dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
7

DownTheShore
Pray for Ukraine
Premium Member
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ

DownTheShore to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude

Re: YELP critics must be identified, court rules in online landscape altering...

I was reading the complaints about him on Yelp and a lot of them seemed to involve bait-and-switch in regard to the pricing of the cleaning service. The company was hired because of either an advertised price or the price quoted by the employee who accepted the carpet for cleaning, and then the final price was higher because of extra cleaning, stubborn spots, etc. A contributing factor seems to be that the company went ahead and cleaned the carpet before verifying with the customer that they were willing to pay that extra amount.

Seemed to me that a better quoting system and a binding contract with safeguards for both parties in case of additional costs would eliminate the majority of the bad reviews.

BKayrac
Premium Member
join:2001-09-29

BKayrac

Premium Member

said by DownTheShore:

I was reading the complaints about him on Yelp and a lot of them seemed to involve bait-and-switch in regard to the pricing of the cleaning service. The company was hired because of either an advertised price or the price quoted by the employee who accepted the carpet for cleaning, and then the final price was higher because of extra cleaning, stubborn spots, etc. A contributing factor seems to be that the company went ahead and cleaned the carpet before verifying with the customer that they were willing to pay that extra amount.

Seemed to me that a better quoting system and a binding contract with safeguards for both parties in case of additional costs would eliminate the majority of the bad reviews.

Thats a big no-no.

I actually did carpet cleaning for a while. After the meet and greet, I would measure everything out, get a price, and discuss any trouble spots/issues I noticed, then if I thought it might be more I would discuss that with them first. Sometimes I needed to charge extra, and sometimes I thought I would, but didn't.

If something was found later, you would grab the client, and let them know the situation before wasting your time doing stuff and charging more.

Not to mention why bother trying to screw the customer, very rarely would you have a job that would be worth taking to court, so even if they didn't pay, your recourse was absolutely nothing other than not bothering if they tried to use your service again.

In my 5-6 months of doing it, I only ever encountered 1 bad client, other than that, everyone was happy. So my assumption would be that his business is run like crap, and his negative reviews are deserved.

Midniteoyl
join:2013-11-22
Knox, IN

Midniteoyl to DownTheShore

Member

to DownTheShore
This is normal for ALL carpet cleaning companies..

BKayrac
Premium Member
join:2001-09-29

BKayrac

Premium Member

said by Midniteoyl:

This is normal for ALL carpet cleaning companies..

Overcharging customers past what you agree'd to, without consulting them first is NOT normal for all companies.

You can read my post directly above yours to refute your statement.

Midniteoyl
join:2013-11-22
Knox, IN

Midniteoyl

Member

Every single one I have dealt with have. Even restoration services. I own/have owned many houses/duplexes.

Obviously, the worst offenders are the '$99 Whole House' Sunday flyer people, but even 'reputable' ones have up charged. Every single time.
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1

Premium Member

I have dealt with carpet-cleaning companies and had no problems.

Maybe it is different in your community.

Also, I try to choose companies based on personal recommendations from people I know.