Be Different or Die!

We try to be different. Why? To set ourselves apart from our colleagues. How? By paying more attention to details and doing what other colleagues don't do. In all the cases, when we receive rugs for cleaning and repair we take high resolution digital before and after pictures. In some cases we save all these pictures on a CD and give it to  our customers when we deliver the rugs. They love to see before cleaning and repair pictures along with the photos of the process by which their rugs were cleaned and repaired. I am posting a couple of pictures from such a CD here.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning and Furniture Marks

When we receive a rug for cleaning or repair, we inspect it carefully and make sure we identify all the damages. In some cases we mark the damaged or stained areas with colored painting masking tapes to pay more attention when we service the rugs.

We received this rug for cleaning yesterday. There were several furniture stains and marks on it. Sometimes furniture have sharp legs and are very heavy and damage the rugs and depress the pile and make it look matted. We give special types of cups to our customers to use under the legs of these furniture to distribute the weight and prevent the damages.

Our customers love our care for their rugs and investment. They love to receive free of charge gifts.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning and Rug Repair: Schedule Your Pickup Online

Rug cleaning and rug repair can be scheduled on line on our website LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

Some of our customers are high tech and do not contact us by e-mail or telephone. They just go online and visit our website and schedule the pick up online. They click on the related link on the homepage of our website and after they are immediately directed to this page, fill out a simple form with the desired date and time. We are informed right away and call them to confirm the pick up.

We have had this form since 2009 on our website and it has worked pretty well for us as well as for our customers who have used this service.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning Marina Del Rey

This morning we picked up an 8 x 10 hand made Pakistani rug for cleaning from Marina Del Rey. The house was in an alley and we had to walk some distance to the house. When I took a look at the rug, I was a disappointed at how the rug was treated with chemicals. The owner's dog had urinated on different parts of the rug. Unfortunately, the owner fell into the trap of the commercial chemicals that are advertised to remove these types of stains. I previously wrote a post on It's Not Do It Yourself. The rug has been damaged far greater than if it was only the urine itself. We have to wash the rug several times in order to get as much chemical out as we can and then do pet stain removal. The commercial chemicals don't have any benefit other than damage the fiber of the rug, make the colors of the rug bleed, and ruin the rug. It really is best to take your rug to a professional rug cleaning company.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning Rug Repair: Good Versus Bad Customers

When it comes to rug cleaning and repair, there are good customers, and then there are bad customers. Different clients call or bring in their Oriental or Persian rugs and carpets. A bad customer is the one who asks: How much do you charge to clean a rug? A good client asks: How do you clean my rug?

A bad customer (of course from my point of view) is concerned about the price and would like to shop around for carpet cleaning or repair. This is her right, but we should compare apples with apples. If you call and and reach a wall-wall carpet cleaner who works out of his bedroom with a cell phone and at most with a 1-800 number, there is a chance that you get a lower quote. But is this the type of cleaning which is appropriate for your Oriental, Persian or even your area (machine made) rug? Wall-wall carpet cleaners work hard, but do they know the construction of rugs? Do they do dusting? Dust and water equals mud. Do they use safe material not to damage the environment and your rug? Your rugs do not have polyester or nylon as their pile material. They have wool or silk pile with cotton, silk or wool foundation. Do these rugs need different shampoo and cleaning stuff? Sure they do. Do wall-wall carpet cleaners dry your rug under the sun or just leave it wet on the floor? If a rug is not properly dry, it would smell.

A good rug cleaning and repair customer is concerned about the process and the price. She/he wants to leave the rug in safe hands.

Let me know what you think on this post.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
(310)770-9085

Rugs and Sex

Rugs and Sex; it is NOT what you think! By sex I mean gender. I inspected all our sales and rug cleaning documents for the past eight months and found out that 67% of our customers have been female! Does this mean something? I believe it does and that is women are more interested in buying rugs or have their rugs cleaned and repaired, than men. With 67% of our customers being women, that only leaves 33% for men. This is a 2 to 1 ratio!

Us men, when it comes to cleaning, whether it is our rugs or furniture, we are not nearly as detailists as women. I know my wife spends more time at home and I spend most of my life at work. If I am home, I am there to either read books in the backyard, sleep on my bed, or eat in the kitchen. I am not a huge TV person. Believe it or not, I don't spend much time around my rugs at home; I know this may sound odd...

So with that being said, my wife is the one who sees our rugs on a regular basis. If any of the rugs, even the little Gabbeh rug in my youngest son's room is dirty, she would notice it and ask me to have it cleaned. She makes it her responsibility to keep our house as neat as possible and I value that.

Let me know what you think might be the reason that nearly 2/3 of our customers are women and only 1/3 are men.

Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Hire Education and Rug Business

(This is a rug library at our gallery. Sometimes our customers borrow rug books from us to read.)

We Never Stop Learning
Education is essential in any business. Even in Rug business where most people think it's just about buying and selling rugs. Education is the key. I never stop reading and learning. I always read books/articles on rugs in order to better educate myself. I also attend many classes. I recently attended an extensions rug class at UCLA and a two-day class at the University of California Irvine, UCI offered by ASA (American Society of Appraisers). The more I educate myself, the better I can serve my clients and the more I can connect with them and their rugs. I also give many educational classes and lectures in many different locations such as my own rug gallery, The Textile Museum (Washington DC), Bowers Museum (Santa Anna, California), etc. To better serve our customers, we hire education!!

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

A Talk of Dogs and Rugs at BNI Money Makers Chapter Meeting

The Meeting today at BNI Money Makers Chapter went very well as usual. After Teresa Agnew, the president called the meeting in order, we had a couple of leadership announcements and educational talk was delivered by Al Knobloch the educational coordinator. He talked about how BNI members could get more business by paying attention to some simples issues. Jean Libonate who is the treasurer gave us a report. Then every body had a 45 seconds to introduce himself/herself. When my turn came, I told the members a short story about a client of mine who once had a rug. Her dog didn't like it, so the rug was damaged by the dog and our client brought the rug to us for repair. We did a cosmetic repair and restoration. The client was very happy with our work and loved the newly repaired rug and so did the dog. The story definitely left a mark at the meeting.

We also had two speakers who talked for 6 minutes each. One on marketing and the other on home construction and remodeling. The meeting started at 8:00 am and finished right on time at 9:30 am. I have to be at work by 10:00 am so I like Tresa's strictness in finishing up the meeting right at 9:30 am. Of course those who want to network and mingle, can stay for a little longer if they wish to!


Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Whittal Anglo Rugs Los Angeles

Few days ago we picked up a Whittall Anglo area rug for cleaning and repair from a client’s house here in Los Angeles. The rug was quite dirty and had damage on its sides. We cleaned and repaired the Whittall Anglo area rug for it to last for many more years to come.

M. J. Whittall Associates was started by the Whittall family in the early 1880s and closed in 1956. They produced fine quality machine made rugs with wool pile. The company was so passionate about promoting the arts and the culture of rugs that they created the Whittall’s Anglo-Persians, a musical outfit during the 1920s and 1930s lead by Louis Katzman. The group was broadcasted on Boston radio. They recorded for the Brunswick and Vocalion lables.

Once in a while we have pickups of these Whittal Anglo Rugs in Los Angeles and from elsewhere. The owners tell us that they have had the rugs in their family for a few generations. If these rugs were able to talk, they would tell us about all the great times they have had all these years. They would also be happy that they are being taken care of by us so they can feel as healthy as when they were first made. The history and sentimental value of these rugs is priceless.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

A Busy Day at My Rug Gallery in Los Angeles

It was Wednesday today and I was very busy at work. I sold a couple of rugs and received few rugs for cleaning and repair. I got home at 7:00 pm and had a small dinner then went to gym.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning Rug Repair Beverly Hills Los Angeles and Early Spring

Rug Cleaning and Rug Repair Beverly Hills Los Angeles and Early Spring. We picked up few rugs for repair and cleaning from Beverly Hills this morning. I saw several trees blossoming in one of the streets. I am posting the pictures. While there is cold weather and snow in several other states, it is nice and sunny in southern California and Beverly Hills.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Rugs as Christmas Gifts in Los Angeles

It was Saturday today. We picked up four rugs from a customer's house for cleaning and repair. One of them was a very old and antique Sarouk from early 1900. It was 12 x 18 and almost in good condition. Another rug was an antique Farahan also nearly in good condition.

later in the day, we sold two small Afgan rugs to a lady who was looking for rugs to give to two of her friends as Christmas gifts. One rug was 2 x 4 ($95) and the larger one was 2 x 6 ($145). The foundation and the pile of these rugs were wool. The prices were very reasonable and affordable that she could not resist. It is not a bad idea to give small rugs as gifts with this kind of price.

I left for home at 5:00 pm.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

A Rug Cleaning and Repair Job

It was Saturday today and we had appointment with a customer at 10:00 am to deliver his three rugs which were cleaned and repaired. One of the rugs was very big and super heavy a 12' by 19' Indian rug with a very high pile. There were four of us, but still could not easily take the rug to the bedroom on the second floor. The gentleman and his wife were so happy with our service and the quality of our rug cleaning and the repair that he gave some tip to one of our workers. This means a lot when I see our customers' happiness. They had a beautiful big house on a hill in a gated residential complex. They had many other rugs for cleaning and repair and the gentleman said they would call us after the holidays and after their parties.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning
www.RugTentSale.com

A Very Slow Saturday With No Rug Sale and No Rug Cleaning or Rapir

It was Saturday today and very slow. Only few prospects called and asked for the cost of rug cleaning and repair. Nothing lead to getting a job. No one also bought any rug. We did some paper works.

Couple of customers picked up their cleaned rugs.



Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085