Sales... ALWAYS request an on-site visit for an estimate or request for proposal.  Some carpet cleaning companies have certainly embraced a shady business practice, the "bait and switch" marketing strategy. The advertised prices are unbelievably low; whereas common sense should say that the job can't be performed properly at that price, let alone include the real overhead costs of employees, advertising, depreciation/replacement, offices, etc. It is a vicious cycle of consumers shopping for a low price and receiving low quality.

Although most of this abuse resides in the residential marketplace, the commercial decision maker still sees these ridiculously advertised prices and hears about all the complaints, thus creating distrust in the carpet cleaning industry as a whole. It's only natural that any interaction and choice is biased to some degree, and carpets are generally left unclean for many years.

Fortunately, most businesses are realistic and understand the real costs of running any business and just want a fair price for services. This on-site visit should eliminate most if not all 'grey' areas, thus allowing cleaning companies to generate a written bid which includes not only the scope of the job, but reflects all overhead costs. With this "business like" professionalism, the on-site visit is welcomed as a mutually beneficial part of a true business-to-business sales process.

Methods... Encapsulation methods give you better cost and effectiveness. I am certain everyone sees and feels the difference in commercial/industrial carpeting and installations versus residential carpeting and installations. Commercial carpet is thin, with no pad and glued into place. With no padding and an extremely thin weave, commercial carpeting can present issues such as reappearing spots when using traditional 'steam cleaning' methods. The cleaning industry recognized the inefficiencies of using steam cleaning on this type of carpeting and in the 1990's introduced a technology called encapsulation.

Encapsulation is an innovative polymer technology to form a distinct crystal when it dries. Keep in mind that crystallization is the medium that holds the soil in suspension until it can be extracted with post-vacuuming. Since its introduction, encapsulation solutions have improved and today methods like what we use at Advanced Cleaning Systems ( click to view video ) immediately removes dirt and spills, but also creates the post-cleaning crystals so no residues are left and your carpets stay cleaner longer!