This is the first time ive tried this, I plan on improving on it over time as I grow our rug facility. I'm open for suggestions. Btw this is not a official TMF video, rob sent me a new sweater yesterday so I wanted to give the TMF crew a little video love! Lol http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m553/torrey-whitaker/d9223b4e.mp4 http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m553/torrey-whitaker/2ac1a040.mp4
It certainly looks like a great and professional way to package a rug for the customers. Now please take this constructively, but a few concerns come to mind which I'm just asking you to think about with an open mind: 1. Thats a lot of shrink wrap, so your cost of goods is going up doing it that way using so much product. 2. When the rugs are completely wrapped like that, the customer is going to open them most likely with a sharp knife, and possibly cut or damage the rug in the process. 3. When the rugs are wrapped up like that so... "airtight" the rug cannot breathe. If that rug has even the slightest bit of moisture in it and the customer does not unwrap and unroll it right away, the rug will get moldy and mold is almost impossible to clean out of fabric. 4. A lot of waste once unwrapped. A huge pile of shrinkwrap for the garbage. Not very environmentally responsible. 5. Wouldnt it be easier, cheaper and less wasteful to use packing tape and a tape gun while it's rolling on the machine? In over 10 years of area rug cleaning no customer has ever complained about the rug not being completely sealed up with plastic. In the occasional instance where the customer requests the rug be wrapped air tight, you could certainly do it with shrink wrap like that, but only upon request. That's just the way I would look at it. Again, just my reaction, it's your baby.
Richard, thanks for the input. This is very preliminary, I plan on changing many things as we grow, in reference to your five points I have a few retorts, 1: cost of materials is moot point to me, I'm charging a minimum 100.00 per rug if they drop it off and 2-5 per sqft depending on what options are selected. So a 20.00 shrink wrap is a joke to worry about when it can wrap 10-20 rugs at 100-500 a piece. 2: so far I've delivered every rug in person and I roll it out and place it for them, and I take any trash with me. 3: I like it being wrapped airtight and closed on all ends that way it is 100% protected, I haven't rolled Any up until they are far past dry and I only wrap right before delivery usually, I have them hanging on poles until then, I'm trying to devise a rack system that can either be rolled around the shop or hangs from I beams and can slide side to side. 4: again I take the shrink wrap with me when possible, And the environment has more to worry about than this... Besides Ross has the idea of using burlap and twine then we take it back and reuse it. Looks cooler and goes with our name "Old World Rug Spa" 5: I've tried just tape and it's a pain, leaves residue sometimes, leaves rug exposed, and today the lady was raving over how cool it was that I delivered it all wrapped up nice. Keep the thoughts coming though, me and Ross are going to launch our websites and actually advertise for the first time soon as we finish the spa.
great pictures. Perhaps include the picture of each rug you do so the customer can see exactly what has come out of the rug? Not sure what they would think of it but I know that I am always impressed by what I wash out of rug, sometimes to the detrament of my stomach I have also been known to deliver a rug in a section of layflat duct.
Tron, Great videos and pictures. Thanks, I really liked them. Please show us more as you and Ross get further along. Johnny
Todd, you tried clicking on them I presume. I clicked and had no trouble seeing them. Maybe give it another try buddy.
Are you guys a full flooring install company also. We have one also to measure carpet yards. Never thought about using it. Thanks
Yea, that's the big part of the biz, I just don't like install so I started CC 5 years ago, my dad does all the sales and we have a few vans and guys that do the installs. Now me and eyeball started the rug spa.
Okay, the thing I was m0ost worried about and maybe it would never happen but i think it is remotely possible that a long fringe would get caught in one of the belts, that would make a very big mess of the rug very quickly. I don't do rugs myself but I just had a thought, if you always deliver it and lay it out why not just get a few different lengths of large PVC sewer pipe (unused of course), you can get that whatever dia you need I believe and then just put a cap on one end and you can slide the rolled up rug in it and when you get to the custy's house just slide it out and take your pipe and reuse it. I realize it would be a little harder to handle but you could look like a very green minded person and it would protect the rugs 100%.
You'd have to see the machine to see how it works, the belts actually aren't attached, so they will stop moving if something were to catch, not gonna happen though. I hate the thought of pipes, I really want to use and reuse burlap with twine. Looks awesome. Can't get greener than that. When I start different things I'll post it.
I actually use 4 inch sewer pipe to roll my rugs up, except I put the pipe on the rug and roll the rug up around the pipe and then wrap plastic around it. This helps in rolling it up evenly as well as avoiding having it rolled to small in the center which can cause some rugs to curl up at the end. I also run a rope through the pipe and tie the ends together and I use the rope to carry the rug. I had a 10X13 rug a couple weeks ago, and being a one man operation using the pipe this way was a life saver when lifting and delivering the rug.
I do like the rope idea, I just thought about using the card board tubes that come in the center of our carpet rolls to reuse in the center of the rugs, gives it more rigidity, look cool to. I'll post a pic of it.
That would work too. Even better for you since you have the tubes already anyway, free is always good.
