Economics 101 and the Lost Art of Carpet Cleaning
Technology, especially information technology, has increased individual productivity and income while at the same time lowering consumer prices in industries that are able to utilize it. And since technology driven products have dominated consumer spending lately, there is a general expectation among many consumers that all prices should be lower.
But, what about industries that don’t march to the binary mantra, i.e. those employing raw commodities, the rawest of which, people, to generate production? Industries like plumbing, air-conditioning and house painting. Carpet cleaning is one such industry.
Carpet cleaning prices have changed little over the years despite the increased cost of delivery. Profits and wages have lagged relative to other industries making the profession less appealing. The result is a “skill drain” toward more forward-trending and lucrative professions. With less qualified people to draw upon, carpet cleaning companies are experiencing more customer service problems and lower profit margins.
This is also exacerbated by the easy-in easy-out nature of the business. I knew someone who printed some business cards on his home computer and went door-to-door soliciting business and then rented equipment from a supermarket and did the jobs. He had no training and his only experience was cleaning his own carpet at home. He charged whatever price he could get and lasted about three weeks in the business.
Economic forces are eroding many professions today. Sixty percent of primary care physicians don’t recommend the profession and want out because of health insurance paperwork and malpractice insurance rates. They are having a hard time practicing medicine.
So what’s the solution? I have a very fine dentist at The Birmingham Periodontal & Implant Centre but I thought the cost of his services were outrageous considering the amount of time he spent with me. Then one day while waiting in the chair I started adding up everything that went into that hour. The dental assistant, secretary, office overhead, equipment, lab, insurance, materials, his continuing education and many things I’m sure I’m not aware of and I began to wonder how he made a profit.
So there’s a reality gap with many industries. To remedy this, companies should focus more on educating prospective customers than just “advertising” to them. It’s been our experience that most people are willing to pay a fair price for good service once they understand what’s involved. I now feel I’m getting a bargain with my dentist.
Why Choose Quality Carpet Cleaning?
Our organizational structure allows us to deliver the same or better quality of service as any of the major companies out there for a much lower cost. We invite you to compare.
There’s no secret to doing what we do. There are industry and manufacturers’ standards. There is certified training. There are apprenticeships. The best equipment and cleaning solutions are available to anyone. If you strip away all their attempts to distinguish themselves, you will find that all the top companies essentially clean how Quality Carpet Cleaning does because it’s what works best. A rose by any other name is still a rose.
Quality Carpet Cleaning has thousands of independent reviews on sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Google, the BBB and various other review sites. These are not reviews we collect on our site where we can filter and control them. Thus, though we are rated highly everywhere, not all of our reviews are great. However, you will see that when a problem does pop up, we go out of our way to make things right with the customer.
If you are unhappy for any reason, we will gladly come out and re-clean any area you are not happy with.
We at Quality Carpet Cleaning appreciate how important your time is and give it the highest priority. We schedule ideally 3, but no more than 4, jobs per day for each technician where other companies schedule up to 6. In this way our technicians have plenty of time between jobs and don’t have to rush through a job to get to the next.
In the real world, situations arise where someone needs service right away. As a result, we keep our schedule flexible enough where we can do a reasonable number of same-day jobs. Obviously, the earlier you contact us the higher the likelihood we can accommodate you.
Our staff cares about our customers because we care about them. We look for people who like helping others and then train them on how to. We have an unofficial policy: If we have to supervise you, you don’t belong here. Our people know and like their jobs and it comes through when you talk to them.
All our products are safe for kids & pets. What most people don’t know is that California regulations are so strict that many cleaning products sold in other states are not allowed to be sold here. Some standards even go beyond “green”. That said, we also carry a line of green carpet cleaning products for hyper-sensitive people.