Article in Cleaning Digest® in 1994*

The owner of an Indianapolis advertising agency did a survey to determine better ways to serve his clients. He polled businesses from small service companies to large department stores. This simple question for the owner or manager of each company was; "Why are you in business?" It was amazing how many answered, "To make money."

Without exception, the most successful firms were headed by people who answered that question, "To be the best in our business." A by-product of being the best is that you will make more money and enjoy it more over a longer period of time than those who are in the business simply "to make money."

If folks that make carpet are interested in finding out how the consumer feels about the fuzzy stuff, click on this complaint site:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q5=carpet&q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7= &searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21&Search=Search

There are  25 pages (about 14 complaints per page) involving carpet. I haven't been to this site for awhile, but it's like most others, filled with complaints about cleaners, retailers and installers.
This one even has a complaint by the owner of a truck mounted cleaning system about a repair service in Largo, Florida that ripped him off. That's what caught my attention.

But, the litany of woes involving carpet continues. I wonder if Nero felt the same way?

Does  anyone in Washington know what they're doing?  I have a terrible feeling that they do. They're bailing out irresponsible financial institutions and people who have hocked their homes to pay off wanton credit card bills. The losses on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's $5 trillion loan portfolios are mostly high risk mortgages and congress says $25 billion will fix the problem.

$5 trillion in High-risk mortgages and only $25 billion to save the system? Citigroup alone wrote down $18 billion in just one quarter. Do you think the banks that sell mortgages to Fan and Fred might cherry pick a little bit? You know...keep solid loans for themselves. Republicans and Democrats alike are conspiring with the financial  industry and the news media to sell the idea.

Even this old carpet cleaner who doesn't comprehend billions and trillions can see the percentage is way out of balance. I believe losses to taxpayers will be much higher. But the worst part is that some real heavy-duty pigs are lining up at the trough to get even fatter.

Capitalists hate communists, right?  After the Russian revolution in 1917, Rockefeller's Standard Oil of New Jersey bought oil fields in Russia, built refineries and sold the products in Europe. In the '20s, Rockefeller's Chase Bank helped fund Soviet exports and sell Russian bonds in America.

In the 70's, David Rockefeller's Chase Manhattan Bank financed a truck factory in Russia that built trucks used in the war in Afghanistan. He once wrote, "Competition is a sin," which is contrary to free enterprise. Since communism and socialism control competition, it makes me wonder about his true stripes.

Think about this. If a third world country defaults on a loan from the Export-Import bank, the manufacturer of the product collects and taxpayers pick up the tab for the bad loan. Are the Robber Barons dead and gone? Google CFR for some eye-opening reading.

There's much speculation about what caused carpet to topple in popularity.  "De - select" is the bureaucratic word coined to describe this phenomenon. How about just telling it like it is? Bad business practices have finally caught up. 

Shoddy installation is the worst offender. Failure to power stretch causes seams to peak. We see some really bad jobs that have puckering ridges an inch or more  high and up to eight inches wide running right down the middle of the room. They not only look bad, they're dangerous because a person could trip and fall over them.

Delivery schedules that have gone awry and warranty papers not being delivered cause consumer discontent.  Fiber blends introduced for economy rather than performance have left many bad memories. Product substitution, a variation of bait and switch, offends carpet buyers. But the worst scenario is for a retailer to take a deposit after filing bankruptcy and not deliver the carpet. That really makes people angry.

On the cleaning and maintenance side, complaints seldom involve equipment, chemicals or methods which makes me doubt the validity of the CRI's testing program. Bait and switch advertisers cause more ill feelings toward carpet than any other cleaning related complaint. After one experience with these guys the consumer can grow to hate their carpet.

They'll stop "De - selecting" when the whole industry starts treating them right.

I just read an article in a national business magazine about two new vacuum cleaners. Vacuum cleaner hucksters are right behind bait and switch carpet cleaners when it comes to degrading carpet and making it look bad. The article called attention to all of the bacteria, parasites, dust mites, flea eggs, pollen and allergy-causing dander in carpets. Carpet sounds real healthy, doesn't it? No wonder people are buying hard floors.

By the way, neither of the vacuums mentioned in the article had CRI approval, so I took a trip through two big box stores and a department store last week and guess what? None of the vacuums for sale said anything about CRI. I guess that's why CRI is picking on poor ol' carpet cleaners who don't have much lobbying power and blaming us for all of their troubles.

Let's leave killing carpet to vacuum hucksters and those in the carpet industry who are trying to blame us for their problems. Try to say positive things about carpet. Avoid calling attention to the filth that hides there. The consumer knows it's dirty and will call us when they're ready.

Talk about your professionalism and that we're equipped to do any cleaning job and we're prepared to do it right. Forget about dust mites, fleas, pollen and dander.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2008
Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Bad installations, unkept sales promises, product substitution and shoddy carpet designed for cheap price shoppers have all contributed to the current problems in the carpet industry. But, significant damage has also been done by BS advertising in the carpet cleaning trade. In my opinion Bait and Switch carpet cleaners have damaged the reputation of carpet far more than inferior cleaning equipment, bad chemical products or untrained operators. With the new SOA testing program, the hound dogs are baying at the hole where the fox does not reside.

Reputable cleaners include everything necessary for normal cleaning in the quoted or advertised price. Odor control treatments, carpet protectors and difficult spot removal services are usually done for an extra charge and are fully explained to the customer prior to the service.

"Foot-in-the-door" operators charge extra for deep cleaning, vacuuming, pre spotting treatments and they advertise color brighteners that cost extra. The last time I looked most carpet makers outlawed color brighteners. Some of these bandits even charge extra for detergent and moving furniture. Leaving the carpet dirty adds insult to injury.

The price of gasoline precludes driving anywhere and doing anything for $5.95 a room. Falling for that ad may cost the consumer many hundreds of dollars and these charlatans can be very intimidating, too. BS tactics and especially the intimidation factor leaves a mighty sour taste. The cleaning industry is teeming with these crooks and carpet sales have suffered as a result.

Hellooooooo CRI! BS carpet cleaners should be your target.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2008

Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.