Upholstery Cleaning: Inspection and Qualification

Average consumers have little idea about how to care for their furnishings and have rarely, if ever, been given any useful advice by the decorator or salesperson who sold them their upholstery. In many cases, the furniture is poorly cared for, and your customer may have expectations of cleaning results that exceed what you can deliver.Most complaints relating to upholstery cleaning can be eliminated by thorough pre-inspection of the item to be cleaned, followed by communication with the customer regarding what may be expected from the cleaning service.
Do these three things:

Pre-inspection (what you look for)
Pre-qualification (what you tell your customer)
Pre-understanding (what you both agree to do)

And you will:

Pre-vent problems (refunds, reservices, claims—$)

How you communicate with your customer is more important than how much soil you remove! Your attitude, tone of voice, choice of words, and professional appearance are vital! Remember these two quotes:

“No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care!”
“What you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying!”

Be certain that you talk to your customers in a respectful, professional manner, especially when discussing the soil level of the fabric or any previous maintenance efforts (or the lack of them!). Consumers have not been educated as to the care of fine fabrics, and may have been given misinformation by the individuals who sold them the furniture.

Excerpted from Restoration Science Academy’s Complete Guide to Cleaning and Restoration, a compilation of all ASD classroom course materials, including water damage restoration, fire and smoke restoration, odor control, microbial remediation, trauma scene cleanup, upholstery and fabric cleaning, and carpet cleaning. Authors: Gary Funari, Gary Loiben and William Weigand. Technical Review: Mitchell Byrom, Mark Cornelius, Mike Kerner and David Oakes.