays all costs including cleaning and inspectors fees.

Take a witness with you AND audio and/or video tape it.  NOTE--- Check your state laws on recording conversations.....In Arizona it is perfectly legal to audio record ANY conversation as long as one person in the conversation is aware that it is being recorded. 

I audio taped MANY conversations on a microcassette in my pocket as a police officer.  Case goes to court.  Defendant tries to lie, make accusations, all sorts of stuff.  I'd simply ask them: "Are you sure?"  "Absolutely I am officer- you are nothing but a crooked cop and a liar" (in court they would say this stuff).  "OK then let's review the audio tape and see what it reveals".  Their eyes would get as big as an extra large pizza and then their memory suddenly got better...hmmmmmmmmmm.

Works like a champ!

Make you own luck,

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

Hi Del,
good advice, not sure on the laws here but it could not hurt to have tape recorder at least for my own insurance and lawyer.

I already offered her a few papers with all the product info and the inspectors contact information, she refused them.

When that happens I try to get them to write "Refused" in their own handwriting on it (I used to do it on civil traffic citations).  Somehow about 50% (or more) would write refused, but not sign- still proof that they had the opportunity and shows the page with their handwriting on it.

Make you own luck,

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

Ed

Send her your papers etc via registered mail (thats what its called in Oz,) so she has to sign for receiving them and you get a receipt that she received it, then forget her for ever. Its a pain when these cases come up, an insult to a good carpet cleaner, thankfully its not often, most people are normal, but you get the odd spackhead. (Oz for not quite normal person). I might write a book on them one day...

Cheers

Geoff

I bet Lee is too busy to go out and inspect!

Thank You
Ken Jacobs - Toronto
www.cleaningequipment.ca