We all have them — those crazy customers who call you sporadically, usually when they are in desperate need because the in-laws are coming over or they have a party tomorrow. But next time, they toss you under the bus with glee because another deal came their way.

We always talk about the former. It’s the latter that I want to talk about this month.

In conversations with cleaners all over the country recently, I was asking about some of the crazy things customers do that can be really irritating to business owners and their techs.

For me, one that really stood out was a customer who used oven cleaner to remove some spots from the carpet. Yes, the spot came out. So did the carpet, the padding and some of the subfloor, I think.

What about you? Do you have crazy customers?

Rick Bell of Global Cleaners in Skowhegan, ME, cleans a local Pizza Hut that also likes to use oven cleaner, even on the walls of the restaurant. You would think a commercial setting would know better, right?

Chuck Martin, owner of MRT Professional Cleaning & Restoration in Pittsburg, KS, had a customer inform him she used a meat tenderizer to remove blood spots from her carpet. Maybe she ran out of paper towels and peroxide; I don’t know.

Andrew Platt with Green Cleaning Services in Blockhouse, Nova Scotia, has to wonder about one of his customers who uses cleaning products made from crushed sea shells, not to mention the one who was removing spots with Windex as he arrived for the job.

Finally, a few cleaners commented about how many of their customers get out anything with bleach, because “Bleach makes things bright and clean.”

Now, here’s a business-building tip. When these things happen, we have to watch our reaction. We might be tempted to exclaim, “You did WHAT?” when we should just listen to them and then calmly explain a better process.

We are the professionals. We know how to get the job done right. Your customers? They need to stand back and let you do your work.

But convincing them of this… that’s a different challenge altogether.

That’s my rant. Get busy, have fun and remember that DryMaster Systems is always here for you.