range of services that you offer to a regular client. There may well be a good rapport between you, they may be one of the companies who take a pride in their premises and therefore require it to 'look good' all of the time. This is where you can build in a regular maintenance programme to supplement the periodic cleans. Choosing a method purely based on price, without considering the carpet replacement factor, can be a costly mistake. A method should be evaluated based on its ability to prolong the life of the carpet whilst enhancing the appearance. What to look for: Check the type of carpet you are being asked to deal with and find out the recommendations of the manufacturer, they may have developed an analysis
system that can determine the 'life cycle' or total cost of carpet ownership based on maintenance methods. Remember that all carpet care methods are not the same, whilst one procedure may appear to cost less, it could in fact cost your client a lot more money over a period of time. In developing a carpet management programme the first thing is to determine what is unique about the facility. A copy of the floor layout is useful as doorways and other heavy traffic areas can be noted. The areas should be checked, noting the degree of soiling. When bidding for medium to large commercial contracts you can be sure that you will be expected to meet certain minimum criteria. Health and safety Continued on next page
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