Do you send a NON guarantee with estimate

[leofry@1966]

I am sure this will have a lot of controversy, but have you ever been asked to give a estimate on a carpet or tile and grout that has never been cleaned in like say 20 years... even though i tell them hey this has not been cleaned in such a long time i really don;t know what it will do and EVEN with a demo just because that spot come clean does not mean a area in front of the door or the bathroom stall will come as clean ... so i get if its a $100 job maybe you eat it if that is what you want to do but what if you clean a huge restroom and you are getting up all kinds of dirt but there are some areas that did not do well.

A. Do you cover this in the estimate saying you can't guarantee
B. keep cleaning it like 5 times turning a 8 hour job at $100 an hour to a 30 hour job turing it in to a $26 an hour job
C. eat it say your sorry don;t pay
D. just tell them its to far gone, althogh i have seen some dramatic results but i have also not seen then

contrary to what some may say here or on other post somethings can not be restored

[encapman]

I agree that some things just can't be restored.

My approach in my cleaning business was always to try and sniff out the problem jobs/customers and let them pass me by. I don't need that kind of stress.

Or if I was going to possibly take on a really challenging job I would normally start off by falling all over myself explaining what "proper care" should have included and since that wasn't done I'd explain in detail that this carpet/floor is in pretty rough shape and possibly can't be resurrected.

In other words, good communication up front would normally make for smooth sailing if we decided to proceed with the job. I would UNDER PROMISE like crazy beforehand. And I would make sure that they understood without a shadow of a doubt that this flooring is spent and make sure they recognize why it's in the shape it's in. Then anything I could do to improve it was generally viewed as some kind of miracle.

BTW, if they weren't fully convinced that what I was saying was factual and that we were attempting to win an unwinnable battle after my dissertation about how messed up their flooring was, I would walk... I'd simply say: I'm sorry, we're not in a position to be able to take care of that for you.

I always felt that the old Kenny Rogers song applied here...
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to RUN."

[lee@deepclean.us.com]

Exactly what Rick says!

[Rob D]

I agree with Rick.... I've had one bad situation in 12 years and it was because my emotions cloudy my brain. " Know when to say no" . All my decisions are base on making sure if I do a job I have raving fans. I don't base decision on financial gain. The money always follows with the right decisions

[Jamie]

I agree with Rick.

I also think that ascertaining what the customers expectation actually is (not guessing what it might be), this is so important. If you know this before you start then you can make an informed decision. If its unrealistic and they act like there should be no problem with cleaning it and they don't see that a clean every 10-20 years is not normal then run don't walk. IMO that kind of customer is potentially dangerous to your business because they are just as likely to bag you to everyone they know when it doesn't meet their unrealistic expectations. I personally think these customers are in the minority but they can make noise like they are the majority.

Conversely there are heaps of customers that will love you for even making a realistic improvement and doing your best.

Cheers

Jamie