Question 1

Are you an insured business and do you guarantee your work?

Accepted Answer

I have current insurance and Guarantee Results You Will Love

Question 2

How did you decide to get into your line of work?

Accepted Answer

In the mid 80's I was selling vacuum cleaners door to door for Electrolux. I was at a clients house who was having their carpets steam cleaned. Due to my insatiable need to study and gain more knowledge of fabric maintenance I pursued a career as a carpet cleaner, the rest is history. Having cleaned carpet and studied and performed water damage restoration in Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and Hong Kong, I have dedicated my life to providing a valuable service to my clients.

Question 3

Do you have a favourite customer story you would like to share?

Accepted Answer

In over 25 years of carpet cleaning there are hundreds of stories I could share. My favourite stories are results oriented. Watching a heavily soiled carpet come back to life and being paid for it is satisfying. Taking red cordial stains, coffee, rust, and animal urine stains straight out of a carpet is also rewarding when the client is amazed to see them go. But we have had the carpet cleaned 5 times and the stains never came out. I always can give it my best go if allowed to charge for it. Sometimes it takes as long to remove one stain as it does to clean a whole house, I try and charge fairly and according to the amount of effort and cost of chemical to remove the stains. We are all familiar with the show "Hoarders" and it is true in Australia as well as anywhere else in the world. I was asked to clean a house full of carpet in one such house. I am not kidding when I say there was only about 5 square metres of visible carpet. The rest of the carpet was under newspaper and a hoard of junk. I told the client that it was going to cost about $2000 to remove the stuff off his carpet so that I could clean it. In hindsight the $2000 was probably a little light on.

Question 4

What do you like most about your job?

Accepted Answer

I love meeting new people all the time. I get to meet 2 to 5 different people a day and share experiences and build rapport with them. I aim to be your FRIEND in the carpet business,.someone who cares about giving you the best advise and service available. When you think carpet or upholstery you think of me.  I can help you to maintain, choose the right carpet for your home, or advise on methods to increase the longevity of your fine fabrics life. I even have a network of carpet laying professionals I have used over the last 25 years. With Top Hat you aren't just a customer you are a client. We build relationships so you feel comfortable calling about any problems you may have with your fine furnishings.

Question 5

What questions should a customer ask to hire the right service professional?

Accepted Answer

How long have you been in the cleaning industry? The cleaning industry is full of transient people who think they can make a fast buck cleaning houses and carpets. They enter the industry one minute and are gone the next. It can be very low cost to enter the cleaning industry. Ask whether their machine requires power. This will determine between a small electric machine and a  TRUE truck mounted unit that runs independently of your power. Petrol driven truckmounts are around 4 times the power of cheaper electric machines. How long has the cleaner you are sending me been cleaning? Are you a franchise? You will always pay more for a franchise operator. Lets face it, he has to pay royalties to the franchisor of between 15-40%. Who really pays this fee? Yes you the client.  Can you have our fabric dry within an hour? Does Dry cleaning deep clean a fibre and rinse the soil away? No, it is just a superficial surface clean that makes a carpet look clean without rinsing the soil away. I have 3 different dry cleaning machines and how do I clean my own carpet and upholstery? I use steam cleaning techniques.

Question 6

What questions do customers commonly ask and how would you answer them?

Accepted Answer

How much is it going to cost? Variations generally arise from the complexity of the job to the time it takes to perform. There is also the added cost of specialist chemicals that some jobs may require. How long will my job take to dry? Speed drying is always an option. I can have a lounge suite or room full of carpet completely dry within an hour or before I leave your property. This EXTRA service is available for high traffic areas and those requiring immediate access to their carpet or upholstery.  How much do you charge? Soiling, fibre type, number of stains, area or size, poor previous cleaning techniques, can all add to the time spent on a job and therefore the cost to reach our goal. The level of service required is always left up to the client to decide. Maintenance cleaning of a lightly soiled carpet or lounge suite typically takes a quarter the time of restoration cleaning. We can always discuss your options prior to starting work.

Question 7

What makes you the most reliable and trustworthy person for the job?

Accepted Answer

Your time is valuable. I arrive within the allotted timeframe. If for any reason I am running late, I will inform you immediately. This can happen when the first job of the day is twice the size that the client advised it would be. I will endeavour to work with your schedule should any unforeseen circumstances arise.

Question 8

Why should a customer hire you over another service provider?

Accepted Answer

25 years experience means you can entrust your valuable fabrics to me. We take the time to get the job done right first time every time and our experience covers many a different scenario. No cheap in and out in 5 minutes. For results you will love call 1800 4SPOTS / 1800 477687. Insurance claims handling and restoration services are also available on 1800 4FLOOD / 1800 435663.

Question 9

What are the typical things that you need to know before you can provide a quote to a customer?

Accepted Answer

Do you own or rent the property.  How soiled is the area to be cleaned?  Please identify your main areas of concern that may need a little more attention Identity areas of staining that may be on the carpet or floor area.  The area of the carpet in sq mtrs to be cleaned, vacuumed or restored.  The age of the fabric.  Has the property been cleaned professionally before? Who cleaned it last time? Why have you changed cleaners? Any spotting techniques employed by the home or business owner. Is the area to be cleaned within 35 metres of a car park space. I have to run hoses from the truck for carpet cleaning.

Question 10

How can a customer save money before you start the work? Please give 3 tips

Accepted Answer

Pre Vacuum the area. Remove and declutter rooms of smaller furniture and ornaments. List types of stains that are on the carpet or upholstery.

Question 11

Are there any special offers you would like to offer to Oneflare customers?

Accepted Answer

Pensioner and Seniors Discount 20% off our quoted price. To all seniors Top Hat respects and realises your contribution to this country deserves a little thank you. We do this by way of lessening the load on your cleaning costs and offer a discount for services performed of 20%. Just show me your card after I estimate the job and I will gladly reduce my quote by 20%

Question 12

What makes your pricing competitive?

Accepted Answer

Everybody pretty much charges the same price for their labour. It is the quality of that labour, the chemistry they use and the equipment that they use that determines VALUE. Carpet cleaning is a physically demanding, and mentally challenging vocation. Experience is what sets Top Hat aside from its competitors. The average carpet cleaner lasts around 3 months in the job before they move on to their next trade. Would you rather a transient cleaner with just 3 months experience or a 25 year professional? Do you really think that little electric machine you hire at XYZ store can clean as well as a $30000+ truck mounted unit? Entrust Top Hat to deliver results that you will love.

Question 13

How do you normally charge for your service?

Accepted Answer

As each job differs in time and material costs, I can only estimate over the telephone. In fact most of my clients leave me to do the job and price it upon completion. BEWARE set prices on the telephone. they will either over charge or undercharge. If they undercharge they are more than likely going to skip corners so they do not lose money. If they overcharge what chance is there that they will tell you they overcharged once they get there. Clean carpet takes less time to clean than dirty carpet, therefore 4 rooms of clean carpet will be a lot less than 4 rooms of dirty carpet. Even clean appearing carpet can often be hiding problem soap areas from previous poor cleaning techniques. It is not until the end of the job and my clients satisfaction that I can give a fair price for the time and work done. Entrust someone who cares about giving you results that you will love.

Question 14

Is there a particular aspect of your trade or industry that you specialise in?

Accepted Answer

Leather and fabric upholstery require a fine eye for detail. Fine fabric experts. Stain Removal is more than just cleaning. Stains occur in hundreds of different types, shapes and sizes. There are a multitude of different stain removal techniques to which I am familiar. For a complex stain I will take the time to remove it, if required and charge accordingly. Odor Removal- Complex odor removal techniques are often mistreated by inexperienced cleaners. Utilising the very best in enzyme and bacteria chemistry we have a much greater chance of eliminating your odor problems. Wet fogging areas as well as ozone treatments are also available. Mould and Water Damage can cause permanent damage due to incorrect cleaning procedures. With over 25 years experience in this field there are new nanotechnology chemicals that can actually remove, kill and protect areas from further growth or reappearance..

Question 15

What experience, skills, qualifications or training do you have to make you the right person for the job?

Accepted Answer

I was the first Australian carpet cleaner to receive IICRC certification in 1986 in Water Damage Restoration. I have cleaned carpet and upholstery in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, USA and the UK. As owner of 1800 4SPOTS you get the skills and experience of a master cleaner. Having previously ran a 25 man operation I have turned my business back to a sole owner operator business to ensure the quality of work is attained every time. Keeping abreast with the latest in technology, my machinery and chemicals, as well as my vast network of friends who are professional cleaners, means I can resolve most all rectifiable carpet, upholstery and hard floor surface problems.

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