Brighton ~ East Sussex
We have been cleaning carpets, rugs and upholstery in Brighton for more than twenty five years, in this time we have learnt a lot about the city, including the following information.
Brighton is the main commercial, residential, educational and conference centre on the South Coast, 46 miles South of London, 50.49 latitude, 00.08 longitude.
Brighton was established before the creation of the Doomsday book, with Londoners flocking into the town in the 1750’s, appreciating the clean air and countryside. Brighton soon grew, with libraries, theatres and hotels being built to meet the visitors demands, some of these visitors included nobility, the rich and famous. In the early 1800’s Brighton’s population doubled, growing further in the 1840’s with the arrival of the railway, bringing further urban and industrial development.
In recent years Brighton’s yearly holidaymakers have diminished slightly due to the arrival of budget airlines, providing access to European destinations and guaranteed sunshine. Brighton does boast an excellent shopping centre, with shops found in major cities. Brighton marina has been a great attraction for the town along with Brighton University, with students arriving from all around the UK.
Brighton also has the largest gay community outside London, with the ‘gay pride’ festival attracting even more visitors to the town. Brighton and Hove Albion football club currently play in league one, with a new stadium being built at Falmer.
In recent polls, Brighton was the City that people were most happy to live in the UK!
Sussex by the Sea
I have been very fortunate to have grown up in East Sussex, with many wonderful features to this part of England including the South Downs, we live at the foot of the downs and often take our dog up to Butts Brow, when the ascent has been made you are rewarded with fantastic country views all over the county, from Brighton to Hastings and on a clear day up to Crowborough and beyond.
In Eastbourne we have Europe’s largest marina, this has attracted many people to this area, including second property purchases by people from London and other areas, people often comment on the unspoilt seafront with stunning Victorian architecture evident everywhere.
When you move along the coast towards Brighton, you travel through smaller towns such as Seaford, Newhaven and Saltdean, they all have thriving communities with many people working in Brighton or even London, rail communications are excellent from Brighton with travel times just over sixty minutes.
One of my personal favourites has to be Lewes, the small town is rich in historical buildings and is the home of the famous Harveys Brewery, people travel from miles to sample the breweries delightful beverages.
When we are working around the county, we meet many people that decide to retire in East Sussex, often from busy lives in London, fond childhood memories linger in the mind when we want to adopt a slightly slower lifestyle.
Choose Local
After many years in business in Sussex we have seen carpet cleaning companies come and go, we have seen many National businesses dropping local companies in favour of other National organisations, not just for carpet cleaning, but other trades, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, lighting companies and so on. We had a brief chat recently with a guy repairing a sign at a local bank, he had travelled from the Midlands to do two hours work because the bank concerned had a National contract with his firm.
Think of the carbon footprint left by this ridiculous situation, when a local business could have been used at a fraction of the cost, this happens all of the time, particularly with large supermarkets, banks, D.I.Y stores and building societies. There are countless quality businesses in Sussex that will offer better value for money than these Nationals, reducing pollution and probably delivering a better job. National companies do employ local people, which is very positive, but business interaction with local companies is almost extinct, although there are some companies that still use local business.
In the carpet cleaning business, a local franchise can be purchased by anyone, so it is quite possible the person visiting your property could have been a baker or a milkman a few months before, this is why choosing an established local business is important, look for qualifications and associations, for example a company that is Trading Standards Approved. We know that inviting a trades person into your home very personal, by using an established business, you know exactly who you are dealing with.
The Cowboy Carpet Cleaner
After cleaning carpets for more than 24 years, I have seen some innocent people really ripped off, recently visited a new customer in Polegate, just outside Eastbourne in Sussex.
I turned into a tree lined cul-de-sac with bungalows set back from the road, I was looking for number five, the bungalow was obviously very well maintained, with flower beds and a neat hedge leading to the front door.
A lady in her seventies answered the door and invited me in, she seemed to be a little ‘frosty’ showing me the hallway and the lounge/dining room that needed cleaning. I started to measure the area, filling in information on my NCCA survey sheet, I explained about the NCCA and why we had become members, the lady asked a few questions and seemed to relax a little. ‘I had these carpets cleaned four weeks ago’ she said, ‘they took twenty five minutes to do them’, the carpets looked in poor condition, my first guess was that they has been cleaned three or four years previous to my visit.
The lady had been ’sucked in’ by a leaflet that had been pushed through her door, special offer two rooms for the price of one, as soon as the operator had arrived, the price started to increase for; moving chairs, stain treatment, access charges and more. This had left this lady with a deep rooted opinion on carpet cleaners, which is understandable.
Furthermore, the previous company had not even vacuumed the carpet before cleaning, in our industry this type of operation is known as ‘bait and switch’ luring the customer in with an attractive price and then creating reasons to inflate the charges when they are on site. As with most cases, the original leaflet had no address, no website address and a mobile telephone number (which was now dead)
We cleaned the carpet for this customer three weeks after my survey, the job took an hour and a half, leaving the carpet looking as new, with our new customers faith restored.
When employing a carpet cleaning company, ask for the following:
References from local customers, a quality company will be pleased to give you references from previous customers.
Proof of insurance basic third party liability insurance does not cover carpet, rug or upholstery cleaning, only ‘treatments risk’ insurance is acceptable.
Contact details, a card with just a mobile number with no address should ring some alarm bells, mobile phones are cheap to purchase, cowboy cleaners will simply throw away their old sim card, replacing it with a new one, and a new number.
Trade qualifications, we feel trade qualifications are extremely important, saying that you have cleaned carpets for ten years or have been on a basic one day course from a manufacturer does not render someone as qualified.
Cleaning equipment carpets should and upholstery should dry within two hours after they have been cleaned, dated or inefficient equipment can leave carpets wet for up to two days!
Hopefully these questions would ‘weed out’ the not so professional cleaning operative.