Favorite Articles

Social media websites like Google, Facebook,  and others have become extremely important for every local business today, (whether online or not)! There are a number of important social proof marketing benefits to using these sites, so it's time to seriously consider getting on board! EXAMPLE: No matter what professional cleaning relates services you offer, your customers and prospects are visiting local social media looking for reviews regarding them!!...keep reading

In this article, I point out some unique challenges that fire and water create, and that must be understood before you take your fine fabric cleaning skills and expand them into fine fabric restoration skills. While the scope of this article cannot make anyone an expert at restoring smoke damaged fabrics, here are a few tips that should help....keep reading

These five surprising reasons actually diminish upholstery cleaning as a profit center! However, all of these can all be resolved by education!
Examine each of these carefully with an open mind. As service opportunities change in our fast moving world, every cleaning professional needs to re-evaluate the way that they look at upholstery care services as a part of their overall service menu....keep reading

The term "acid" rarely evokes positive responses in people! When someone thinks of acid, they think of a smoking bottle of liquid that dissolves any substance it spills on, or burns someone horribly....keep reading

Between the new relationship that people have with pets that have made them 4 legged family members, and the need that many have to care for the elderly in their homes in todays environment, the demand for urine odor treatment services is skyrocketing.
You too might be tempted to not use your available products in the way that they should be used (the process), but in so doing, you'll only be coming back to do it again (or worse),...keep reading

The improved quality of commercial carpet & installations, coupled with remarkable advances in cost effective, specialized equipment along with the development of really unique cleaning & maintenance products has tremendously increased the value of commercial cleaning services in the 21st century!...keep reading

I have extracted the following comments from an articles written in 2002 by Steve Toburen and published in the ICS Trade Journal. I have found these to be some of the most insightful articles written for anyone who is considering whether or not to add a diversification to their business in our industry!...keep reading

RECOMMENDATION:
Pets are more and more a part of our customers' families. You can help your customer feel better about pet ownership, and the companionship that pets give, by being able to restore or at least improve & maintain the appearance of their furnishings with these steps....keep reading

MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY! - - Pet related cleaning services can no longer be considered simply urine odor removal. While the pungent smell of urine odor is often the one that prompts many such calls, there are other pet related odor problems that are equally, if not more important to your customer who wants to live in a Pet Friendly, Clean Home Environment-...keep reading

Bloodborne Pathogens Quiz
After training employees on proper procedures for cleaning up blood, have them answer a few questions to make sure they understand. It's too risky for them to have doubts....keep reading

Just because most cleaners end their company name with "..and Upholstery Cleaning" doesn't mean upholstery cleaning is an important part of their service offering. Most cleaners offer upholstery cleaning because it is expected by their customers, not because they actually want to provide the service! Here are four reasons why I think that you should not just offer, but specialize in, upholstery cleaning:...keep reading

If there is one area that professionals in the cleaning industry seem overwhelmingly to excel, it is in the area of overestimating ourselves! Following are some serious issues that I firmly believe are negatively impacting an ever-growing number of cleaning professionals. These are the issues I am referring to......keep reading

This is the story of a very good cleaner who was having a very bad day:
To make things worse, our cleaner, in a moment of irritation and impatience, said:
"Those people who sold you the carpet don't know anything about cleaning and if you give me their number I'll call them and give them a piece of my mind about the stupid things they say to their customers!" . . . Read what the customer answered!...keep reading

It's that time of year - the time for calls about moths and carpet beetles eating customers' rugs. If you don't know what to do when these rugs come into your shop, or what to recommend to panicked rug owners who call you - now you can!...keep reading

Moving companies, interior designers, fabric protection applicators and furniture stores need a go to person- to help them when things go wrong. NOTE: They aren't interested in finding someone to refer cleaning work to! They DO need the person who can make an irate customer happy again when delivery or storage issues cause marks or stains....keep reading

The specialty products required to clean fine upholstery fabrics can occasionally contribute to excessive residue problems!
These are the key problems that residues can contribute to:
Texture Change, Dye Bleeding and Browning, or Fabric Protector Failure!
Learn why these happen, and be prepared with the following solutions when these problems do occur!...keep reading

I started sharing information that I gathered regarding this incredible cleaning industry that we are a part of during the early 1960's. While I have learned much over the years, most of the really important things I have learned have been about people, especially in our industry....keep reading

Surveys reveal that it is seldom that even 50% of carpeting has any protection applied after professional cleaning. In most cases, less than 20% of carpeting that is professionally cleaned has protection applied afterward! You can change that! Here is how ......keep reading

Hyperbole, meaning exaggeration or overstatement in marketing actually used to be considered acceptable! It even had a recognized term – puffery, or blowing smoke" - which is still technically legal even though it's exaggerating to make a product or service look better than it actually is. Today, more than ever before, with the fierce demand for honesty & transparency from consumers, you must be 'credibly (believable) authentic'! Look very carefully at these 6 reasons that 'credible authenticity' in marketing is so important, especially to your cleaning service business today....keep reading

We had the opportunity to have a leading expert on water damage restoration, Chuck Dewald, speak to our customers on May 29th. I had heard that he was an outspoken, somewhat controversial character, and that in some cases suppliers and other industry leaders found his comments and approach to be negative. We did not find any of those concerns to be valid!...keep reading