Bail & Switch

Just seen the Watchdog programme about Bait & Switch carpet cleaners.
If you did not see this then go to
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vr84q/Watchdog_04_11_2010/. Forward to minutes 12, 34 & 48.

It represents all that is terrible about some aspects of the carpet cleaning industry. Bait & Switch is also illegal, so any company using this method is breaking the law!

I have given out so much information in the past about this sort of thing and I am really pleased it has now been recognised on national TV for what it really is... a BIG Rip-Off.

It basically works by a company offering a really low price on a leaflet, (£8.99 per room etc), then once the 'cleaner' (salesperson), comes to clean your carpets, all they want to do is upsell a better (and much more expensive) cleaning method. If you don't go for this upsell then they will keep slightly lowering the price until you agree. If you still insist on only paying the price that was advertised then they only wet the carpet and get out of your house as quickly as they can.

This can be really bad for some carpets and as they admitted, can make some carpets look worse!! As i have always said, "the most expensive carpet cleaning is bad carpet cleaning". The price may seem cheap upfront, but the cost of this type of cleaning can be huge... to the potential damage to your carpet, to your time being wasted, and probably having to book another professional carpet cleaner to come back and fix problems and clean it correctly.

So i highly recommend you go to the link above and see for yourself how this works.

See you soon.
Kevin

What Carpet...?

I was asked by a customer today - What type of new carpet would I recommend?

I have been asked this question many times and my answer is always the same... So I hope that if your are thinking about buying a new carpet, this may be of interest.

Obviously it all depends on budget, the old saying 'you get what you pay for' is very true. WATCH OUT, I've found most of the big carpet retailers will price a certain item at 50-70% more than it is worth in order to bring the price down to it's correct value in their MASSIVE DISCOUNT SALES! I haven't seen many carpets sold for lees than they are worth, so please bear this in mind when you are comparing prices.

So, bearing in mind you can't stretch to the highest quality carpet, I'll answer with a good middle range item that is very practicable for the average family.

• Go for an 80/20 Twist Pile. (80% wool / 20% nylon)
• The highest weight you can afford. - This is how dense the pile is - the heavier the better. They are measured in Oz per Sq-Yrd. So, 30 oz per sq-yrd is the lowest quality, 60-70 oz per sq-yrd is very good quality. 40-50 oz per sq-yrd is a good average to go for.
• Avoid plain White, Off-White's or cream colours etc... you can get very nice pastel colours like greens, blues, Burgundy's, reds etc that still look very bright and modern. If you want to be un-modern but very practicable, choose a patterned carpet!
• Have your carpet protected with a stain guard treatment and a stain guarantee if you can get it. - I visit so many homes that have just had a new carpet fitted and a cup of hot drink has just gone all over it!!! It happens... If you didn't do this, contact me and I can arrange/recommend a very good stain protection treatment.

That's it. I hope this helps. Good luck and happy shopping.
Kevin Goodwin
www.directcleaners.com

England Football Song

For those of you who don't already know, I also play in a band and we are releasing an England world cup song called 'Give us the World'. We are also give all proceeds to Skillnet www.skillnetgroup.co.uk.

Go to www.giveustheworld.com for details to download.

Thanks
Kevin