Many of the gadgets we discuss each month are tools and accessories intended to make our job easier or faster. They are designed primarily for our benefit. This month, we are going to focus on some gadgets primarily designed to impress the cleaning customer.

To a new cleaner entering the industry, the difference between one carpet cleaning company and the next is not always immediately obvious. After all, most apply a prespray. They use an emulsifier or rinse. They extract with a powerful truck mounted extractor. They apply specialty spotters for those more difficult spills. Many pre-vacuum before cleaning and groom the carpet after cleaning. So why do the prices carpet cleaners charge vary so much? How does one cleaning company charge two and three times more than others for what appears, from the outside, to be essentially the same cleaning job?

There are a lot of variables not immediately evident: the level of customer service, training and certifications, and the type and target of their marketing, to name a few. But there’s one area where the right kind of gadget applied on a carpet-cleaning job can provide an extra level of customer care and concern that, in the end, is part of the justification for higher prices. These gadgets provide a special touch of customer care to protect your customer’s home or business and its furnishings.

Shoe Covers. Make sure you’re not the first person to add a dirty footprint to their freshly cleaned carpet.

Corner Guards. Protect the paint and drywall on vulnerable corners from your hoses as you pull them through.

Doorjamb Saver. Protect your customer’s doorway from your hoses.

Furniture Movers. Plastic gliders or skidders for moving heavy furniture with legs, or a longer plastic shield or slider to lift a heavy piece of furniture off the floor. In either case, the plastic barrier protects the hard or soft floor from the friction of the heavy furniture being dragged across it.

Hose-Washing Attachments. Hook this up to the solution output of your truckmount so you can wash off your hoses as you put them back into your truck. If you drag your hoses through mud or sand, you don’t want it to come off on the floor of your next customer.

Safe Connects. Female quick-connects for your solution hose that include a connector cover to protect the fittings. They protect your customer’s floors from being chipped or scratched, and also absorb the heat of the connectors to keep them from leaving burn marks.

Yard Sticks. These relatively new inventions are a great example of a carpet-cleaning inventor finding another way to show the customer how much he cares. You push them in the ground and then lay your hot solution (pressure) hose across them to protect your customer’s lawn and garden. You can also put them in the corners of walkways to keep your hoses from being pulled into their flowers and shrubs.

QD Wraps. Wrap your quick-connects so when they get hot your customer’s curious children, as well as her vulnerable floors, are protected.

These visible demonstrations of care and concern in protecting your customer’s home or business leave a lasting positive impression that is just as important as a quality cleaning job. The old saying is true: “Customers don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Using these special touches on the job site can play a big role in differentiating your carpet cleaning company from all the others.