Every consumer that wants to hire a company wants to receive reliable, effective, and affordable service when they do so. To this end, the smart consumer will research the various companies available before making a hiring decision. This research becomes much more critical in cases where the service is going to be performed in the client’s home. Allowing service people into your home obliges you to ensure that they are impeccably reliable and trustworthy as well as good at their jobs.
Thorough research improves the odds of a consumer making a satisfactory match with a service provider on their first try. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties. Companies are interested in maintaining strong reputations and parlaying them into long-term relationships that give them plenty of repeat business. Consumers are interested in finding reliable service providers so that they do not need to perform exhaustive research in the future.
Carpet Cleaning
What’s the most efficient way to do that research and pick out the best company when it comes to carpet cleaning?
Many service industries have taken the step of creating widespread standards for professional conduct that individual firms strive to uphold. Carpet cleaning is one of those industries; companies that provide these services thoroughly understand the importance of maintaining high standards and earning customer trust. Sadly, as with any industry, the carpet cleaning field still has its share of bad apples. Unscrupulous providers will seek to cut corners, compromise on service standards, and charge too much for their work. This is why you as a homeowner need to cultivate the ability to tell a trustworthy carpet cleaning company from an untrustworthy one. If more homeowners developed and employed this skill, the sub-standard companies would find it harder to earn any money and would be driven out of business by their more reliable peers.
Ask these simple questions when you’re evaluating the potential reliability of any carpet cleaning company:
Is Their Work Guaranteed?
At an absolute minimum, you have the right to expect a meaningful satisfaction guarantee from any carpet cleaning firm you allow into your home. Reputable firms should stand behind the effectiveness of their tools, employees, and services. Fulfilling a 100% satisfaction guarantee is not hard for a good cleaning company; this is why many of the best businesses in the industry make their satisfaction guarantee a significant part of their advertising.
Besides safeguarding general competence, a satisfaction guarantee is also encouraging because it suggests the service provider is interested in building up long-term relationships with customers. Such a guarantee indicates that customer satisfaction is a high priority for the company. They are willing to stake not just payment for a current job but also the prospect of future work for the same customer on their ability to make that customer happy. A satisfaction guarantee tells you, as a customer, that the carpet cleaning company believes in their ability to meet all of your needs. Firms that offer a solid guarantee are effectively promising to the job right the first time, every time.
Do They Offer A Confusing Range Of Services?
A professional carpet cleaning company may offer a range of different service tiers to meet the needs of a broader range of customers. When you see a carpet company offer a huge range of services in an attempt to embrace every cleaning method under the sun, though, you may be looking at a red flag. Companies that thrive in the carpet cleaning industry generally do so by becoming thorough masters of just a few cleaning techniques. The confidence displayed in focusing on a limited spread of services demonstrates that the firm knows what works. A company that offers you a choice of 20 different stain-fighting methods probably only wants to see you choose the most profitable one. More seriously, you should bear in mind that technicians who are trained to apply a huge range of different techniques and use tons of different products are less likely to be truly proficient with any of them. Remember that you’re not actually hiring a company to clean every kind of carpet in the world. What matters is how well-equipped and experienced the company is to clean YOUR carpets.
Is The Company Environmentally Responsible?
In the past, carpet cleaners have relied on hazardous chemicals to get their jobs done. Using and disposing of these substances was bad for the environment; it also posed a serious risk to the health of the people who had to live with the “cleaned” carpet. Although the most dangerous cleaning chemicals have been barred from use by laws and regulations, there are still potential health and environmental concerns to worry about.
You have two very good reasons to prefer environmentally-friendly carpet cleaners over their less “green” competitors. First, there is the large-scale environmental impact of your cleaning activities to consider. Doing your part to reduce the use of harmful products helps keep the world healthy for generations to come. Second, (and frankly, more important), there is the fact that green cleaning products make your home healthier to live in and maximize the lifespan of your carpets.
From an even wider perspective, you can consider a commitment to minimizing environmental impact to be another positive sign suggesting that a cleaner will provide a higher level of service. Providing truly “green” cleaning services obliges a company to invest a little more in their products. This added concern is likely to be mirrored in their care for their customers, too. A company that invests in the environment is also likely to go the extra mile to provide a thoroughly satisfying service in your home.
Is The Staff Knowledgeable?
Some carpet cleaners send a technician through your home that performs his or her job with minimal interaction. While this suit the needs of some customers, it shouldn’t be your only option. Both the salespeople you initially speak with, and the technicians who perform your cleaning should be completely familiar with the company’s operations and fully capable of explaining them.
This is another case where the little details suggest positive things about the employer. A company that prioritizes training up knowledgeable employees with good communication skills is, once again, more likely to emphasize higher service standards. Technicians who struggle to explain what they’re doing are the harbingers of a company that is not committed to providing good service.
The reliability and effectiveness of a carpet cleaning company can be judged in many different ways. The suggestions presented here – look for a focus on a limited range of proven methods, a commitment to environmentally friendly products, a satisfaction guarantee, and a knowledgeable staff – will help you a great deal when you need to narrow the field and pick a company you can rely on.
