Reveal carpet cleaning shop -- is it awkward?

Looking for feedback -- has anyone done the reveal shop where you have to fill the bottle with the solution, etc? I am not sure if I am comfortable having someone in my home, then informing them they are being shopped. How has this been for those of you who have done it? Thanks!

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I got a guy who did a fantastic job, so he was very happy to be shopped. He was highly cooperative. Had it gone the other way, I would have been happy to have someone with me. Mostly to corroborate a he-said/she-said situation, or if the cleaner wouldn't cooperate.

Would like to do another of these before Christmas :-).

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.

I did one with no problem. It did occur to me that I was potentially in an unsafe situation if he wasn't following the rules... he's in my house, if he gets fired, he knows where I live, etc. But it went fine, and it was easy to do.

I did one with no issues. I have another scheduled for this month.

Shopping since 2009
MSPA Gold

I did this shop six month ago and it was great. I had two techs (one experienced and one was new). The experienced guy understood when I told him what I had to do. "Oh, you're a shopper," he said. He was fully cooperative. He did not vacuum my carpet beforehand and I reported that on the paperwork. Just make sure you get ALL of the supplies photographed in the truck. You have to really press this issue the tech. Just keep asking them if that is everything. This was a great shop because I really needed the pet treatment on the carpeting left by the previous owner. I also did another carpet shop for my rental unit with an other company.

It depends on if the techs are or aren't doing the job right. If they are, it's fine. If not, you wait until the last minute and go outside to the truck to take pictures and THEN inform them you are the shopper. Everyone is already outside, and they were cooperative with me. One company I shopped did a great job and the other, not so well.

Kona Kathie

I did this shop over the summer and had a good experience. My guy was professional and seemed like he'd heard of other technicians getting shopped but hadn't been shopped before himself. Totally worth it for the amount of carpet you can get cleaned!

Done 2 already with no issues. Doing 3rd this week with same company from 2 years ago, curious to see if I'm remembered. I take the truck pictures while the guys are inside.

OK, I'll bite.

I have done three of these over the years. Yes, I find it awkward. The technicians are usually the company owners. They complain about the exorbitant franchise fees. You are checking their chemical blend to be sure that they are not watering down the mix. After having to be competitive and paying all of these fees, they are barely scraping by. Sometimes, you can just tell whether or not their mixture is going to "pass." It's the look on their face when you stop them and ask for a sample.

I don't worry about retaliation so much. I'm in a gated community and have a great alarm system.

Getting the photos is no problem. You just go outside while they are cleaning. Pretty basic.

I prefer the non-reveal assignments over these, but I haven't seen those offered in quite a awhile. I used to do those about every 3-6 months for years.

Actually, I am about to book a cleaning with ZEROREZ, since that is superior to any of these companies anyway. It's like apples to oranges if you have ever used ZEROREZ.

Rememeber on most shops they will never know who you are. ON a carpet shop they positively know... if you flunk they they know.

I did one and was a bit nervous about it. It went fine and the tech was very nice about it. I just did one for a Sears franchise that was not a reveal, I'd kind of rather do those in the future.

I did one of these right before we put our house on the market. Everything was fine though a bit odd at the end. When I revealed I was a shopper he said he knew because I asked how long it would take for the carpet to dry! Really? Then he says oh and also because we've been here before. I said no you have not, I've been here four years and the carpet has never been cleaned. Otherwise the shop wss fine.

I would love one of these as my living room desperately needs it. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the shops so I will probably have to cough up the dough for the DIY version.

@kathierost wrote:

It depends on if the techs are or aren't doing the job right. If they are, it's fine. If not, you wait until the last minute and go outside to the truck to take pictures and THEN inform them you are the shopper. Everyone is already outside, and they were cooperative with me. One company I shopped did a great job and the other, not so well.[/quote

Except that the reveal has to happen after the first room and before the second.

Got mine scheduled. Can't wait.... My house sorely needs the carpets to be cleaned.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

@tbclay wrote:

Except that the reveal has to happen after the first room and before the second.

If they do go outside between the rooms, do the reveal then anyway. If it goes south, you can still lock the door on them.

Maybe it depends on the company. I had most of the house done, and wasn't required to reveal until the end.

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.

I want my carpets cleaned too,which mystery shopping company to apply to get carpet cleaning?

READ READ READ your contracts. You cannot ask and we cannot tell. It is a violation.

@Kol16 wrote:

I want my carpets cleaned too,which mystery shopping company to apply to get carpet cleaning?

I found mine by searching the forum for carpet cleaning. A scheduler from the MSC had it listed on the job posting board a few months ago.

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Reveal carpet cleaning shop -- is it awkward?

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