CARPET CARE
Why the price is not right with
carpet care
At a time when hygiene standards and service need to be higher than ever, some industry insiders believe the carpet care sector is struggling to get fair pricing and engage in appropriate training Words Cameron Cooper
G
arry Carroll has been working in the restoration and carpet care industry for decades and has witnessed many changes – except for one area. While the costs of running a carpet care business have risen dramatically in recent years, he observes that contractor pricing has not increased proportionately. “The price for carpet cleaning today is less than it was 10 years ago,” says Carroll, managing 52 INCLEAN May / Jun 2023
director of Restore Solutions and the Australian Cleaning & Restoration Academy (ACRA) in Queensland. “Fuel costs have gone up, wages have gone up, everything’s gone up, yet it’s not coinciding with the pricing.” He believes many people entering the sector now are “coming in with a pricing orientation, rather than a quality orientation”. Such a trend has another potentially negative effect on carpet care, according to Carroll, who