Restoration in recession?
April 1st 2009 An NCCA survey suggests 'make do and mend'attitudes may help the industry
In an independent member survey carried out on behalf of the
National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) in January this year,
30% of members said that they anticipated an upturn in their
domestic carpet cleaning business in 2009.The reason for this is an
expectation that customers will start to restore rather than replace
carpets due to a reduction in the amount of
disposable income available.While a second
figure is not yet available to confirm a growth in
carpet cleaning, other facts regarding the current
economic climate and its affect on the carpet
trade in its broader sense are apparent.
The ongoing doom and gloom in the financial world has led to
many consumers being forced to change their spending habits. Fewer
new builds of course have meant less new homes on the market
which in turn has caused a downturn in domestic carpet sales.A
number of carpet retailers have appeared in the media as a result of
suffering this downturn. Quoted in The Guardian newspaper last year,
veteran carpet trader Lord Harris of Peckham, who founded the
Carpetright empire said that he expected 2009 to be among the most
"challenging" year he had witnessed in his 50-year long career. The
company has in fact shed 140 staff and closed its Carpetright at
Home service.Meanwhile there has been talk about selling Allied
Carpets and Floors–2-Go was brought out of administration last year.
Independent retailers have been hit worse with several going out of
business.And so what for the business of carpet cleaning? Talking to
a number of NCCA members, while a change in customer behaviour
is acknowledged, business appears to still be ticking along nicely.
However, some are finding that they need to reduce their rates and
on top of this they are being asked to prove their
worth.
Commenting on this point, Paul Pearce,
technical director of the NCCA says:"Customers are
looking for a bargain and they are also keener
than ever to check that you really are an expert in your field, i.e that
they are getting what they are paying for."
So, as a cleaner, the message would appear to be; get prepared to
reduce prices if necessary and show evidence of your expertise.A
new code of practice for carpet cleaning technicians, known as PAS 86
(Publicly Available Specification) may be a help with respect to the
latter.The document which has been developed by the NCCA and BSI
British Standards, in association with a range of industry experts, is
the only code of practice available for the trade.
Companies can use it to prove that they are working to approved
standards and customers can feel safe in the knowledge that they will
receive a quality service from
technicians adhering to the code. More articles from National Carpet Cleaners Association: | 
