Ok I'm probably going to get flamed off the board for this.

Anyhoos, Thermax has a rental package program. Basically it works like this:

You select a location to place a rental rack inside a store. The racks contain 1-2 extraction machines, and a full assortment of chemicals. You offer the store between $8-10 per rental as an incentive to place your rack inside their location.

The store is responsible for selling the product and keeping track of the machines and chemicals. The store is issued a book where all rentees are required to furnish their drivers license number and deposit and to sign a contact stating that they will only use the chemicals that are sold in the store in their machine. If they break it, or return the machine uncleaned they will lose part or all of their deposit.

Now the idea is to make at least $20-25 every time the machine goes out the door and to have it go out the door as many times per week as possible.

If you have 10 locations, and average 1 rental per week per machine, you will make $250 for your efforts and all that is required is just one day of driving around and pick up your checks and do maintenance on the machines. Average 2 rentals per machine per week and that goes up to $500 and still one day of "work".

I know that pads and TM machines would blow these small rigs out of the water so to speak, but, the idea with this is to create a residual income where you basically don't have to put much effort into collecting a paycheck each week.

I don't think it would be totally bad for the professional either if they were to offer it, since they could offer the machine rentals themselves to price concious customers who posess a want for DIY projects.

sounds like a great way to decrease your customer base.

rentals,bissels,and DIY's are a CC's largest competition IMO

so do us a favor and buy some real crappy machines and sell some real lousy chems

Dixiedrifter,

Do-it-yourself carpet cleaning rental units is how I first entered this business. I owned Steamex of Canada. When I first entered what I though was a lucrative business it looked like I would become a millionaire almost overnight. That of course was only on paper.

In actual fact I had so many consignees stiff me over & over it became a nightmare. They spent your money and never have it on your arrival. They never keep the units clean and free of odor causing complaints. They take such poor identification the renters simply keeps the unit at home until someone calls.

No one ever calls as the clerk gave the machine to him not asking for the proper identification. Freezing and leaking water over other customers furnishings in the winter caused threats and law suits. You don’t want to hear the rest.

Some years later my company took on the task of servicing and picking up invoices for a large U.S. company who owned all the Home Depot rentals. The number of units that were stolen was totally unbelievable. You would need a police force to keep track of it.

NOT A GOOD MOVE…my opinion only.

Now if you choose to advertise both do it yourself and save or have us do it professionally that works. Why? Because the DIY market is twice as large as the professional market and will attract three times as many inquiries.

You can switch your potential customer back and forth. I actually did this and you would be amazed how many will rent from you then say next time we will have you do it. Then you have the people who totally refuse to pay professional price and will rent instead. Now the bigger profit is in the chemicals as they are packaged small and sold with attractive margins. The secret is for you a professional to actually deliver the unit, set it up and show them before you leave and suggest the proper product for them to use.

Have a delivered flat fee + product used. With this service why would they go elsewhere.

I have often wondered why some one has not started a franchise to offer this service. Now if you are still interested in placement in stores I would personally look at the http://www.edic-usa.com/ - Rental Package from EDIC .

Good Luck

Ken and whoever else is listening.

The rental of an OP Machine is a fantastic idea. Less investment and much easier for the customer to comprehend. Forget how good your professional cleaning system is for the moment. And think about how many do-it-yourselfers there are wanting to rent a carpet cleaning machine.

Tap into this market. It sounds very profitable.

Superglide Ken wrote: We will be doing just that with machines that will have a selling price under $1000. The pads and chemicals that go with them is where the real money is at.

Ken that last statement will probably piss off a lot of professional carpet cleaners and crank the board up again. But what they should understand is that the do-it-yourself carpet cleaning rental business is huge. And can be profitable.

This is a market that the professional carpet cleaner should own and not the grocery chain.

Food for thought.

WE have guys doing just that, most use the CCS Oscillator as it is so user freindly. This is nothing NEW.

Our CCS Oscillators are a 15" 1/2 hp machine that is on special for January... just click the link.

http://ccsop.com/index.php?url_channel_id=98&url_publish_channel_id=170&well_id=2 - http://ccsop.com/index.php?url_channel_id=98&url_publish _channel_id=170&well_id=2

Good Deal, John.

IF you like underpowered equipment! Give them that price on a 3/4 hp machine and you might have something .Turboteck will be offering a 3/4 hp machine this Spring for only $999.00 that comes with the superior Sahara Super Pads

How's this scenario sound?

Deliver five OP Machines for 50 dollars each + chemicals before 11am in the morning. Go golfing or go clean carpet professionally till 3pm. Then pick up your five machines and your home by 5:30pm.

Not a bad day.

Ahhhhh, Pakistani Pads............poor kenny missed the boat again but wait

next month Kenny will have "discovered" Tsunami Pads from Sumatra, tried and tested as usual in his world headquarters in ...............ummmm where was it again ?   tampa, yemen, vegas ?? 

 Medical Post

CALGARY--Health leaders are grappling with Calgary's acute shortage of psychiatrists, coupled with a 30% jump in emergency mental health cases at Foothills, the region's main teaching hospital.

A Calgary Regional Health Authority (CRHA) committee met recently to consider restricting access to psychiatric emergency services at the Foothills Hospital.

"There has been an increasing volume at the Foothills site. That's part of why this is becoming a problem now," said Arlene Weidner, CRHA senior operating officer of acute care. Moreover, the number of psychiatrists working in Calgary hospitals overall has shrunk from 70 to 50 as a certain very rich, outpatient have driven most of these psychiatrists bonkers by continually trying to flog Turkish cotton Pads & OP machines to them, thereby increasing the workload and reducing professional ranks at the same time.

I like the sound of an OP machine, BUT, it sounds like it would be a logistical nightmare to pull off.

5 machines could be deliverable in one day for one person, after that many though it would get to where you would be running out of time if your drop offs were spread out. Not to mention the fact that you would be wearing your vehicle out along your washing machine.

Coupla questions...

Q: How many square feet of carpet can a pad clean before needing to be changed?

Q: How many pads can you put in a 3.8 sqft. washer?

After you do the first 5 rentals , you hire people to do every 5 more after that.You wear out other peoples vehicles if you rent more than 5.

Washing machines are cheap. Buy a used one for $100 and use it till it breaks if you are doing less than 20 pads per day.

If doing 20 at a time, go to the commercial washers and do 20 at a time in the double washers. Costs only $3.00 here and does a better job than the home washers do. Cost works out to only .15 per pad for a better job.If you are getting .30 or more per sq ft, you have made $600 with those pads, so this is only about $1/house for the 3 houses you cleaned with them. Or 1/2 of 1% of the money you made. You can afford it.

You should have no problem getting 100 sq ft per pad on most carpet, or needing more than 6 pads per 600 sq ft.

You need Sahara Super Pads to get that Doug. I just happen to sell them. You didn't think I was going to answer for what Padmans pads would give you did you? lol

Perhaps John sold you his Pakistani Pads instead of the Turkey Pads?????

Definatly not the same quality. Lee says anything else other than Turkey pads are a" rip off." His words, not mine. Who am I to argue?

Ken, naturally has thoroughly researched this whole subject with his years of experience in the rental biz, along with padding and washing Pads.................Yup, the above is typical of the fastidious attention to detail we are used to from the Fantasy Dreams Research Institute located right next door to the Foothills Medical Institute. 

No Harry; I am just a real fast learner.

Correction on my post above this one:

Lee Sentor did not say that anything other than"turkey pads" were a rip off as I stated above, he said" the rest are a scam". He said that back on September 29th on this BB. Of course, I am sure he did not know that John was going to start selling "Pakistani Pads" here 3 months after he said it?

Kenny's Cotton team at the Fantasy Dreams Research Institute, brought in from Yemen, Sumatra, Turkey or was it India.............

I dont know much about the rental biz but what I do know is that your average joe do it yourselfer,,when it comes to  CC seems to think more is better.

ever sucked all the soap out of a DIY carpet???

anyways,I can see a whole lotta tip blooming going on with OP rentals,heck I've seen alot of it with Electrolux scrubbers.

more like crop circles actually.

besides Ken,I thought you were out to make CC's lives easier?

not try and put us out of biz

Yup, Ken has a proven track record of how to make big bucks with no effort................

For a guy who can't afford a potato or airfare to speak with such authority on this subject can only be explained by one thing.............

"Delusions of grandeur" psychosis. 

Trust Kenny he's done.......................

exhausting tests.