5 Things That Will Drive You Crazy About Carpet Cleaners and How to Prevent Them

What’s worse than having a tooth drilled at the dentist? For many homeowners these are carpet cleaning companies. Here’s what you can do about the 5 most common complaints people have about carpet cleaners.

– Problem: Bait and change of sales tactics. Many carpet cleaners make all kinds of promises to get into my house; then they try to pressure me into buying all kinds of extras that I really don’t want. (A quick internet search will reveal dozens of hidden camera consumer reports about these scammers.)

Solution: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You can’t clean a rug for $9.95 a room and still be in business. Ask what is included with the cleaning and what is not. At a minimum, the price must include:

– Previous vacuuming, especially along baseboards

– Pretreatment of transit areas

– Truck-mounted steam cleaning equipment (not portable or hood cleaning)

– Grooming to fix fibers and promote quick drying after cleaning

– If you have pet stains or other specific problems, get a rough idea of ​​how much they charge for these services (Hint – Find out if they work as a team. It doesn’t take 2 people to clean your house, one is there to do most of the work while the other is there to “work on you” to increase sales)

– Problem: waiting all day for the cleaner to appear. I have a busy schedule and I hate being at the mercy of a carpet cleaner who won’t give me a firm time.

Solution: Keep looking until you find one that guarantees a specific time. Alternatively, if their time is worth a lot, offer to pay an additional amount for a timed cleaning, say $50.00. Carpet cleaners, like all personal service providers, sell their time. Simply beat the rest in your preferred time slot.

– Problem: Incompetent or inexperienced cleaner. The cleaner they sent to my house doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing, and he can’t or won’t do what I ask him to do.

Solution: It is really irrelevant that the company has been in business forever if the technician only has a few days of cleaning experience. When you make your first contact with the cleaner’s office, ask which technician has been with the company the longest. Then simply request it by his name. If he doesn’t come to your house, reschedule work. I predict you’ll be there for your next appointment.

– Problem: They don’t support their work. They got the job done, but it’s still dirty in places, and now they won’t return my calls.

Solution: Once again, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Before selecting the cleaner, a few screening questions can minimize these types of problems. Clarify what your guarantees are and how they work. Give them some what-if scenarios, and if you think there might be a problem, move on to the next company. If any service provider does not have a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee posted on their website, you have not found the right company.

– Problem: Theft and personal security. I’m worried about strangers in my house. Will they steal, will they damage my things, will my children and I be safe?

Solution: Many small businesses do not conduct pre-employment screenings. They do not conduct criminal background checks or verify previous employment. Check the experience level of the technician – any employee causing problems of this nature is probably no longer with the company. Also ask if they are insured and if they do background checks on the people who will be doing their job.

When talking to potential cleaners, open-ended questions work best. A simple way to ask a question is: “I have a concern about ___, how do you handle that?” Ask clarifying questions, like “Can you tell me more about __?” or “Can you give me an example of __?”

PS You can apply these examples to most home service providers and not just carpet cleaners.