Carpet Cleaning

Michael I have another story: About two and a half years ago, when I moved into our current apartment in San Francisco -- Angelika was still in Germany -- there was a bit of a musty smell in the space. Later, we found out from our neighbors that the previous tenant had cats that had probably peed on the carpet. After I signed the lease, I asked the real estate agent if I could have a carpet cleaning company come in, and he said yes. He had just read in the newspaper that the company Sears (a large department store chain in the USA, similar to Karstadt in Germany) had run an ad that promised they would clean any apartment for $19.95.

I called them, made an appointment, and the carpet guy came, looked around the apartment, made a face, and said in all seriousness that we had an extraordinary carpet, a "Berber carpet," which required special treatment, and that $19.95 wouldn't cover it. I should mention that our carpet was probably the most average carpet in all of America. I wasn't an expert in the field, new to the country, and relatively relaxed since the landlord had promised to cover the costs anyway. The carpet guy asked a few more questions about whether I wanted the carpet super-deep-cleaned and specially perfumed, and I said, "Yes, yes, yes, I want it all, the full package!" The bill then came out to $120 -- I laughed so much! And the real estate agent paid for everything.

But wait, the story doesn't end there. About a year later, we received a letter from a lawyer who had apparently had a similar experience. He had sued Sears for these business practices, won in court, and included a form with his letter that you just had to fill out to receive a share of the large compensation amount that Sears had to pay. Not everything is allowed, even in the land of unlimited possibilities.