Many consumers love to use coupons, since they can save us money and introduce us to new products or companies. The main purpose of a coupon is to introduce consumers to a new products or company, as well as reward existing consumers for their loyalty for buying their product. Coupons are most commonly used for groceries and food services, but can also be found for a number of other services including carpet cleaning. Unfortunately, many companies use coupons to bring in customers, but never honor the coupon price since they already hooked the customer in.
This process is referred to as “bait and switch” and has been commonly used by carpet cleaning companies all throughout the United States. The company is able to get inside your home by advertising an extremely low price, but they then slam you with additional fees and charges that were not noted in the coupon. Most carpet cleaning technicians’ state that the advertised price only referred to basic service, and they add over hundreds of dollars of additional services to the bill.
Carpet cleaning technicians are also known for talking their customers into paying extra for services that should be included in their regular services, including conditioning and drying the carpet. They can also try to charge extra for cleaning high traffic areas or adding extra treatments to protect the carpet, but all of these should be included in the basic service that was advertised in the coupon. Since the carpet cleaning service has already been invited into the home, they have the upper hand and are quite successful at talking their customers into purchasing additional services that they explain as necessary. Some carpet cleaning technicians may feel the need to perform a poor cleaning job if the customer refuses additional services or argues about the coupon price, so make sure you are completely satisfied with your cleaning job before signing anything or forking over any money.
Even though saving money is something that almost anybody would like to do, having your carpets cleaned for less than $20 a room is highly unlikely. Carpet cleaning businesses will not be able to make money and stay in business if they are making less than about $80 to $100 an hour, so you should not expect to pay less than that for a quality carpet cleaning job. An average sized home will take about two hours to fully clean, and can cost as high as $200 depending on the size.
To avoid being scammed by carpet cleaning businesses, you should shop around before deciding on a specific company. You can get free quotes from various carpet cleaning businesses in the area, and make sure you are given a quote that includes all services that you need. You can also ask about various specials or discounts that they may be offering, but make sure that you are not just setting yourself up for a scam or intimidation session. Also make sure that you discuss the price with the technician before the cleaning is started, since it can be a long and painful process to try and dispute any charges for work that was already performed.
Some carpet cleaning companies will use cleaners that are not even hired by their company, but instead hired through a contracting service that helps them to save money. Make sure you are using a company that hires and trains their own employees, since you will be guaranteed a good job at a decent price. It is best to stick with one company that you know will perform a great carpet cleaning job, rather than trying to find the best deal each time you need your carpet cleaned. Companies like to reward their long-time customers with great discounts and offers for being loyal, which ends up a better deal in the long run since you won’t have to argue about getting a good carpet cleaning for an advertised price.