My competitors

My competitors do more for me than my friends do.
My friends are too polite to point out my weaknesses, but my competitors will go to great expense to tell of them.
My competitors are efficient, diligent, hard working and attentive.
They make me search for ways to improve my products and my services.
My competitors would take my business from me if they could.
This keeps me alert to hold on to what I have.
If I had no competitors, I'd be lazy...incompetent...inattentive.
I need this discipline they enforce upon me.
I salute my competitors, they've been good to me.
God bless them all !

Author unknown.

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Advertising Tip

Do you want to commit advertising suicide? Then try telephone solicitation, computer dialing devices, e mail selling, door to door canvassing, flyers on windshields at church and mall parking lots, door knob hangers or junk fax as a way to reach prospects!

Most consumers say they consider these an obnoxious intrusion into their private lives or surroundings. This kind of promotion will probably offend rather than impress prospective clients. Don't take that chance!

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ServiceMaster® Coup

ServiceMaster has signed an agreement to be the official sponsor of the yellow flag caution period during races at sixty Speedway Motorsports Incorporated (SMI) races across the nation. The ServiceMaster yellow trucks will clean up the track whenever there is a mishap or accident. Congratulations to ServiceMaster on this marketing coup.

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A Positive Attitude

If you work with an irritable person, don't let his or her attitude rub off on you.

• Control your actions - don't overreact.
• Stay calm. Grumpy needs some one to irritate.
• Relax the tension. Don't let grumpy make you stressed.
• Break the tension with humor. A little harmless joke can lift spirits.

Have a talk with grumpy. One on one try to find out what's wrong and offer your help. The grump must be told that problems need to be kept out of the workplace. Practice what you preach. Keep your attitude upbeat and encourage others to act in a positive manner.

Don't try any of the above on a grumpy customer.

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Friend or Foe?

Recently I spoke with a carpet cleaner who was concerned about doing business with a carpet retailer. He feared the retailer might get into the cleaning business. Although I understood his reservations, I explained the potential business there may be through referrals from the retailer.

Not all carpet retailers are interested in being in the cleaning business. Most are simply looking for a competent cleaner to take care of their customers. Stop by your local carpet retailer, introduce yourself and offer a demonstration to their sales staff on the importance of cleaning.

Demonstrations for local retailers and their sales staff have had these results. They were happy to know there was someone who could take care of their customers and answer cleaning questions. Some cleaners even have access to the retailer’s customer list and offer cleaning as an in house warranty when customers buy carpet.

Friend or foe? You make the call.

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Tough decisions

In difficult times companies make substantial reductions in staff. Wall street and the media congratulate CEOs for making "tough decisions" and they're usually rewarded with generous bonuses. The government and the media agree that these are tough times so how about cutting some of the 150 million earmarked for the inauguration ceremonies..

Government, which is bankrupt, and the politicians who use it as their playground, should make some tough decisions. They could reduce House members from 435 to 300, Senators from 100 to 50 and reduce the remaining staffs by 25%. Smaller committees would mean more efficient resolution of issues and it would be easier to keep track of our representatives.

Sadly, those eliminated wouldn't even be missed. Congress went on vacation for the holidays when the nation had the well-publicized economic problems. At least three senators have not been on the job for more than two years. While they were on the campaign trail they drew full pay, full benefits and probably slipped in a few travel vouchers.

The approximate savings (with all the attendant reduction in pork) could be more than $3 trillion per year (maybe more) and might help the country get back on better fiscal footing.

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Blame the Carpet

Blotching is often treated as a mystery spot or a carpet defect and is seldom blamed on the cleaning process. One of the secrets of success in extraction cleaning is the even wetting of the carpet surface. Double stroking causes uneven wetting. This is but one of many subtle differences in the various methods used in the extraction process.

Double stroking is the lazy way to clean. It causes blotching and usually over wets the carpet, which results in lengthy drying times. Single stroking is a mark of care and good workmanship. Craftsmanship is an important part of any successful cleaning operation.

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Cell Phones

There may be a temptation to use a cell phone to run a business. Be careful before committing to doing away with wired phone service. Dropped calls, garbled transmissions and overriding interference in high use areas are the downside of this wonderful tool. Any one of these annoyances could cost you a customer and customers are very expensive to obtain.

The use of a cell phone to communicate between office and employees is excellent and is far better than the old permanently mounted radios. But, don't try to book jobs on a cell phone. One job lost is far too costly.

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Welcome to 2009

In the mid '80s, there was a flurry of Kawasaki syndrome fear and generally carpet and carpet shampoo were identified as possible causes. To help debunk this myth, I interviewed several pediatricians. One was Wendell Brown, who had been our boy's doctor. Dr. Brown said, "The only time I have seen Kawasaki syndrome is in my pro bono work at a free clinic. The people I saw probably never owned a carpet and if they did, certainly never had it cleaned."

As if things are not tough enough, John Travolta's 16 year old son has died and Kawasaki syndrome is given as a possible cause. In the early '90s, Travolta told Larry King this about his son. "I was obsessive about cleaning, so we constantly had the carpets cleaned. And I think, between him, the fumes and walking around, maybe picking up pieces or something, he got Kawasaki syndrome."

The hungry press is on this like stink on a skunk, so be ready.

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Thoughts on bid work

For two years back in the mid '60s, I had a large janitorial account at a truck terminal that required service 365/24/7. There were three full time and seven part time employees assigned to the job. I even hired a very short person to sweep the space under the trucks at the loading docks because the 100 bays were very seldom unoccupied.

When renewal time rolled around, McLean Truck Line's local manager, Harold Butler, called me to his office. He explained that he really liked my service, but that his management manual required him to put the job out for bid every other year. It also instructed him that the price must be less each time he awarded the contract.

I told Mr. Butler that I didn't want a bid form because I intended to raise the price in order to maintain the quality level of the service and I didn't get the contract. But, the next year my company profit margin increased slightly and Wm. F. Bane Co., is still in business today. McLean Truck Lines is not. There's probably a moral in here somewhere!

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Customer Service

A quick and effective resolution of any conflict with a customer can actually increase their loyalty to your company. A majority of customers will continue doing business with you if they feel you have corrected the problem that instigated the complaint.

Empathize with a customer's emotions. Listen carefully and get as many "specifics" as possible and then clearly restate the problem. Confirm that both parties agree, offer as many alternatives as possible and then allow the customer to decide on which alternative to use.

Most important....fix the problem.

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Collecting Past Due Accounts

Tough times bring on slow pay with some of your accounts receivable. The first rule is to not let them lie too long. If a reminder is ignored, a second reminder will likely get the same treatment. At this point, a telephone call is in order to see if there is a problem on your part that may be the reason the account has not been paid.

If the delay is the result of a complaint, make the necessary corrections as soon as possible, then bill the account again. If there is not a problem with the service, try to get a commitment as to when the customer intends to pay the account.

Calls should be courteous and as short as possible. Repeated calls at off hours may be interpreted as harassment. When it is apparent that the customer does not intend to pay (90 days would be a good rule of thumb), the matter should be turned over to a collection agency and a mechanic's lien might be appropriate.

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