5 Very Important Questions NOT to Ask When Scheduling a Carpet Cleaning

As some of you may know, my current job with Allied Gate Co. is a designer. I design custom iron doors, gates, railing, etc.

But that's not my only job.

Or the only company I work for.

The owner of Allied also owns a huge company that repairs mining equipment, and a carpet cleaning company, Orbit Cleaning Service.

I also work for Orbit.

For both companies, it's my responsibility to do all the scheduling.

And by all, I mean anything and everything that needs to be scheduled for either company, I handle it.

And I must say, I'm pretty damn good at it!

As the one and only scheduler, I've had my share of stupid questions, most on the Orbit Cleaning side. So, as a public service, I thought I'd share five of the top questions you should NOT to ask when scheduling a carpet cleaning.

1. How big is my_________ (fill in the blank with any room in the house)?
      Hold on, let me check. (I have no clue. I'm not in your house!)

2. Do you have any earlier appointments? Maybe something for tomorrow?
     I said; "My NEXT AVAILABLE opening is_________." (NOT tomorrow) So, no. I don't have anything available for tomorrow.

3. Can you give me an exact time when the technician will be at my house?  (All appointments are given in 2 hour arrival blocks.)
     No. Haven't you ever had any other services or contract work done?  (Think cable, gas & electric company. They give you a "Sometime between 8am & 5pm" window.) Sometimes these things take 1 hour, sometimes 3. The best I can do is have the tech call when he's on the way.

4. How do you measure the rooms?
      Heel to toe. Isn't that how everyone measures things?

5. Do I have to be there for the cleaning?
      We aren't doing this for free, now are we, Sweetheart?