Just by tweaking what you have always done you can create a great Moment of Truth. Start residential jobs by slowly and thoroughly pre-vacuuming the carpet using a commercial upright. While the customer may not understand why they are paying you to vacuum, by implementing the following idea you can both educate your customer AND create a great Moment of Truth!
After completing your painstakingly thorough vacuuming process remove the dust cup from the vacuum cleaner, locate the homeowner and say, “We always empty our vacuum cleaner after each job.” Then holding out the dust cup so they can see everything in it ask, “where would you like us to dispose of this?” She will of course say, “Wow! All that came out of my carpets?” And you will reply, “Don’t worry, this is a heavy duty professional vacuum. We always remove this much soil from people’s carpets. Sometimes a lot more than what we took out of yours!”
Remember, you get no credit from people for the great work you have always done UNLESS they recognize your efforts as “great work”. One of the best ways to say “look at me” is to “ask permission”, such as the above “where do you want me to dispose of this?” question. By applying this procedure you will differentiate yourself from all the other “slap-dash” carpet cleaners out there and at the same time dispel any embarrassment your customer might feel.
Steve
P.S. For even better results, add to the above practical steps displaying care and concern for the customer’s home and carpet. A classic way of impressing the customer is with the use of shoe cover booties.
If you carry an extra commercial vac that is still in the box, you can either sell them the used one at a discounted price or the new one at the full price you want and either way, you make a high profit selling product, not service. Next time around, the carpet should be that much easier for you to clean. A better vac should go hand in hand with the Stay Beautiful plan. I can’t tell you how much commission I made as a tech for a carpet cleaning company selling vacuums. Make sure you only carry ones that bear the word “COMMERCIAL” on them. It makes a world of difference in convincing the owner that this labor saver does better than what they have now.