How to avoid being ripped off by unscrupulous carpet cleaners – visit the ABC News Undercover Video Here:  https://vimeo.com/48848236

Recently we were invited to a customer’s home to clean their carpets and before we began setting up our equipment she asked do we match competitor’s coupons. Knowing that many carpet cleaning “coupons” contain “the fine print” or charge extra for “deep stain removal” I told her we would be happy to sit down and refigure her carpet cleaning bill.

The coupon she presented offered to clean a room for just $14.95 – WOW what a deal. I don’t know how a legitimate company can afford to drive to a customer home, pay the employee an hourly wage, cover employment taxes and insurance, chemicals, etc. for just $14.95 but what do I know? The coupon also mentioned they would clean an entire home (up to 5 rooms) for just $55.00. Man, this is the deal of the century!

The coupon also mentioned that for an additional .20 cents per square foot, they would really clean the carpet by using their “deep-stain removal treatment.” I don’t know about you folks, but we’ve never been called to a customer’s home and asked NOT to do a deep cleaning.

In fairness, we quoted our customer $139.95 to clean 4 rooms, 3 closets, and a hallway. Since she wanted us to match the coupon price, we sat down at her kitchen table and did the math.

The coupon company was charging $14.95 per room PLUS .20 cents a square foot for their “deep cleaning”. Our client had 1 bedroom at 12 X 12 (144 sq. feet), 1 Bedroom at 10 X 12 (120 sq. feet), 1 Bedroom at 14 X 19 (266 sq. feet) and 1 Family Room at 14 X 22 (308 sq. ft). She also had a hallway at 3 X 12 (36 sq. ft) and three closets for a total of 68 sq. feet. Our client’s total square footage was 942 square feet.

Now that we have the numbers the “coupon company” would have charged our client $14.95 per room for a total of $59.80 (there was no mention as to their charges for closets and hallways) PLUS they would have charged an additional $188.40 (942 sq. ft. X .20 per sq. ft) for their “deep clean” process. The customer’s total bill would have been $248.20.

Since the customer wanted us to match the “carpet cleaning coupon” I voided the original invoice of $139.95 and rewrote a new one for $248.20. Needless to say, the customer looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

Of course, we cleaned our client’s home for the originally agreed $139.95 price and provided her with a FREE carpet deodorizer. Our customer explained that had she not previously scheduled an appointment with Tru-Clean Surface Care, she would have scheduled the “coupon company” and missed a day from work all for the privilege of paying a price that was more than double ours.

Tru-Clean Surface Care is a family-owned environmentally responsible carpet, tile and upholstery cleaning company serving all of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Lee, Charlotte and Collier County. Unlike some carpet cleaning companies who use “kids on commission” or uncertified employees, all of our technicians are certified by the world’s most recognized certification body for textile professionals. Our technicians are uniformed, background checked and we strive for 100% customer satisfaction.

What’s amazing is the fact that many consumers are taken in by carpet cleaners who advertise “too good to be true” pricing in the coupon guides. In many cases, these companies are actually twice the cost of a legitimate carpet cleaning company.  Buyer Beware!

When inviting a carpet cleaning company into your home select the company based on quality – not unbelievable pricing.  Also, you may want to avoid renting one of those carpet cleaning machines at your local grocer.  Here is a video we created about the pros and cons of rental carpet cleaning machines.

For more information on Tru-Clean Surface Care and the services we offer, please visit us online at www.trucleansurfacecare.com or “call us on the carpet anytime at 239-541-4888. We offer convenient evening and weekend appointments and all major credit cards are accepted.

Carpet Cleaning Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs, Estero, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Marco Island, Matlacha, Bokeelia, and St. James City Fl.