Hired a guy to clean the carpets after we leave. He asked how dirty the carpets were (to quote) and I said quite clean with only a few spots, I was thinking of just spotting them myself. Copped a tirade about how this wouldnt be good enough for a RE and they could see it differently to me, etc. etc. After he stopped, I said I was just giving you an idea of how clean they are. So, hired the guy, then realised the cleaners should come in first and him last, so rang him back quickly to change date (so that he wouldnt miss any bookings for the first date). He was absolutely adamant that I leave cash on the kitchen bench, which I said I wouldnt do as the cleaners (who I had hired out of the paper and didnt know from Adam, were coming in first and if the money disappeared he would not do the carpets. Absolutely adamant he wouldnt accept cheque, etc. so I said when finished take the key down to the RE (600mts at end of street) and they will give you the cash. Went on and on about how that was an extra trip, just leave the cash etc etc, so I said I would lthink about it and ring again in the morning. Received this text msg: "Forget about it, supaclean aint cleaning the carpets. You shoulnt ring trades people after 6pm" Can you believe it? My daughter had said if things dont seem right in the beginning, they will only get worse and I think she was right.
Dodgy as
- Thread starter fernfurn
- Start date
forget about him
People like that pressure you into using them, you know the statements "youv'e wasted my time" etc etc.
Sounds very dodgy to me. Whos to say he would clean the carpets anyway and not just do the few spots and take the cash.
I think its usually best to ask the REA who their recommended carpet cleaner is. As long as their price is competetive in my opinion it is the best way to go as the cleaners want to keep sweet with them and will do a good job. Added bonus is you could probably leave a cheque with the REA without any hassles in paying for the cleaning.
Don't tie yourself up in knots over a d**** h**** like that, there are lots of carpet cleaners around. He aint that unique.
People like that pressure you into using them, you know the statements "youv'e wasted my time" etc etc.
Sounds very dodgy to me. Whos to say he would clean the carpets anyway and not just do the few spots and take the cash.
I think its usually best to ask the REA who their recommended carpet cleaner is. As long as their price is competetive in my opinion it is the best way to go as the cleaners want to keep sweet with them and will do a good job. Added bonus is you could probably leave a cheque with the REA without any hassles in paying for the cleaning.
Don't tie yourself up in knots over a d**** h**** like that, there are lots of carpet cleaners around. He aint that unique.
Gosh...we REGULARLY get calls after 6:00pm Very often from the Property Managers we work for.
(And believe me, by the spelling of some of the maintaince orders we get..those girls are hitting the Chardy's at 6:00
)Also we will get calls from quotes that have been done through the day.. It is often a case of quote, wait for hubby to get home, hubby has some questions so rings the tradie.
Our "work number" stays on up until about 8:30 then we will let it go to machine.
Ring him from another phone with a slightly different voice tell him you need a 40 sq house cleaned and you'll pay cash if he can drop everything and do it Tuesday or Wednesday. Call back the night before and cancel - see how he likes being stuffed around....
Similar experience happened to us at a resturant once - we waited 50 minutes to be served then copped a barrage from the waiter. Someone in our party made a booking for 30 people for the following Saturday night and cancelled at 3pm. Whilst gobsmacked that they would do it, I guess sometimes you need to make your own Karma.
Cheers
Buddybee
Similar experience happened to us at a resturant once - we waited 50 minutes to be served then copped a barrage from the waiter. Someone in our party made a booking for 30 people for the following Saturday night and cancelled at 3pm. Whilst gobsmacked that they would do it, I guess sometimes you need to make your own Karma.
Cheers
Buddybee
I would like to give you my view on this as a person who owns a carpet cleaning business.
>>Hired a guy to clean the carpets after we leave. He asked how dirty the carpets were (to quote) and I said quite clean with only a few spots, I was thinking of just spotting them myself. Copped a tirade about how this wouldnt be good enough for a RE and they could see it differently to me, etc. etc.
We advice clients to not try to remove stains prior to cleaning as most products will set the stain and make it difficult to impossible to remove after. Your are hiring a professional, leave it to them to do properly.
>> He was absolutely adamant that I leave cash on the kitchen bench, which I said I wouldnt do as the cleaners (who I had hired out of the paper and didnt know from Adam, were coming in first and if the money disappeared he would not do the carpets. Absolutely adamant he wouldnt accept cheque, etc.
Our business does not accept cheques from new clients who are vacating properties for a few reasons. Firstly when we accept a cheque from a new client we need to check their license signature against the cheque and get them to sign the back of the cheque to say they have sufficient funds.
Also the address on people’s licenses is usually the vacant property so it makes it difficult to chase up if the cheque bounces, people tend to change their license details after they move. The problem is by the time we find out the cheque has bounced the tenants have already given in the receipt we gave them and had their bond returned. We don’t have the resources to chase people for money and we would have to put our prices up to allow for this and this is unfair to the honest people.
We always prefer the tenant or homeowner to be onsite when getting the job done so we can go through the job with them and give them their CASH receipt and also to make sure they are thoroughly happy with the completed job.
>>so I said when finished take the key down to the RE (600mts at end of street) and they will give you the cash. Went on and on about how that was an extra trip, just leave the cash etc etc
I know it doesn’t sound like much to ask but if the cleaner isn’t going to that real estate already then it is out of his way. It takes times to find a park and to secure your van, tidy yourself up after doing a hot sweaty job. Remember also a lot of carpet cleaners have oversized vans which are difficult to find a park for. If you do that 4 times a day at a conservative extra 15 mins of time each then an hour lost time that could be spent fitting in more work or taking a lunch break, it adds up so I understand why they made a policy not to do this.
>>You shoulnt ring trades people after 6pm"
You can call whenever it is convenient to you, its up to the business owner if they want to still answer calls after hours that can just as easily be handled during business hours. Some people don’t mind having their family time interrupted at night however our calls go to an answering service in the evening and only get forwarded if it is an emergency, got to have a few hours peace at night. I still wouldnt be so rude to say that to someone tho, its different to think it lol.
You know the old saying trust your gut, this arrangement was clearly not the right one for you. I hope you don’t mind me offering my thoughts from the other side of the fence as to the reasons why this might have happened.
Thanks
>>Hired a guy to clean the carpets after we leave. He asked how dirty the carpets were (to quote) and I said quite clean with only a few spots, I was thinking of just spotting them myself. Copped a tirade about how this wouldnt be good enough for a RE and they could see it differently to me, etc. etc.
We advice clients to not try to remove stains prior to cleaning as most products will set the stain and make it difficult to impossible to remove after. Your are hiring a professional, leave it to them to do properly.
>> He was absolutely adamant that I leave cash on the kitchen bench, which I said I wouldnt do as the cleaners (who I had hired out of the paper and didnt know from Adam, were coming in first and if the money disappeared he would not do the carpets. Absolutely adamant he wouldnt accept cheque, etc.
Our business does not accept cheques from new clients who are vacating properties for a few reasons. Firstly when we accept a cheque from a new client we need to check their license signature against the cheque and get them to sign the back of the cheque to say they have sufficient funds.
Also the address on people’s licenses is usually the vacant property so it makes it difficult to chase up if the cheque bounces, people tend to change their license details after they move. The problem is by the time we find out the cheque has bounced the tenants have already given in the receipt we gave them and had their bond returned. We don’t have the resources to chase people for money and we would have to put our prices up to allow for this and this is unfair to the honest people.
We always prefer the tenant or homeowner to be onsite when getting the job done so we can go through the job with them and give them their CASH receipt and also to make sure they are thoroughly happy with the completed job.
>>so I said when finished take the key down to the RE (600mts at end of street) and they will give you the cash. Went on and on about how that was an extra trip, just leave the cash etc etc
I know it doesn’t sound like much to ask but if the cleaner isn’t going to that real estate already then it is out of his way. It takes times to find a park and to secure your van, tidy yourself up after doing a hot sweaty job. Remember also a lot of carpet cleaners have oversized vans which are difficult to find a park for. If you do that 4 times a day at a conservative extra 15 mins of time each then an hour lost time that could be spent fitting in more work or taking a lunch break, it adds up so I understand why they made a policy not to do this.
>>You shoulnt ring trades people after 6pm"
You can call whenever it is convenient to you, its up to the business owner if they want to still answer calls after hours that can just as easily be handled during business hours. Some people don’t mind having their family time interrupted at night however our calls go to an answering service in the evening and only get forwarded if it is an emergency, got to have a few hours peace at night. I still wouldnt be so rude to say that to someone tho, its different to think it lol.
You know the old saying trust your gut, this arrangement was clearly not the right one for you. I hope you don’t mind me offering my thoughts from the other side of the fence as to the reasons why this might have happened.
Thanks
Thanks for putting a carpet cleaner's view, SeaShell1, but on this note...
I haven't used either cash or cheque to pay for things (other than cash for a can of coke or something) for years; I wouldn't use a business that didn't accept either direct deposit, EFTPOS, BPAY, or credit card. Before you object to the cost, I'm happy to pay a couple of percent more for the convenience of using first world technology.
I'm happy to pay a couple of percent more for the convenience of using first world technology.
We're still tight enough to use cash at Aldi
Cheers,
The Y-man
Unfortunately the industry has had a lot of problems over the years with dodgy operators simply buying a machine and calling themselves a carpet cleaner, a lot of general cleaners do this as a way to make extra money.
Carpet Cleaning IS now a govt recognised Trade, which requires the undertaking of a course and training in Asset Maintenance: Carpet Cleaning Operations and Management - Certificates III and IV. You can now get an apprenticeship in Asset Management. This isn’t the same as trade associations through membership.
Obviously its not like getting a doctors degree lol but there is a lot to know about carpets, upholstery, fibres and the correct way to remove stains and prolong the life the investment (carpet). I saw a job a dodgy guy(cleaner with a machine) did earlier this week, which left the carpet with a chemical burn and the poor vacating tenant in tears on the phone to us to fix it.
It is a good idea to check with your real estate and try to go with who they recommend, getting cheapies in can cost you more by having the get the job done again properly.
Thanks for putting a carpet cleaner's view, SeaShell1, but on this note...I haven't used either cash or cheque to pay for things (other than cash for a can of coke or something) for years; I wouldn't use a business that didn't accept either direct deposit, EFTPOS, BPAY, or credit card. Before you object to the cost, I'm happy to pay a couple of percent more for the convenience of using first world technology.
LOL can of coke.... we offer all of the above too as payment terms.. just not personal cheques on vacant properties. We have let a few slip through recently for various reasons and the buggers have bit us in a$$ and we didn't end up getting paid.
Carpet Cleaning "Service"
Hi All,
I had a domestic services business and did lots of rentals via estate agents and landlords direct. That guy sounds like a tosser you wouldn't want on your property little lone doing the work. He has probably forgotten he is in a service business. Make it easy for your customers to make payments and they will pay "over the odds".
The first thing I would have done is terminate the conversation with the dude and moved to a more profesional contractor. He is basically not building a repeat business. If my customers chose to pay by cash - well and good - but make it easy for them to pay no matter what method.
You do need to keep customer focused and remember you are in a SERVICE business. This cleaner will end up scrambling for jobs as long as he continues because he doesn't understand what is required to build a good repeat business and how to build and maintain customers!
Anyway thats my spleen vented!
Hi All,
I had a domestic services business and did lots of rentals via estate agents and landlords direct. That guy sounds like a tosser you wouldn't want on your property little lone doing the work. He has probably forgotten he is in a service business. Make it easy for your customers to make payments and they will pay "over the odds".
The first thing I would have done is terminate the conversation with the dude and moved to a more profesional contractor. He is basically not building a repeat business. If my customers chose to pay by cash - well and good - but make it easy for them to pay no matter what method.
You do need to keep customer focused and remember you are in a SERVICE business. This cleaner will end up scrambling for jobs as long as he continues because he doesn't understand what is required to build a good repeat business and how to build and maintain customers!
Anyway thats my spleen vented!
That's fair enough but i still wouldn't call a carpet cleaner a trades person.
A cert 3 & 4 is completely different to a 4 year on the job training and a 3 year (min) tafe course for a trade apprentice.
A cert 3 & 4 is completely different to a 4 year on the job training and a 3 year (min) tafe course for a trade apprentice.
I agree with both your comments here. There are some people without trade quals that are better than qualified trades. I suppose that happens in every industry.
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