I saw an ad to have "5 areas" of carpet cleaned for just under $140 which seemed like a reasonable deal. I called the company and emphasized to them that they would have to go light on applying water to the carpets because I was concerned about possible mildew, and was told "no problem". The workers arrived as scheduled and finished the job very quickly — in less than an hour. They told me that the carpet should be dry by the next morning, and that I could move the furniture back in the next morning. However, when I inspected the carpet the next morning, it was still very wet and was already starting to smell of mildew. I immediately called the company and asked them to remedy the situation at no charge to me.
The company manager said that the remedy would be to bring fans out to dry the carpet. The company manager falsely stated that he had recommended to me originally that fans be brought in afterwards to dry the carpet; I pointed out to him that he had said no such thing, but to the contrary indicated they would be careful not to leave too much water in the carpets. Then he told me that drying the carpets would cost $500 — three and a half times the cost of cleaning the carpets! I told the company manager that I would publicize my complaint against the company in a variety of venues, and that I would remedy the situation by myself (which I did by renting high-powered fans for less than $60).
When I contacted the Better Business Bureau, I found that the company had an unacceptable rating and has a history of not resolving complaints. Clearly this company is a "bait and switch" operation — they bait you with a low price on cleaning your carpets, then they load the carpets down with water, and then they switch to telling you that you need very expensive carpet drying. BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY! Check them out yourself with the Better Business Bureau.in addition to the "bait and switch" problem, the quality of the work was shoddy. Various marks were left on the carpets — which other cleaning companies would have removed. The company failed to put wax paper underneath table legs and chair legs, as is standard industry practice. I hope that this report saves someone the agony of going through a similar experience and being ripped off.
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