Aug 13 2010
Carpet Cleaning Con Artists
Like every other industry, the carpet cleaning industry has its share of con artists. They are easy to spot though if you know what to look for. Here are some tips to help you avoid being taken advantage of by one of these unscrupulous companies.
Bait and Switch, this is the most common carpet cleaning rip-off. In this rip-off, the consumer is lured in by a ridiculously low priced cleaning. Frequently the advertisement you see will offer carpet cleaning within the neighborhood of $5 per space. There’s no way that a legitimate organization could be profitable promoting its services that low. But the companies generally have no intention of leaving your house with only the advertised price. So how do they inflate the bill once inside. Here are a few ways how they can do just that.
The first way they will increase the bill is by charging you for preconditioning. Most legitimate companies include this in their pricing. That low cost they provided most likely did not include it. It may happen to be $5 per space to clean it with water only but pre-conditioning will cost you an extra 25 cents every square foot. Considering an average space size of 150 square feet, that would be $37.50 per space extra. So a 5 room home would go from the promoted carpet cleaning cost of $25 to over $200. Quite a large increase. But what should you do, just refuse to pay for that pre-conditioning? Chances are you will get a substandard cleaning or a rush job, but their is an additional way that they can attempt to force you into having to pay for the pre-conditioning. They might offer to do a demo for you personally. This isn’t necessarily bad, numerous great cleaning companies do demos. What Bait and Switch companies will do however is thoroughly clean a region in a highly visible area. Should you choose to not spend for the extra service, you’ll have a thoroughly clean spot in the middle of your floor that will stick out like a sore thumb. By doing this you’re forced to spend the extra cost for the preconditioning.
An additional way for Bait and Change companies try increase their expenses is via extra room charges. Should you use a coupon, you must study the fine print. Some businesses will charge extra for rooms more than 100 square feet of carpet for example. It is hard to find a space inside a typical home below that square footage, so that indicates the typical room will count as two and the typical living room or family room will count as three or maybe even four rooms. So now that 5 room $25 job is now 20 rooms and $100. A substantial increase.
The last way to increase the bill is to insist on carpet protection. Almost all cleaning companies offer protection at reasonable prices and floor protectors themselves are a good thing. This doesn’t become bait and switch unless a company uses higher pressure tactics. Clients will often be told by bait and switch companies that their floor will be ruined if they do not have protection applied. This is simply not correct. Protection will definitely extend the life of your floor but it is not a necessity.
As you can see, there are numerous ways for bait and switch companies to inflate their bill. If you notice any company using the techniques above, your best bet is to simply ask them to leave and call a reputable cleaning service.
The author operates a website on Albany carpet steam cleaners with information on carpet and upholstery care in Albany, NY.