Mukilteo, WA  - October 26, 2011 - A survey conducted for U.S. Products, manufacturers of professional carpet cleaning tools and equipment, reports that most carpet cleaning technicians (60 percent) find customer spending on carpet cleaning this year is on par with 2010.

  However, nearly 30 percent say this year’s sales are behind those of 2010.

  “The [carpet cleaning] industry is doing better,” says Mark Baxter, product manager for U.S. Products. “However, not for everyone and certainly not like things were a few years ago.”

  Approximately 500 registered owners of U.S. Products carpet extractors were emailed invitations to take the online survey. As of Oct. 17, 2011, 83 responded.

  The technicians said the bulk of their non-residential carpet cleaning business comes from offices (62 percent) followed by restaurants, stores, and schools in fairly even proportions.

  The survey also revealed:  

• Fifty-five percent of the respondents believe their customers “shop around” and get other estimates before selecting a carpet cleaning technician.
• Nearly half said their customers have about the same amount of carpeting as they do hard surface flooring.
• About 40 percent said they always follow up with customers to check on customer satisfaction after cleaning their carpets; 48 percent indicated they “sometimes” do this.

“It was a bit eye-opening that more technicians do not regularly follow-up to see if the customer is satisfied with their service,” says Baxter. “Most carpet cleaning gurus suggest this is a very important step in building customer loyalty.”