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Averting daily rug disasters
By Lisa Wagner
October 13, 2010
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Business never happens exactly the way you expect it to, especially with rugs.
Maybe a horribly soiled piece turns out a whole lot nicer than you ever imagined.
Or with the soil removed you’ve uncovered pre-existing color run you had no clue about, and have to now explain this to your client.
Or the stain you deemed “permanent” came out, but the one you deemed “no problem” didn’t, and you’re feeling embarrassed about being so off.
A bad start
In many situations, you do not have the history of the rug in front of you, what chemicals may have been used in the past, or what the weird discolorations are from.
So it is not unusual to really not know what the end result is going to be.
You don’t have control over everything and can only give an educated guess based on your experience and your pre-wash inspection and tests.
You also, in many situations, have no clue about the rug’s owners and the rug’s history.
They may have had rugs ruined in the past by cleaners promising that they were rug specialists, and so are extremely nervous about using you.
They may have rugs that were involved in a past flood and intentionally soiled so that you can uncover damage that they want to blame on you and get a payout on.
With so many unknowns, it pays to take the time in the beginning to boost your chances of success with every single job.
Stack the odds in your favor
There are really not many unethical people who intend to cause you misery from the very beginning, but they do exist.
Usually you can spot “bad apples” right off the bat when your gut tells you to turn the job down.
We turn down a job or two a month based on whether people treat our team rudely, or are answering questions in a combative or less-than-truthful way.
Life is too short to work with difficult, disrespectful or distrustful people. I send them off to my competitors.
Problems are going to arise in cleaning rugs — they always do.
But whether a problem becomes a disaster that ends up in court, or one that ends up being solved in a much nicer way, depends on what has happened before the cleaning began and whether you built any rapport or trust with the client.
These problems can be real or they can be perceived.
You may have not inspected for stenciling and now have ink stains to deal with after the wash. This is a “real” problem you must deal with.
You may have put all of the silk pile in the correct direction, giving the rug a lighter look that the client interprets as the rug having lost some color in cleaning. This is a “perceived” problem you must also now deal with.
Lawsuits happen when people are angry. You don’t sue someone you like, or someone you trust, you just work the problems out.
Everyone knows “stuff” happens, so the critical piece becomes whether they feel you cared about them (and their rug) and whether they feel that you truly did do your best.
People skills
In any service business, people skills are as important — and perhaps even more important — than technical skills.
So these are seven tips to help any rug cleaner, regardless of technical talent, improve his/her odds at creating winning cleaning experiences every day.
1. Use education to give yourself a competitive edge
Being a constant learner is a strong competitive advantage.
Potential clients do not know you from Adam, but they do know that one cleaner who can give a long list of certifications and courses attended versus another cleaner with none tilts the credibility scale.
This may not necessarily mean that one is a better rug cleaner than the other, but you have customers who are seeking someone to trust, and patches, plaques and certificates do increase the feeling of trust before the first words are spoken. (See “Yearn to learn” sidebar.)
2. Take the time to connect with your client
They say time is money.
In service businesses, the corollary is that if you spend time with your client, you will make more money.
Whether you do it on the phone or in person, focus on that client.
Don’t allow distractions to pull you away. Jot down the person’s name and use it during the conversation. Write down any concerns he/she is sharing so that you can repeat them at the end of your conversation to show that you were actually listening.
The more important you make the person feel on that first interaction, the more trust you build.
Most businesses don’t take the time to make any clients feel valued, so taking the time to connect with clients eliminates the need for you to have to “sell” anything because they will sell themselves on you.
3. Show appreciation for every single textile
With rugs, it is important to show appreciation for every textile brought to you, regardless of your personal opinion of it.
If someone has brought her rug in to be professionally cleaned, then she has an attachment to the piece that has made her seek you out.
I have seen rug dealers turn their noses up at some rugs, saying they aren’t worth cleaning because they are not rugs of any great market value. Or not rugs that they would ever choose to sell.
With me, with every single handmade rug, I see a piece of a person’s life — the weaver’s — in front of me.
Maybe it took a few months, maybe a few years, to weave, but someone sat and put a piece of himself/herself into that rug.
Whether it’s a high-knot-count Hereke silk, a lower-knot-count tribal Balouchi wool rug, or a modern Pakistani rug bought at a local home furnishing store, it is still a handcrafted rug that I show appreciation toward.
And the fact that the client chose this piece for her home means she likes it and wants to care for it properly, and I appreciate that as well.
No one wants to bring in a rug she likes only to hear that it is not worth cleaning.
You have no idea what sentimental attachment people may have to their rug, or how much time they may have spent choosing the piece for their homes, so you actually would not know what “value” they may personally be placing on it.
Give them an exact price for your work and allow them to choose whether to go ahead or not.
4. Build trust with your ‘brag book’
I have met scores of cleaners who have insisted to me that they are absolutely the best in their city. (Interestingly, I’ve never met any who has told me he is the worst, or even average.)
Anyone can say he’s the best, but using other people’s words and photos of your work can speak volumes more than you ever could.
Creating a “brag book” with testimonial comments from happy clients, and also sharing before-and-after photos of your work, are very compelling ways to “sell” without any pressure at all.
A “brag book” increases your credibility and believability in the eyes of your prospects.
It’s also a great way to lift your spirits when you are having a bad day to flip it open and see the words of clients who love you.
5. Document everything during your pre-inspection
I’ve gotten hundreds of communications from cleaners all over the world asking for help with rugs. In most cases of “rugs gone bad,” there ends up being a pre-inspection failure.
Either they did not see something pre-existing, or did not bother to even give the rug a thorough inspection.
They did not fiber test or dye test and then used the wrong solutions, pH or temperature.
Usually these steps are skipped because they are too busy with other things to take the time to evaluate the rug properly. But the time they save on the front end ends up being a time-draining nightmare in trying to fix mistakes and keep themselves out of court.
If you do not have the time to train yourself in pre-inspection skills and proper rug tests, then hire someone to focus on this for you.
He/she only needs to save you from replacing a few rugs to make it worth the investment.
Use a detailed pre-inspection form to note all pre-existing conditions and characteristics (weaving irregularities) before you begin the work.
Get an exact measurement of the rug (don’t eyeball it).
Do a fiber test and a dye colorfastness test.
Clearly note realistic expectations and an exact quote on the invoice, and have the client sign off on it.
Finally, photograph all areas of concern.
With digital cameras, it never hurts to over-document.
Memories can change when a problem pops up, so photographs help to remind clients (and your team) of the facts.
6. Have a network of peers to ask for advice or help
Getting involved in trade associations can offer you a valuable network of experienced cleaners to tap into when a need arises.
I know for me, joining ASCR and CFI put me in contact with a long list of qualified cleaning professionals to bounce ideas off of and to ask questions of.
Likewise, I’ve helped fellow members with advice and rug cleaning or repair services in certain situations.
Attending the meetings, or getting involved in the leadership, also opens up opportunities for more frank conversations once bonds have been established.
I’ve gotten great advice on operations and hiring from peers I have worked with. The veil of competition gets lifted when everyone is working on the same group goals, and ultimately you realize that competition is irrelevant. When you work to better the industry everyone benefits.
On another level, industry bulletin boards offer another opportunity to connect with others in the industry.
It can take a little time to determine whose input is worth acting on, and whose is not. (See “The bulletin board influence” sidebar.)
7. Stand behind your work and your word
One way to help create a successful experience is to under-promise and over-deliver.
If you have followed the six tips before this one, then you will have a client who is completely sold that you will be doing your best, and that if any unknowns pop up, that you have a network of other professionals to rely on for guidance.
When — despite all your best efforts — a client is not happy, even if events were beyond your control, do your best to end on the right note.
If it is simply that the rug did not clean up as well as she had hoped for, then waive the wash price.
If a rug was ruined due to a manufacturing flaw, then replace the rug even if it is not ultimately your fault (chalk it up as an advertising expense to keep a client).
In most cases, when all of these steps have been followed, you do not end up with an irate client when things go bad.
If they trust you and believe you, then they know that you are going to do the right thing. And this allows you to talk it over with them and come up with a solution that everyone is happy with.
When you have a rug go bad on you, and you are able to replace or fix it and years later the client is still coming to you for cleaning, then you know that you have mastered the skill of relationship building with your clients.
They know you care, that you stand behind your work, and that you keep your word.
And this helps you avoid the big rug disasters by transforming them into little rug speed bumps.
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Lisa Wagner is a business consultant and coach for Piranha Marketing, a rug care instructor for Jon-Don, and an owner of the San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. She is past president of the Carpet & Fabricare Institute, a past board member for IICRC, and CM/Cleanfax®magazine’s 2006 Person of the Year. For more information regarding her rug training products, visit www.rugchick.com.
