Ever feel like you're losing?

Among things I don't like with a passion is BIG government bureaucracy. In our cleaning industry, BIG seems to be in vogue, too. The IICRC and CRI are on a similar course as Washington politicians and have combined in an attempt to rule rank and file cleaning folks. People who are not in the business want to micro-manage our business and charge us for the privilege of letting them tell us what to do.

CRI is testing products and approving services. In the process they are attempting to legislate certain products and processes out of the marketplace. This is wrong! Some equipment and chemicals may be suspect, but no bureaucrat should ever be able to determine if a product is successful. This is still the job of the free market. Maybe an industry tea party is in order!

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Service after the sale

When I think of customer service after the sale, a Holiday Inn in Sacramento, California comes to mind. I was there in September of 1987 for a Mini-Clinic and was having breakfast next to a booth with four men who were quite loud. One of them was obviously a sales manager and the other three were new salesmen. The sales manager did all of the talking and he was a treat.

Unflattering terminology flowed with comments like "Rough up the locals. Get as much up front as you can. Your only job is to get the order. Use the come down pitch. Don't waste time on anything but selling." He promised them a commission and that he would not make clerks or service reps out of them. He said, "You don't have to worry about being bugged after the sale."

This was an education in high-pressure sales with no customer service follow-up.

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Noise Pollution

Noisy automobiles with loud sound systems permeate nearly every neighborhood in America. Airplanes, motorcycles, boats, hot rods and race cars send up a nerve-deadening din that must ripple across the twilight zone. Many communities have established sound ordinances but few, if any, ever enforce them.

Concern about noise in carpet cleaning equipment sent Bane-Clene® engineers to the decibel meter to test our equipment for noise pollution. A boom box, a traded-in gasoline-powered truck-mount and a little portable rental machine were used along with a Bane-Clene machine for decibel tests. Bane-Clene equipment fell well within OSHA standards. All of the others failed.

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Ideas are a dime a dozen

Several years ago, Kevin Stark and I traveled to Dublin, Georgia, at the request of Mohawk Carpet people. They told us they wanted to know more about the carpet cleaning business. We were excited to give them a presentation about our method of cleaning. Little did we know that they had an ulterior motive and were going to franchise their own carpet cleaning business.

In a brain storming session about promoting the cleaning business we told them that we had carpeted a kennel to prove the effectiveness of our cleaning equipment and deodorizing products and that it had been very effective. We also told them about an idea we had for carpeting the bed of a dump truck, filling it with dirt, dumping it and then cleaning the carpet.

To prove that bigger is always better, the Mohawk folks have gone the kennel idea one up by carpeting the Rhino habitat at the Birmingham Zoo. I can't wait to see what they'll do instead of carpeting the bed of a dump truck.

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Phone voice

There is a trend among telephone receptionists to speak in short, clipped tones? Some staccato-like delivery resembles a computer voice until the end of a sentence, when the tone shifts to a higher, sing-song key and makes a statement sound like a question. Frequently they begin a sentence with an "Um-m!" and tie sentences together with an "And, Um-m."

When interviewing or training telephone specialists, have them practice reading segments from your brochures. Not only will it teach them about your business, but repeated reading will help them avoid the above scenario. Insist on a voice quality that is warm, soft and friendly. A prospect's first impression of a company is that voice on the phone.

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Is this scary or what?

Our government has reached this undeniable state. Except for a very brief and small downsizing of his administration during Ronald Reagan's first term, federal, state and local government payrolls have grown steadily since Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration in the great depression.

But growth is not the worst part of it.

It was announced recently that government employees now top 22 million* while private industry manufacturing and construction payrolls fell to under 19 million. Besides being the largest employer in the country, our government has borrowed more in six months than all of the money borrowed for the past 100 years.

* This figure does not include the new government holdings in finance, insurance, real estate and automobile industries.

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Success in the "service" business

The nature of the service industry means that our lives are often interrupted by the needs of others. Customers need kindness and understanding especially if they have an emergency situation. Instead of resentment for being bothered, learn to deal with the wants and needs of customers. Some have trouble recognizing that "service" means to "serve" as in "servant."

A day may open with harshness or a daunting work schedule and a cheery response may take a bit of doing because this day doesn't invite a cheerful mood. Try to do a better job of seeming cheerful even when we don't feel that way. Look happy, act happy, be happy and perform happy actions with enthusiasm and your rewards will be handsome.

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Higher gasoline prices coming?

That old oil man, T. Boone Pickens, is predicting rising oil prices again and with some good reasons. “Look at the history,” Pickens said. "OPEC revenues increased five times over the last five years. Supply is stuck permanently at 85 million barrels a day, and demand will soon reach 90 million barrels a day. Ten years from now the price of oil could be $300.00 a barrel."

Of course Pickens has vested interests in natural gas, wind and solar power, so he's naturally pushing alternative energy. But he is right on target when he says that we import 70 % of our oil and we won't drill on our own land or build new refineries. If the Cap & Trade bill (another name for a new energy tax) is added to the equation, much higher fuel costs are ahead.

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September 11, another day of infamy that "We shall never forget!"

"Remember Pearl Harbor" was the battle cry of World War II. "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember the Maine" are slogans that also would never be forgotten, but thanks to the mists of time and memory they're relegated to the pages of tattered history books and are routinely ignored in most schools. September 11, 2001, is the latest infamous event that unfortunately will become just another faded memory as generations pass on.

Thank God for the brave troops who protect our freedom and for the first responders who protect us in this land of plenty. With all of our political problems, people still want to come to the United States, legally or illegally. They come here because we are the last bastion of freedom which has been dearly paid for with blood, sweat and tears. That freedom is not free!

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Customer Loyalty

Loyalty comes in differing degrees. "Deal" loyalty buys a customer with a special offer and normally lasts for the length of the promotion. But in "Relationship" loyalty, a customer elects to do business with you for reasons other than prizes, rewards, or discounts. It's easy to recognize which customers will promote your business.

"Relationship" loyalty is essential to the growth of your company. Repeat customers become unpaid advocates and will promote you to their relatives, friends, neighbors, and associates. Always try to do a little something extra for them and they will do something extra for you.

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Syphon feed systems vs residue

Many factors in the extraction carpet cleaning process affect residual matter. Some systems use syphon feed methods to bring their chemical and water together. These require exceptionally hot water to blend the chemical as it travels through the hose. Consequently they use a large amount of chemical which can clog the needle valve that controls the flow. Uneven residue will cause a carpet to look shaded as new soiling occurs.

Bane-Clene systems use the entire 120 gallon clean water supply tank as a reservoir so chemicals blend easily and fully with water temperatures under a safe 190°F. Fluctuation of the solution is eliminated by this large batch mixing mode and the motion of the truck from job to job keeps the solution in perfect suspension. Consistent cleaning and exceptional recovery will ensure satisfied customers that affect the bottom line in a positive way. Using less chemical helps, too!

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Know your stuff

As a professional in the cleaning business you should learn about your competition, but more importantly, you must know about your own system and be able to talk intelligently about it. Know the amount of residue you leave. Tell a customer how long it will take carpet and furniture to dry and be prepared to back it up with a superior cleaning job. Want to make a hit with your customers? Be on time!

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Medical ID Theft

If a credit card is used to pay medical bills or purchase pharmaceutical products, ID thieves can gain access to your bank account and/or credit records? Medical records usually contain social security, credit card number and insurance information which can be used to forge insurance ID cards that can be sold to uninsured people in need of expensive medical treatments.

Medical offices and pharmacies have been guilty of careless handling of records and many have been found in public dumps. Don't read your insurance card number out loud to a pharmacist within earshot of other people and be sure to ask how they dispose of trash containing secure information. Check medical statements and if a bill refers to treatment you did not receive, speak to the person in charge of fraud at your insurance company. Report ID theft to police.

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