Mother was right. Our shoes are filthy, and we'd be smart to leave them at the door, like they do in Japan.

Even microbiologist Charles P. Gerba was surprised to discover what we track into the house on our footwear.

"I'm starting to make myself paranoid," he said. "It seems like we step in a lot more poop than I thought."

Gerba is a professor in the University of Arizona's Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science. He's spent years studying how humans spread microbes around and "share" them wherever they go.

These are common questions often asked. I have my preference but that does not make it a good pick for the client. I look at the carpet fiber first. Will it last? Will it wear for a life time and not ugly out? Bottom line, I am at a point in my life where I can appreciate the old adage: It only costs a dollar more to go first class.

There are a number of great sites that will answer these questions honestly. I highly recommend if you are buying carpet to do some research. Please don’t forget that a carpet salesman is a salesman. I have given two links below that are both great. Spend some time and determine what would best meet your needs then see what kind of a deal the salesman can give you on your chosen fiber.

http://www.homecarpetshopping.com
http://www.carpetbuyershandbook.com

Bad or poor service is always a concern for us. We don’t get up in the morning and say let’s do a subpar job today. It is our goal to give our customers value for their money. We always try to give our clients a realistic expectation of the results of a deep clean.

This is to all that have use my services and recommended us this year. Thank you! We hope your Thanksgiving was great and your Christmas and New Year are as well. Merry Chistmas and Happy New Year!!!  We look forward to seeing you next year. 

My last blog compared carpet cleaning chemicals to artificial sweeter. This article I had to share so that you can see the chemical used every day in the name Beauty. My point is don’t let slick advertising keep you from having a clean carpet. Used properly and rinsed correctly carpet cleaning chemical are safe.

How harsh are the “Harsh Chemicals” that your carpet cleaner uses? I heard and add today claiming a chemical free clean using some kind of super duper water.  First lets all agree that nearly all manufactures of textile flooring require a “deep Clean” every year to a year and a half. You would find this documented in your warranty information when you buy your carpet. (Most of us never ask for it and as a result never read it. We trust our sales person.) Manufactures definition of deep clean is almost always hot water extraction. (Aka; steam clean) So let’s compare the average chemical used when Steam Cleaning to what’s in our food supply. 

This is a common recommendation by medical professionals but is correct? Did you know that there was a 1996 Swedish study that found no link between carpet usage and the incidence of allergy or asthma? In fact, even when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70 percent, allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30 percent.

"This carpet looks like it needs cleaning" Yes that is what one of my commercial accounts told me a few days ago. I spend to much time on education, if you ask my son, so when I heard this I was at ah. So this rant is for the world to know not just a client.

             When we look at a carpet and think it looks dirty it is holding from 1-4 pounds of soil per sqaure foot. That is a soda bottle full of soil every square foot.   Long pause .........   Think about that for a monemt. .....  Just in case you did not pick up on the term soil, it is PC for dirt. Don't wait for your carpets to look dirty, its like walking on them with sandpaper shoes.  They wear out faster and they don't look as bright. If you want to save the cost of replacing carpet maintain them on a regular basis not "when they look like they need it" 

Matting in your facility    --  Click on the comment for the link.

Many business owners struggle when it comes to the best way to clean their commercial carpets.  Should they hire a cleaning company, attempt the job on their own or use their in house cleaners.  It turns out that none of the above is the universal answer for taking care of dirty carpets.  It's always best to use the right professional for the job.

What else needs to be said. I hope everyone enjoys the season for what it is. Keep your expectations simple and enjoy your families.

Just read a do it yourself spot removal article. Keep this in mind; you should have recieved your manufactures recommendations when you purchased your carpet. If you did not, go to the mfg's web site and search for one. I also have one on my site under "helpful hints" that was taken form a number of manufactures and has proven to be safe. We all search for the worlds answers on the Web. Be careful and make sure you are getting cleaning information based on mfg's tryed and tested recommendations.

Just a review. This is about negative feedback.

If you get nagative feedback, be perpared to do somethng about it! If its your employees, be sure they know they have the power to correct the situation.

Now let go back to the beginning.

The best situation is to do it right the 1st time. You don't want that negative experience and the effort that goes with correcting a negative that could have been a positive with a little more effort.

Sometimes, a customer is left with a negative outlook because of lack of communication..."no on could fix this". Lack of communication can be a service company's biggist problem. Traing that includes role playing can prepare you and your staff to communicate with your clients, Focus on what information to share and on how to share that information. This really boils down to developing a relationship with your customers.

SOME SITUATIONS CAN'T BE EXPLAINED AWAY... Maybe, it really could have been done better or, it could be. the customer wants a "physical" response...  and attempt to fix it, even if you know, "it can't be fixed." So ...... if a negative situation arised, make it your lifes work to turn it around. Sometimes you will be responding to things that aren't your fault. What your response will be is a company decision. Any technicians should know how you want a situation to be handled. That calls for you, the owner to communicate with your crew.

Interesting thing we found is, sometimes, pursuing the questioning too hard could create situations. The customer would be persuaded that"something must be wrong". It can take a delicate balance to ask the right questions while not "creating problelms".

At my company, we knew we were sometimes responding to things that weren't our fault, but we responded anyway. (unless it was outrageous... again... a company decision) It happened infrquently. Our reputation was the most important thing we had. We jumped through hoops to protect it.

Feedback is something we all need, but merely asking, "How Was Everything?" doesn't make you a god company.

Part of being a good service company means;

1.   Try to eliminate any reasons to get called back.

2.   If you ask... be ready for the answer!

3.   Respond..... with something well thought out.

This Article writen by Dennis Klager and I thought it was worth a look. This is one of the hardest things to not react negatively too, it takes work. If you have feed back give it and be patient while we formulate a plan for you and we repair our egos. :)

By Dennis Klager:

After eating dinner at a local restaurant, My wife and I walked to the front counter to pay."How was everything?" the girl asked with a smile. "Not very good" I replied. It had taken a long time to get our food and it arrived cold. The girl's smile disappeared and she took on a blank look. I got the feeling she was offended. Her answer to this situation was to, basically, ignor what I said and give a feeble, "Thank-you", as we left.

I said to my wife after we walked out,"So they ask everybody,"How was everything." and they're expecting everyone to say something like.... it was good. They aren't prepared to do anything if they hear anything else."

At other times, the "how was everything?" question comes as the server is passing by on the way to another table. She or he is gone before you have the chance to swallow the bite in your mouth and reply.

Rule#1

Do ask for feedback, but pay attention to the customer. You should really want to hear their reply. Seeing your company through your client's eyes is critical to your continued success.

Rule#2

If you ask for feed back, be perpared to, sometimes, hear something you don't like!

Rule#3

If you get negative feedback, be prepared to do something about it! If it is your employees, be sure they know they have the power to correct the situation.

Now ......... let's go back to the beginning.  TO BE CONTINUED...............

I will continue on a later post but let me comment before I do. When I recieve negative feedback it is hard to take. We all like to thimk our performance always measures up. So be patient when you have a comment for improvement, we will need to reset our minds to taking care of your problem. Secondly; I like to think I have clients. A client is someone that will return and I have a working relationship with. A customer walks in makes a purchase and I may or maynot see them again.

Well folks the fair has come and gone and fall is knocking on the door. I have not topics in which to carry on at great lengths.

"Bait and switch" definition-

Noun:
A sales tactic in which a bargain-priced item is used to attract customers who are then encouraged to purchase a more expensive similar item.

This is a common recommendation by medical professionals. Did you know that there was a 1996 Swedish study that found no link between carpet usage and the incidence of allergy or asthma? In fact, even when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70 percent, allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30 percent.