I can remember when my cleaning company was in full force and we had some rather prestigious law firms that had very exacting standards for us to fulfill. We had entire buildings that required Executive Level cleaning every day and they were more than willing to pay for the upgraded service since they needed to have a very inviting environment for their staff and clients who visited the building. In those days, the default vacuum cleaner was the old upright with the beater bar. Although I used a paper liner to help control dust I was never satisfied with the results although it did provide a nice brush pattern to the beige cut pile carpet.

One night a worker called in a panic reporting that she had vacuumed up an ink pen that after going through the grinder splattered ink all over the carpet. With no time to spare we attacked the spot with a relatively heavy solvent cleaner that had a strong chemical odor. Today that product is not considered green and probably not allowed to be used. Back then, it was the best we could do to avoid having to buy new carpet.

The next day, I visited the building early to meet with my point of contact to report the incident. As soon as I walked in the building I knew we had a greater problem. The chemical odor was overpowering and the attorneys were not happy at all with complaints from their staff. One lady, who was eight months pregnant was sent home to avoid any issues. Others were complaining about headaches, light headedness and other symptoms. This one incident almost cost me the contract. I ended up retraining staff to inspect carefully for pens and other items and actually converted this account to a rolling tank vacuum system and had to go back and brush the carpet with a pile rake. Hence, there went a large profit margin.

Have you had similar incidents that you could share with us and what you learned from it?

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net


posted on 10/7/2016