Rugs and Our Comfort Zone

Rug market is very slow but we do OK! James Opie a good friend of mine who lives in Portland, Oregon and is the author of two great books on tribal rugs of Iran said to me few months ago that doing OK these days is doing great. How do we do OK? We get out of our comfort zone and give our customers A plus services.

A customer called us yesterday to schedule a pick up of her dirty rug. She goes to work early in the morning and returns late at night. We sat the time for 11:30 this morning when she had her lunch break. She works close by. I texted her around 11:00 and said we would be on our way to pick up her rug in 30 minutes. She texted back "Great". She was so appreciative that we parked in front of her garage 11:29 am to pick up her rug. She had just gotten there a minute before we arrived.

People are busy and appreciate if you care for them and give them attention and customized service. We did the same thing yesterday at 10:30 am when we picked up two rugs from another customer's home.

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

BNI Money Makers Chapter in Los Angeles and the New Leadership Team

In another post, I mentioned that we would have a new leadership team in our BNI Money Makers chapter here in Los Angeles. The previous team did an outstanding job. The new team, began it's term last Monday, 10/04/2010.

The new president is Al Knobloch, vice president is Ashkan Sobhe, and Joan Merritt is the secretary and the treasurer. We meet every Thursday morning from 8:00 to 9:30. Our chapter has 35 professional members. We can only have one member from each profession to prevent conflict of interests. I am the only rug specialist in BNI.

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

Rug Water Damage Restoration in Los Angeles

Because of the sudden rain in Los Angeles, we got a lot of calls for rug water damage. Some people who have rugs in their balcony or outside, were not aware of the rain and therefore got all of their rugs wet. Even the rugs that were kept inside, but got wet because of a leakage from a ceiling, had been damaged. We received calls one after another and had to pick up the rugs right away. Once rugs get wet, if not rewashed and taken care of quickly, they will be damaged. The foundation will become dry and crack, the rugs pile will harden, and the rug will smell. Fortunately our company can take care of all of these problems. With our emergency service, our average estimated pick up time is 45 minutes, so we can take care of problems other than water damage as well, such as wine or coffee spill, dog and cat urine, etc.

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

Last Dance! BNI Money Makers Chapter Los Angeles

Last Thursday, as usual we had our weekly BNI meeting. It was the last week of the leadership team. They managed the chapter for one year. They all did a great job in attracting new members and surpassing the monthly referral goals which was set for the chapter before each month began. Teresa Agnew, was the president, Dr. Pey Vuong was the vice president, and Jean Libonate was the secretary and the treasurer.

Here I am posting few pictures of the last meeting. Click on each picture to enlarge. Thank you Teresa, Dr. Pey, and Jean. Wonderful job.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
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

Art Silk: Don't Ask Don't Tell

As the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy is used in the Army, some rug dealers use the same strategy when selling Artificial Silk rugs. The rug dealers who sell these types of rugs, tag the rugs by Art Silk to make the name sound more elegant. They hesitate to give more information if they are not asked about it. If a curious customer asks them what the Art Silk tag means, the dealer might be forced to tell you that "Art" actually stands for artificial. While the tag name Art Silk sounds very elegant, it actually means artificial silk which is much cheaper than a real handmade silk rug. So, next time you read or hear "Art Silk", remember this post before being impressed by the name. I am here posting a picture of a 5' x 8' artificial silk rug.

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

Carpet Cleaning Carpet Cleaners

Holiday season is approaching and we are once again adding carpet cleaning to our services. Many of our customers have wall to wall installed carpeting in their bedrooms and need carpet cleaners and that is why we added this type of service to our other rug cleaning, repair and stain removal services. There is not much profit in it as it is very competitive, but we have to serve our clients.

In 2009, the carpet cleaning industry received an income of almost $3.9 billions with 5.7% decline compared with 2008. This is only for the U.S. market. I am mentioning some statistics here for your information. This is the courtesy of IBISWorld.

Key Industry Statistics

Key Industry Figures	2009
Industry Revenue	*3,866
Revenue Growth	*-5.7		%
Industry Gross Product	*1,824		$Mil
Number of Establishments	*28,593		Units
Number of Enterprises	*29,232		Units
Employment	*67,960		Units
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay) Certified Rug Specialist (CRS) www.RugIdea.com www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com 310-770-9085

Rug Mileage

A couple of days ago, we picked up two very old Persian Herize rugs and one Persian Kerman rug from a very old client's home. This client, a 92-year old gentleman, had left these rugs in storage for ten years without first cleaning them and then wrapping them properly. The rugs were rolled in the yard when we went to pick them up. He was a referral from another rug dealer.

These rugs were half damaged by moth. You could see the dead moths, live moths, eggs and larvae all over these three rugs. What a bunch of parties they had at the rug's owner's expense! The client had thought he had saved some money by not cleaning these rugs. It is like saving money by not taking care of the cavity of our teeth when we should. This client although very old, started bargaining with me and trying to negotiate the prices. While I was there in the yard inspecting the rugs after I had given him my quote, he said "No, that is too much" and asked his daughter to call other places to get few other quotes. He was trying to play game with me. His daughter said "Dad, his prices seems to be fair and I am convinced that they can do a good rug cleaning job." His father was not paying attention and was repeating himself. The daughter added "Dad, now you have to pay the money you have not been paying for cleaning of these rugs all these years."

After 45 minutes of discussions, the old man agreed with us and we picked up the rugs and wrapped them each separately in plastics. We did not want the moths make our car a mess.

Some of our clients do not know that regular vacuuming (once a week) and professional cleaning (once in 2-3 years depending on the traffic) can extend the life of their rugs and give them better rug mileage!

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

Rugs and Color

Customers who want to buy rugs, care a lot about the color. If the color is not right for a client, there is very little chance that we can sell that rug. I do not know from where I took these notes on colors, but I like to share them with you.

Black= Authority, power, sophistication, and elegance
Blue= Loyalty, calming, honesty, and trustworthiness
Brown= genuineness and sometimes sadness
Gold= Prestige and sometimes expensive taste
Gray= Corporate, somber and practical appeal
Green= Feeling of nature, regeneration and growth
Dark Green= Conservatism and wealth
Orange= Happiness, freedom, confidence, playfulness, and confidence
Pink= Sweetness, softness, and innocence
Purple= Mystical , spiritual tones, sophistication, and wealth
Silver= Prestige, but it is also cold, and scientific
White= Neutral, clean, youth, peace, and purity

I do not know if these color traits mean the same to every rug client, but I found them very interesting and maybe helpful in studying rug customers behavior.

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

Emergency Rug Pick Up, Rug Cleaning, Rug Repair, Rug Water Damage and Rug Stain Removal in Los Angeles

One aspect that really separates us from all of our competitors is that we have the ability to take care of Emergency Rug Pick Up, Rug Cleaning, Rug Repair, and Rug Stain Removal in Los Angeles. Many of our pick ups are emergency pick ups in Los Angeles. Our clients who spill wine, soda, food, etc., on their rugs call us right away and with no hesitation we schedule a pick up the same day to take care of the cleaning, because the fresher the stain, the more effective the cleaning process will be. Our expert stain removers start working on the rugs we get right away. Repairs, water damages and everything else is taken care of the same way.

We always look for ways to stand out and be the one rug cleaning and repair company to have emergency rug water damage restoration pick ups in Los Angeles. This is definitely one of the points of distinctions which sets us apart from our colleagues.

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

Deer Caught On Site Of Cutting Rugs In Beverly Hills

We get a good amount of calls from our clients wanting us to cut down their rugs so it would fit in their room. Few days ago, we went to one of our clients', an Oscar winning actor and producer, house to take a look at a rug of his. He had a large rug which did not fit in his room and asked us to cut it to a size which would fit. While I was there with my son to take a look at and measure the rug, my son pointed my attention to a deer watching us from behind the trees. It was interesting for me to see a deer staring at us measure a rug in Beverly Hills. I'm looking forward to seeing more deer when I return to the client's house to put his rug in its place.

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

Common Cents: Persian Rug Embargo Sanction

Persian carpet sanction or embargo which prohibits the legal import of Persian rugs into the United States will go into effect as of tomorrow, September 29, 2010. This is part of the plan to encounter the Iranian government for its nuclear programs. Let me run some numbers to see who will be hurt. The government of Iran or the people.

Iran is the second-largest oil producer and the fourth-largest crude oil exporter in the world. In 2008, Iran exported approximately 2.6 million barrels of petroleum per day. In 2008, Iran’s net oil export revenues amounted to approximately $73 billion. Oil exports provide approximately half of Iran’s government revenues, while crude oil and its derivatives account for nearly 80% of Iran’s total exports.

Now, let me go to some Persian carpet statistics. There are roughly 1,200,000 carpet looms in Iran scattered throughout the country. Usually two weavers work on each loom for many months to make one piece of Persian carpet. If we assume each weaver (male or female) has two children, four people depend on the income derived from one carpet loom. Four people, times two weavers/loom times 1,200,000 looms become 9,600,000 people, benefitting from weaving rugs in Iran. There are roughly 400,000 people working in industries related to rug production in Iran. They work in shearing workshops, in dyeing plants, washing factories, buying/selling local markets, export sector and etc. All together, it is safe to say out of 75,000,000 population of Iran, roughly 10,000,000 people depend on and benefit from Persian rug industry, directly or indirectly. Usually, rug weavers are the poorest of the poor. Iran roughly exports $700 millions of rugs every year. Compared with $73 billion of oil revenues, This is roughly one percent of the total country’s export of oil per year. This is one cent to a dollar! Thanks Washington D. C.!

Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

310-770-9085

BNI Regional Meeting and Dr. Ivan Misner

On Thursday September 20, 2010, we had a BNI Regional meeting. Roughly 170 members were present. Dr. Ivan Misner the founder and managing director of BNI, the biggest networking organization delivered an excellent speech. Many of his books including Networking Like A Pro was also on display. At the end of the meeting, there were many members standing in the line to buy Dr. Misner's book, to get his autograph on the book and to take pictures with him. I had the pleasure of having my camera with me to take and capture of these pictures.

I am posting some pictures of the event.

Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

310-770-9085