Dont believe your eyes….

[icleancarpetz]

I was asked to clean this…


When i walked in i thought the carpet was brown color. A few moments later the tenant pulled back the plastic floor protector, i thought dang! My bad…carpet is not brown. First time ever my eyes deceived me.


Tenant believes its not in bad shape!
I said to myself…”according to who!”

 

[hogjowl]

I have those customers too. Their rooms are small and their carpet isn’t too dirty.
Over the phone …

 

[jessi]

I have those customers too. Their rooms are small and their carpet isn’t too dirty.
Over the phone …

I messed up over the phone when I asked how many bedrooms. She said 3, I show up and it’s 3 bedrooms, 2 carpeted living rooms, a carpeted loft area and carpeted stairs smh

 

[sassyotto]

you lost me at "tenant"

 

[hogjowl]

I messed up over the phone when I asked how many bedrooms. She said 3, I show up and it’s 3 bedrooms, 2 carpeted living rooms, a carpeted loft area and carpeted stairs smh

Awkward
I avoided that for years and years by never pricing over the phone. I’d go out for an estimate first or they’d agree to setting the price at the time of service. I’m not sure exactly what happened of late that made me change to phone pricing … I’m not sure if I just got tired or if the last four years of the Biden economy caused me to attempt to be more competitive… probably a bit of both.
Anyway … I’ve learned that people lie.
No matter how much money they have.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

The calls I get (this is a little long...sorry Marty).

I got a call from a consumer, who got my name from a cleaner who didn't want the job:

Caller: "Do you know anyone that you've trained that can clean a sofa that I think is made from cotton or some other expensive natural fiber?" (he said "natural fiber", not my words.)

I knew one man relatively close by to him, but I just can't help asking questions:

I asked "Why does it need to be cleaned?"

Caller: "It just has a little urine on it"

(I always worry when they try to minimize things)

"What is a little? A dog, a cat?.....or was it human?" I asked

Caller: "Well, its human. It went all over the middle cushion, and parts of the other two, and down into the body"

(OK, it isn't a little urine)

Then the guy asks:

"What do you think the guy will charge....I kinda did this (how do you "kinda" urinate all over a cushion I thought) and I need to do my buddy a solid and pay for this...It won't be like 500.00 or anything?" He asked

(Now I see where this is all going)

I warned him that it could, and that he needs to be ready to pay. He sullenly just said: "OK, I guess I'm screwed then"

(And maybe watch where he crashes when he drinks..... I didn't say that part)

Just you folks know, I do pre-qualify for you when I can!

 

[Jim Pemberton]

PS:

I'm not moralizing, but I have to say how happy I am that none of my kids drink alcohol at all.

They are all over 21 and responsible people, but all sorts of things can happen when you let yourself get to be impaired, and most of them can at the least be embarrassing, possibly expensive (like this poor guy), and at times leave you open to criminal charges, injury, and even death.

I sleep better not worrying about this with the four of them.

 

[Cleanworks]

The calls I get (this is a little long...sorry Marty).

I got a call from a consumer, who got my name from a cleaner who didn't want the job:

Caller: "Do you know anyone that you've trained that can clean a sofa that I think is made from cotton or some other expensive natural fiber?" (he said "natural fiber", not my words.)

I knew one man relatively close by to him, but I just can't help asking questions:

I asked "Why does it need to be cleaned?"

Caller: "It just has a little urine on it"

(I always worry when they try to minimize things)

"What is a little? A dog, a cat?.....or was it human?" I asked

Caller: "Well, its human. It went all over the middle cushion, and parts of the other two, and down into the body"

(OK, it isn't a little urine)

Then the guy asks:

"What do you think the guy will charge....I kinda did this (how do you "kinda" urinate all over a cushion I thought) and I need to do my buddy a solid and pay for this...It won't be like 500.00 or anything?" He asked

(Now I see where this is all going)

I warned him that it could, and that he needs to be ready to pay. He sullenly just said: "OK, I guess I'm screwed then"

(And maybe watch where he crashes when he drinks..... I didn't say that part)

Just you folks know, I do pre-qualify for you when I can!

Reminds me of a carpet job I went to in an apartment. The lady said she had a urine stain in the living room. I get there and there's a huge urine stain in the middle of the living room. I look around nervously and ask what kind of dog has, expecting a St. Bernard or something. She says, "wasn't my dog, it was my boyfriend". Probably an ex now.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

People ask why I don't plan to retire.

Partly, it is stories like this one.

Sorry Marty, but this one is even longer.

A customer of mine, a very conservative sort who doesn't really embellish tales or enjoy joking for entertainment, told me this one. Due to his nature, I'm 100% sure he didn't exaggerate:

He was called in to treat a carpet for urine odor. A polite and lovely lady answered the door, while her slob of a husband sat on the couch drinking a beer. When my customer brought out his UV Light, the husband suddenly got up, and started to tell his wife to throw the cleaner out, because he's probably pulling out all that gear to have an excuse to rip them off for a lot of money.

The woman told him to back off and let my customer do his job. Then the slob started saying that the odor was from her two "GD little rat dogs" and he should just spray everything down and not do all his "CSI stuff"

The cleaner was ready to leave, but the woman implored for him to stay and do his inspection.

He couldn't find anything in the usually places, but as he walked up the hallway, he found a lot of urine on the carpet and wall in the middle of the hall.

Made no sense

Then he ran the light up the wall, to a laundry chute. There was urine staining around the opening as well as down the wall, and of course the carpet.

At this point he noticed the previously obnoxious husband peeking sheepishly around the corner.

His wife asked the cleaner:

"Does this mean the urine was this high (the chute was obviously higher than her two little dogs could reach)?"

When the cleaner confirmed this, she gestured for her now crestfallen husband to come over and explain himself.

What came out was that, while she was away, him and his buddies had put a bucket at the bottom of the chute and were urinating down it to save going all the way to the bathroom during a football game that they were watching.

Thus his concern about the inspection light.

The woman then asked the cleaner what he charged for just the inspection, and when he told her his minimum charge, she gladly paid him.

He asked about doing the job itself, and she said:

"No need for that. He's repainting the hallway, and buying me new carpet. Or he's going to find another place to live"