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Carpet cleaning business growing well

Couple works in Pierce, Lewis, Mason counties

By Jim Szymanski | The Olympian • Published November 28, 2007

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RAINIER – When Adam Dealan-de started his carpet-cleaning business five years ago, he parked a van in a grocery store lot with a small sign advertising jobs for $39.

Clean Freaks Carpet Care has grown to a four-county service area and a minimum $120 cleaning fee per household.

Dealan-de and his wife, Maia, who joined the company two years ago, base their business in their Rainier home, where Maia keeps the financial records. Adam does the field work, which includes calls to Pierce, Lewis and Mason counties.

The Dealan-des this month were honored in a competition with 75 other carpet-cleaning companies nationwide that compared marketing plans and customer-relations strategies. The Dealan-des' presentation was judged among the 10 best in a contest run by a Tempe, Ariz.-based marketing firm that counsels carpet-cleaning businesses. The consultant, Joe Polish, began his career as a carpet cleaner.

Eunice Miller, director of operations for Polish's consulting and marketing firm, said judges ranked the Dealan-des high because they work well as a team.

"They are the perfect picture of a husband and wife working on growing their business," Miller said. "They have very savvy marketing pieces."

The Dealan-des offer their customers handouts on smart carpet care. They send out newsletters to remind customers to consider them for follow-up service. They also give refunds if customers are unhappy.

The couple also run a contest for customers. They ask customers to fill out a feedback form and pick one form each month, and the business gives out two free Yelm Cinema tickets in return for participating.

An estimated 60 percent of the couple's business is follow-ups, Maia Dealan-de said.

"We don't want to clean your house and never see you again," she said.

The Dealan-des also hire a scheduling service so that when callers contact them, someone answers the phone.

Sarah Sherman, a Yelm dentist, appreciates the couple's efforts.

Sherman shares her Yelm office with her husband, Judd, who also is a dentist. The Dealan-des not only clean the Shermans' professional office, but their home and investment properties.

"They worked to develop a personal relationship with us," said Sherman, who said she appreciated Maia's follow-up calls to make sure the Shermans were satisfied. "I've never had that level of service with other carpet cleaners."