Hi, folks! Just did my first paying carpet job this past Saturday. The job came through a word-of-mouth referral from a friend I'd told about my new business. It was three rooms in a very large house, in a very affluent area (the all-natural approach and fast dry times are a big attraction for this class of customer). The first carpet was a berber that had probably never been cleaned before (as evidenced by the high level of soil, stains, and compressed pile in the high traffic areas). I hit a few spots with the Argosheen, then sprayed everything with Outsolve. I immediately discovered that the machine was more difficult to handle with the holy glider, so I switched to the solid one and had no more trouble. I changed pads often and really had to go over some areas repeatedly, but in the end I was really impressed with how much better it looked. So was the customer!
The other two rooms contained a short cut-pile wall-to-wall and a thinner, commercial grade carpet. Again, I prespotted the tough ones and laid down the Outsolve. The results were outstanding in both cases. And except for the berber, which took a little longer because I had to go over it several times, the carpets were nearly dry before I finished packing up and loading the car.
Total sqaure feet was approximately 420. I'm charging 38 cents a square foot, so it came to about 160 bucks and only took about an hour and a half. My goal is to have four jobs of this size, or the equivalent amount of square footage, lined up every Saturday. I asked this customer for referrals and she gave the names of three people she said I could call. It's the cheapest (and best) advertising around!
I'm convinced this is a superior system that has unlimited earning potential. Looking forward to more good experiences to pass on to all.
Way to go, Pete. You're offering the best service
available, so don't be afraid to charge accordingly.
With regard to operating on berber: generally
speaking, with lower pile carpeting (berber actually
has no real "pile" in the traditional sense of the word) I would suggest going with the holy glider, or
in particularly soiled areas - without a glider. You
just have to figure out the best angle at which to get
behind and direct the Challenger. Don't try and push
against the grain. In this way you'll be able to put
the maximum amount of absorbent material in contact
with the carpet. And I wouldn't operate without a glider for long periods of time. While I've never
had a Challenger shut down on me from overheating,
it could happen.
Thanks for the tip, Mark. I eventually figured out that if I repositioned myself and the machine on a different angle, dirty areas that weren't coming up came clean. And I didn't have to fight the machine.
