Carpet Cleaning Challenge

Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on November 3, 2009 under Connecting Moments, First Impressions, General, making a difference | Be the First to Comment

I have company coming for Thanksgiving and as I make a list of all that needs to be done before they arrive, I realize the carpets need to be cleaned.

The cleaner I used to use is no longer in business so it was back to the Yellow Pages to make a few calls. I called the standard choices and explained the same thing:

I need two rooms, stairs and a hallway and two pieces of furniture cleaned.

My company has an allergy to cats and so I wanted to make sure that the bedrooms and furniture were free from cat dander.

Each of the traditional companies (Service Master, Stanley Steemer and Sears) had similar pricing. They didn’t tell me what I would receive, they just quoted a price. The prices were comparable within $15. Nothing set them apart.

I’ve used each of them at one time or another over the years and remember that often on the actual day of cleaning, additional options would be made available like scotch guard for an additional price.

So I decided to call a local shop:  Special Touch

• She asked drill down questions about the rooms and the furniture
• She priced each room and item (very competitive rates)
• She informed me that it would include moving furniture and scotch-guarding the carpets and furniture
• She asked what day would be convenient
• She asked if I had a time preference
• She told me that I would need to vacumn before they came and move any small or breakable items and they would take care of the rest

It was a thorough conversation after which I felt confident that her company knew what they were doing and would take care of all of the aspects of the job for me without incident. 

I booked an appointment right away.  Then she asked when I was doing the general cleaning of the house before my company arrived.  She suggested that we schedule the carpet cleaning for the day AFTER I cleaned as cleaning would send dust particles into the carpet.  And she suggested the visit occur the day BEFORE my company arrives to allow for plenty of drying time.  She said they had different cleaning methods but since my biggest concern was cat dander – she recommended the steam process.  All of this great and helpful information for the same price as the competition – actually a little less. 

Great Value!  Great customer connection.  She listened to what was important to me and made recommendations based on those needs.  Color me one happy customer and they haven’t even come to clean the carpets!

It’s hard to set ourselves apart when prospect are comparing prices over the phone.  But if we take the time to ask additional questions we often learn valuable information that we can respond to, thus setting ourselves apart from the competition.