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January 20, 2011

Carpet Maintenance Programs Designed By Manufacturers

Whenever someone is held liable for the condition of their product, they are going to give the purchaser the specs on maintaining it in order to keep it in optimium condition.  That way, if the product is not used properly and the purchasers comes back for a refund, the arguement can be made: why didn’t you take care of it properly?  After all, someone who manufactures a product and sells it doesn’t want to go around giving money back to purchasers for something that was misused, not maintained appropriately, and therefore broke down due to neglect.  After all, if I had my way I’d only change the oil in my car every 200,000 kms, but that would have consequences.

Our carpet cleaning programs are designed based on manufacturers’ warranty requirements.   These steps are necessary to protect and maintain your carpet so that it is kept in optimal condition.   This is based on fact, not any one person’s personal opinion or experience, but on the research, testing and results of numerous companies over decades of this product being created and sold.

WHAT DO THE MANUFACTURERS SAY?

There are key elements to carpet cleaning wherever there is HIGH TRAFFIC.  This is key – we’re not talking about the carpet on the bottom of your living room closet, or the spare room where Auntie Frieda and Uncle George go once per year but is otherwise unused, we’re talking about HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS: carpet that gets walked on every day by multiple pairs of dirty feet.    This is the lobby areas of buildings, the stairwells, the hallways.  They take a beating, and need to be cared for in order to ensure the best lifespan of the product.

The warranty requirements have 5 mandatory elements:

1) Entrance Mats : reduce the amount of dirt tracked in.  Use them.  It’s in the warranty requirements because they work and make a significant difference.

2) Vacuuming: get that abrasive soil out before it cuts and scrapes the carpet fibers under the grinding action of footsteps.   Everyone knows to vaccum but are you doing it properly?  Are you doing it enough?

3) Spot Cleaning: get that stuff out of there before it sets permanently!  And not any 1 spot cleaner is good for every type of spot.  Use the right product, don’t bleach the carpet fibers, and don’t set the stain permenantly by using the wrong thing.

4) Interim Maintenance : this can take several forms, but is a required step for high traffic areas in carpet – lighter than a hot water extraction clean, but heavier than vacuuming.

5) Hot Water Extraction: this is the most recognized form of carpet cleaning, also known as steam cleaning or restorative cleaning.  It is a necessary step, but not the only step – look at all the other steps that come before it.

Keep your warranty valid.  Maintain your investment.  Keep your strata clean.  That’s the goal and we’re on your side to achieve that result.  Don’t let the situation get extremely bad, then try to tidy it up a year later with a hot water extraction clean, expecting that it can and will every time be able to correct a cumulative year’s worth of neglect.  That approach doesn’t work.  It’s proven not to work.  If it did, that’s what would be outlined in your warranty.  But it’s not.

June 15, 2010

Really? They Don’t Believe in Programs?

A Message From David Benoit

In my 12+ years of working with property managers and building owners I have found the most effective property managers have their properties on some form of plan or program.  As you know there can be quite a turnover of property managers in the industry; they can get overwhelmed by having to respond to  buildings’ needs.

Looking back from this point the managers that are still in the industry are generally proactive in their approach.  This is a “Win-Win” for all parties involved.  The buildings get attention, the property manager can spend their time leading the buildings and the contractor will provide more competitive pricing.

Over the years the 1 most common objection I hear from property managers is, “the strata doesn’t believe in programs.”  My response to this is, “really?”  They don’t believe in cleaning their carpets, gutters, windows etc?  That tells me that the strata members would prefer to own in a building where they can’t see out their windows, where their gutters overflow and their carpets are disgusting and wearing out.

I think the truth is the strata’s haven’t thought it through and the property manager didn’t spend the time needed communicating to them the benefits of an overall plan. You can have 3 to 4 different contractors, but the key here is one calendar of when items will occur and by whom.

On a side note, the most successful property managers I know have only 2 trades they work with in each category.  This helps them stay on top of things and these contractors will do their absolute best to ensure that their customer’s buildings are taken care of with the fear of losing all of the work at that property manager’s buildings. Well run strata’s don’t use the council president’s nephew to clean the carpets.

I have never understood why buildings need to gather quotes every year for services that are generally done every year.  Does the strata think the pricing is going to come down?  If they did their due diligence in the initial process then why would that change?  Of course, if a contractor did not perform according to expectations or agreement, that’s a different story.  The truth is that most contractors will not raise prices on a yearly basis if the work is committed to and ongoing.  At Servus Group, we have carpet maintenance programs that are 10 years old and the pricing is still the same.  However when asked to quote on a yearly basis pricing generally trends upward. If we have a relationship with a building and our crews are familiar with the project we are grateful for the work and don’t see the need to raise pricing.

So in summary if you want to have a less stressful longer career make a plan for your buildings maintenance, my recommendation based on over a decade of experience and relationships with hundreds of property managers: only deal with a few trades and take the time to educate your stratas and building owners on the benefits for everyone of being proactive, having a plan, and maintaining your strata buildings.

Thanks for your time and consideration,

David Benoit