How do you deal with bad customers ?

My first job today was older couple in their late 60s, asked the wife nicely to move one of their car, she asked the hubby, the hubby wentout grumbling and moved the car, I parked, went in and asked her to show me the area she wants cleaned, hubby saw me with measuring roller, was grumbling how ridiculous that I have to measure the carpets, we kept going, got to the office and there's an area rug which part of it was under the desk, asked her what would she like me to do with the rug, she asked me to take it out, I told her I may be able to do that but she may not be able to put it back there and she said no problem, then whispered I have a new husband and he's been doing stuff he's not supposed to do.
I didn't say anything, measured everything, gave her a price and she agreed, we started, she got some weird brown stains in her master bedroom, looks like coffee spilled but none of the stains came out, tried tannin spotter, peroxide, nothing worked, told her sorry maam, these stains are permanent, she looked freaked out, she said if my husband see the stains don't come out, he'll throw fit, I offered to her to explain the situation to him as well as showing him the difference between the area I have cleaned and the area I haven't which there was huge difference, she agreed, I called him and he refused to listen to me or see the difference, at the end of the job, he didn't say anything to us even though he saw the stains still there, what a weird guy
What would you do on "hard to please" customer ? Walk away or do the job anyway ?

Old brown stain in the master bedroom of folks in their 60's. it was probably   

You handled the situation perfectly but not a person I would like to clean for a second time.

I think I can smell , lol.
I seriously doubt it they're , no smell whatsoever, it seriously looks like coffee cause they got the splatter spots around the big one, it's one bizarre relationship they got, the lady was cleaning the walls, windows and wiping down cabinets while we were cleaning and the guy just sat in front of his TV grumbling about stuffs.
I agree Mo, I wouldn't want to clean for them again unless the guy is gone

I found out, while cleaning assisted living facilities, that medications can effect urine stains. I came across one so bad that I asked to have it when its replaced.

Maybe it effects old people poo also.

They would really have to piss me off to walk! Only done that once or twice in 18 years.

If l come across customers that are to annoying/difficult l don't give the a card or magnet keep the conversation to a minimum and hope they don't call me back.

When we think a customer is going to be difficult, we offer to do a test area. If they are not satisfied with the result we explain to them that it is the best that can be done (and we try to explain why). If they are still not happy we thank them, let them know that there is no charge because we could not satisfy them, and then pack up and leave. On the rear occasions that it happens they usually call us in a few days (after they have had someone else look at it) to reschedule...

its something everyone in just about every business has to deal with, just do the job as best as you can, pack up and leave and remember its their problem they are mad not yours.

I have had some weird ones for sure, one lady obviously had a chemical imbalance in her head... everything was super dramatic, from us asking to open a window, to us asking if we could run hoses thru the garage etc

Hair dye? Really that's all you can do. Honesty, you gave it your best shot. Or......You could pull out your new carpet repair tool box https://thecleanerslounge.forumotion.com/t428-build-your-repair-tool-box and get to work. No stain. This is also stain removal techniques.   

carpetdaddy wrote:When we think a customer is going to be difficult, we offer to do a test area. If they are not satisfied with the result we explain to them that it is the best that can be done (and we try to explain why). If they are still not happy we thank them, let them know that there is no charge because we could not satisfy them, and then pack up and leave. On the rear occasions that it happens they usually call us in a few days (after they have had someone else look at it) to reschedule...

That's actually a great idea, thanks Joe, one reputation point for you sir :-)

Ryan S wrote:Hair dye?  Really that's all you can do.  Honesty, you gave it your best shot.  Or......You could pull out your new carpet repair tool box http://www.thecleanerslounge.com/t428-build-your-repair-tool-box and get to work.  No stain.  This is also stain removal techniques.    

That's actually a possibility, since she's brunette and she didn't seems to have grey hair, but damn, the stains are on both sides of the beds, she might be pissed off at her new husband and decided she's going to spill it at his side of the bed too, ha..ha..ha...
What a dysfunctional newlywed couple   

first you should have addressed all stains and cleaning procedures first

I had the lady ask me " what if you cant get those stains out?"

I said simply I did not put them there and they will still be your stains, she laughed

Always best to under promise and over deliver

Many times jerks are just going to be jerks and you have to walk

You can also find and interest with the customer picture on the wall the hobby the wife is doing and engage in a little small talk and not be so focused on the cleaning.

And you guys wonder why I get tipped so much?

Next time, just flatten one of his tires. He will be outside changing the tire while you clean.  

Outside of that drastic move, I agree with Odin, a little small talk goes a long way with jerks. There is an old saying that says "A jerk is just a guy without an audience", so give him something to talk about....maybe ask him for advice on something. Those neighborhood supervisors often love to give advice on any subject at hand.

As for the brown stains...who knows. I've seen medications do that, bloody vomit and bile from a deep ulcer, or even stains from a colostomy bag leak can all create a stubborn stain like that. Might even be why he was such a grump in the first place.

just remember rule #1 Don't take ownership of their problem

I'm actually a stickler when it comes to under promise and over deliver, I always explain everything to customer prior to pulling the hoses but this time I admit I didn't, the reason why is I've never failed to remove brown stains before, especially on a blue older nylon carpets, they always came out.
Regarding small talk I do that all the time but when one of them being a jerk, I lost interest in small talk, my helper still talk to her and helped her with small problem with her dishwasher and we still earned $ 20 tips from her.
I've walked from jobs before, a LOT more when I was younger but now I usually can handle those jerks better and yes I agree small talk works great, wish I can do that more on those jerks, lol.

ya I forgot the one good piece of info from IICRC

under promise, over deliver really works, then when you get the stain out they are excited and makes you look great

Who cares if the old guy likes you, we all have plenty of women customers that call us when their husbands are playing golf or out of town either because they do not like us or think we are overpaid. Call her tomorrow and tell her you are doing a follow up call to make sure she is happy with the service. Offer to go back out and try again if she mentions the brown spot, you will make a customer for life.
And most importantly, she will refer you to friends and family.

carpetdaddy wrote:When we think a customer is going to be difficult, we offer to do a test area. If they are not satisfied with the result we explain to them that it is the best that can be done (and we try to explain why). If they are still not happy we thank them, let them know that there is no charge because we could not satisfy them, and then pack up and leave. On the rear occasions that it happens they usually call us in a few days (after they have had someone else look at it) to reschedule...

I do the same thing. Demo cleanings are a great way to set expectations. All control and responsibility is then shifted to the customer. I usually use the term "try before you buy."

I would have taken the job for sure but explain in advance during the walk-thru before starting any of the work, that the dark stains may not come out and could be permanent. It sounds like you did what you could. I jokingly tell people that I have a carpet wand, not a magic wand. When it comes to difficult people, deal with the person that's most reasonable which it sounds like you did.

As a side point, something that works well for coffee stains is the peroxide/ammonia combo. But it takes time for oxidizers to work, usually 8-12hrs. One practice that has worked quite successfully for me after the cleaning is done, is placing clear cellophane over the area after spraying the oxidizers down, then applying blue tape around the cellopane edges to hold it in place. This prevents the oxidizers from drying too fast, allowing them time to work. I tell the customer to leave this on overnite then remove the cellophane in the morning. This has worked really well for any organic stain. Case in point, did a job yesterday that had mutiple stains left after the cleaning. Used the above procedure, the customer called and said all the stains had disappeared. She was a happy camper.

Another side point, I noticed you said you use a measuring wheel to measure out the job. Please check it to make sure you are not short changing yourself on square footage. I used one for many years until a fellow carpet cleaner recommended for me to check against a measuring tape. And I don't mean a foot or two, I mean the whole room. I measured my own house and found it was a FOOT SHORT both ways in measuring a room. I did some calculating and figured out I had lost about 30-40 thousand dollars from the time I had been using it.   I almost threw up. Apparently the wheel skips as it rolls across the carpet. I even tried putting several rubber bands around the wheel to grab the carpet better, but it made no difference. I promptly bent the wheel over my knee. I then went out and bought a laser measuring tool and then compared that to a measuring tape. The laser tool was a FOOT OVER each way. I now only use a tape. I hope this helps.

I agree, wheels and lasers are a joke when it comes to any type of accurate measurement.

Thanks Mark, great advice, one reputation point for you sir :-)

Great observation, thanks for sharing.

I will suggest that not all laser measures are equal when it comes to accurracy. I have been using a Bosch unit, and it seems to be very accurrate unless I screw up using it.

What if there was a reverse Angie's List? Where contractors and service providers could post the name and address of terrible customers? They stiffed us on payment or were just professional malcontents?

I already Google every job anyway. It helps when you Google some lady who has 14 cats but conveniently made no mention of them.

I do work for a R/E management Co. I cleaned an empty house for them on monday. On Tues. they call me back saying that the new tenant was complaining the carpet was not cleaned. The tenant mentioned that there was an indentation mark on the carpet that the carpet was not cleaned because it had a small rubber band on it. The tenant wanted it cleaned.

The next day I went to examined the dirty carpet. The tenant took me in one B/R and showed me the indentation mark. I measured and examined a spot 2" X 4" (that's right - inches) and it was not dirty, but I got my equipment out and cleaned the  2 x 4 spot. I apologized that we missed a spot and politely left the premises.

I think the property management people are in for a wild ride with these tenants.

I had one where the spots came back latter on in the afternoon The lady was pissed off said the only reason she called because I came highly recommended
bla bla bla and was more expensive. So I went back carpet looked great except for those four or five very round and one butter fly looking spots in the den.

She says LOOK AT THOSE yes I can see them well what are you going to do about it. I said hummmmmmmmmmm they were stickers on the sliding glass door casting a shadow. So I shut the screen on the door and the spots were gone.

She did not even say a word I said have a nice day and I walked out.

ODIN wrote:I had one where the spots came back latter on in the afternoon The lady was pissed off said the only reason she called because I came highly recommended
bla bla bla and was more expensive. So I went back carpet looked great except for those four or five very round and one butter fly looking spots in the den.

She says LOOK AT THOSE yes I can see them well what are you going to do about it. I said hummmmmmmmmmm they were stickers on the sliding glass door casting a shadow. So I shut the screen on the door and the spots were gone.

She did not even say a word I said have a nice day and I walked out.

I am laughing my ass off at that one!

I would have sent her a flier with the headline "we fix shadow spots other cleaners leave behind".