Greetings, I am a professional carpet cleaner and have been for 12 years. I just started working for a company that runs a big scam on groupon, and other sites. I have worked for Alpha Omega Carpet Cleaning for a few weeks and am deeply disturbed about their business practices. There is another company involved that goes by three different names. Upfront Carpet Cleaning, A1 Steamers and Steam It.
Here is how it goes. First, the three companies that are owned by one person, Joseph Pais, advertise on groupon that they will clean the carpets in 4 areas and a hall for 40$. The truth is that we are instructed to "upsell" every customer. A 40$ clean isn't actually a carpet clean. All we do is run warm/hot water on their carpet without any soap. The process takes about 10-15 minutes and doesn't not clean the carpet.
It actually soaks the carpet and can make it look worse then before due to resurfacing of deep stains. When we enter someone's home we quickly walk the carpet with them and tell them right off the bat that they need an emulsifier treatment (pre-spray) and that runs 15-20 per room. Then we offer scotch guard and other services like a pet treatment if needed and it runs 15-30 per room. The technicians are not knowledgable in the proper use of chemicals so they don't eliminate pet odor.
Anyway, we have to up-sell the customer for every single thing including air vent cleaning and tile cleaning. If a customer refuses to pay our estimate which can cost hundreds more then we haul ass on the "cleaning" and basically just soak their carpet.
Another problem is that Joseph gets so much work from groupon that he subcontracts the company I work for, alpha omega. The customers are not aware that a different company then UpFront is in their home.
Another problem is that people have to book their appointments a month in advance through email. Many customers have complained to me that the only phone number they have to the company isn't reliable. They person who answers, Joseph I assume, says he can't talk and that they have to email him.
A basic run down on all of this is that people spend 40$ to have carpets cleaned and they only get a rinse and a pushy salesman.
I would also like to add that I am an experienced carpet cleaner. These guys do not know what they are doing. They BS the customers and scam them. They often sell a scotchguard treatment and they only spray deodorizer.
I am not a disgruntle employee looking for payback. Im currently looking for another job and might have found one. I'm exposing this scam because they make carpet cleaners look bad and they are scammers. I am a Christian and my boss, Rick Keating, named his company Alpha Omega but does not engage in ethical business practices.
Another problem is the drug use. I have witnessed 3 different employees using marijuana while driving between job sites and i know the owner, Rick, smokes pot also. One technician was drinking a beer while driving. This is not acceptable.
I would also like to add to this that I believe their reviews on groupon are fake. 77 reviews give them 4-5 stars but they are all written the same. Some of the reviews actually look like advertisments for the company. There is not one negative review on groupon. I've found similar fake reviews throughout the internet but I've also found real reviews that back up what I am telling you.
I've sent a similar email to groupon and I plan on contacting the better business bureau. This scam needs to end. I am willing to sign a sworn affidavit that I am speaking the truth.
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