Early in my tile cleaning career, I made a mistake that taught me an important lesson. A customer had travertine tile that had been resurfaced and sealed to a high gloss finish. She didn't mention this and I didn't check for it because I was still learning. When we finished cleaning, her glossy travertine was now dull. The main hallway faced directly into the sunset and the dull finish was glaringly obvious.
I went home, researched how to fix it, called the other All Ways Organic locations and used every resource I had to learn how to seal tile properly. I came back a week later - which meant I had to re-clean everything first - then sealed it. She was happy with the final result but I didn't charge her for the second visit. I spent three times the amount of time that job should have taken, bought sealant out of my own pocket and learned a valuable lesson about staying in my lane.
Here's the thing: high-end natural stone like travertine, marble and polished slate isn't in the "cleaning" category. It's in the "restoration" category. These materials need specialized resurfacing, polishing and sealing that requires different equipment and expertise. We clean tile. We don't restore it.
So if you have travertine, marble or other high-end natural stone, I'll be honest with you upfront - we're not the right company for that job. We focus on ceramic and porcelain tile, which is what 90% of Phoenix homes have anyway. Some natural stone we can handle but anything that's been sealed or needs polishing is outside our scope.
I'd rather turn down a job than make another mistake like that travertine situation. Accountability matters more than getting every sale.