"Just remove the pork chop"

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
112,308
Location
The High Chapperal
A good fifteen years ago I had a customer who opened my eyes to what most home owners really want from a visit from their regular carpet cleaning company.


To remove the pork chop, plain and simple.

With this particular repeat customer her main goal was to remove a very visible eye sore from her living room carpet. They had recently rearranged their furniture and by moving the sofa they exposed a very old pork chop that was VERY stuck to the carpet.
All the little spots and traffic lane grunge did not matter to them. Just the pork chop had to go, the rest was insignificant and could be lived with. Much like wine and coffee drips to more fastidious home owners, there are always one or two spots that will incite them to call you. It's very rarely the overall dinginess that only you and I as professionals, are bothered by.

Since then I always start my tour of the home and work load with " What are your main concerns today Mrs Piftleton?

and inevitably, they will lead you to the pork chop...




This is exactly why cleaners with low technical skills but great personalities can get by just fine in this industry. Most home owners don't recognize a dirty carpet when they see one, especially one that has evenly soiled out from a past cleaning that left an even residue over the whole room. All they see are the surface spots and spills, which most any method can remove.

How many of you have competitors in your neighborhoods who run around in virtually empty vans, just a TM a wand and a hand tool along with 3 or 4 chemicals? They can't clean worth a damn compared to a Saiger or a Sutley but they make that spot go away and for most, that's more than enough to get by on.







as for that pork chop? it had been there so long it was firmly rotted to the yarns but a carpet knife and a thorough hot water extraction took away their embarrassment.
The fact that the whole room now glowed, was residue free and smelled spring fresh went unnoticed.
 
Last edited:

Cleanworks

Moderator
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
26,927
Location
New Westminster,BC
Name
Ron Marriott
I agree 100 percent. First thing to ask the customer is her main concerns. You can remove 99 of 100 spots but if you don't get out the one that bothers her, she won't be happy
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nate The Great

jcooper

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
3,232
Location
IL
Name
Jerry Cooper
Ms Smith, if anything specific is bothering you please be sure to point it out. Everybody sees thing different, your eyes might be better than mine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mikey P

ruff

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
11,010
Location
San Francisco, CA
Name
Ofer Kolton
Damn.
And here I was getting all giddy that you're finally going to send Marty on an extended raft stay.
And all you talking about is removing some old pork chop. Now, I'll have to re-cork the champagne.

Good post though.
 

J Scott W

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2006
Messages
4,061
Location
Shelbyville TN
Name
Jeffrey Scott Warrington
Great information and well illustrated with that story, Mike.

Focus on what is bugging them not what you see. I think most residential carpet cleaning is event driven - relatives coming for a visit, friends invited over for a big dinner, the furniture being rearranged, etc. Your client seees something that she feels will be noticed by others and wants to avoid the embarrassment.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
9,345
Location
Hawaii
Name
Nate W.
We've had a customer call for spot dyeing some stains... Another cleaner referred them to us... We get there and the place has a musty odor from being closed up while still wet... We know they use portable equipment... Customer shows us the spots and it's actually browning from being over wet...

The whole place still was dirty... I'll give them credit for cleaning it because I could only imagine how dirty it was... We got rid of the "stains" for the customer, but I almost bit my lip off holding back.... We did mention they'd be cleaner areas where we needed to work on...

The customer was fine with the cleaners work... We took care of his concerns on the spots... It still bothers be that it could have cleaned up soooo much better... And the other cleaners aren't bashful to charge either...
 
  • Like
Reactions: SamIam and Mikey P
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Messages
118
Location
Mi
Name
Tim Yeater
A good fifteen years ago I had a customer who opened my eyes to what most home owners really want from a visit from their regular carpet cleaning company.


To remove the pork chop, plain and simple.

With this particular repeat customer her main goal was to remove a very visible eye sore from her living room carpet. They had recently rearranged their furniture and by moving the sofa they exposed a very old pork chop that was VERY stuck to the carpet.
All the little spots and traffic lane grunge did not matter to them. Just the pork chop had to go, the rest was insignificant and could be lived with. Much like wine and coffee drips to more fastidious home owners, there are always one or two spots that will incite them to call you. It's very rarely the overall dinginess that only you and I as professionals, are bothered by.

Since then I always start my tour of the home and work load with " What are your main concerns today Mrs Piftleton?

and inevitably, they will lead you to the pork chop...




This is exactly why cleaners with low technical skills but great personalities can get by just fine in this industry. Most home owners don't recognize a dirty carpet when they see one, especially one that has evenly soiled out from a past cleaning that left an even residue over the whole room. All they see are the surface spots and spills, which most any method can remove.

How many of you have competitors in your neighborhoods who run around in virtually empty vans, just a TM a wand and a hand tool along with 3 or 4 chemicals? They can't clean worth a damn compared to a Saiger or a Sutley but they make that spot go away and for most, that's more than enough to get by on.







as for that pork chop? it had been there so long it was firmly rotted to the yarns but a carpet knife and a thorough hot water extraction took away their embarrassment.
The fact that the whole room now glowed, was residue free and smelled spring fresh went unnoticed.
You had me at pork chop!!!

We all tend to overthink the process when all the customer wants is gone
They want the spots gone they want the spills gone they want the smells gone they don't want it complicated
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mikey P
Back
Top Bottom