I am often asked which I prefer more, carpet cleaning or upholstery cleaning. And while I enjoy the opportunity to restore a beat-up, heavily soiled carpet to an almost-like-new condition, I'll take upholstery cleaning any day.

Are you educating your residential clientele about the ever-growing problems associated with poor indoor air quality?

In an age of high-tech, high-concept approaches to marketing in this industry, I'm starting to think the simplest approaches are, at least some of the time, the most effective.

When launching marketing campaigns, many cleaners often measure their success, or lack thereof, by the immediate response generated from the program.

We recently scheduled an appointment with a frantic woman who claimed mysterious spots were suddenly appearing throughout her brand new living room/dining room carpeting. Apparently, her husband was placing the blame squarely upon the family pooch and threatening to banish Fido to the doghouse, or worse.

I used to carry the belief that my technician, after receiving his daily discourse in "Do's and Don'ts," would leave our employ at any moment. After all, this is a job, not a prison sentence, right?

We all know just how important building a strong repeat and referral clientele is to the growth of our businesses. Many business owners feel this is accomplished entirely through outstanding workmanship and customer service.