Kawasaki again (the disease not the motorcycle)

"Disease may be linked to carpet cleaning" was the headline in a Canadian newspaper. A Children's Hospital diagnosed a two year old with Kawasaki syndrome recently because she had a fever, swollen neck, sore throat, was irritable, not eating, had a rash, her lymph nodes were swollen and she had bloodshot eyes and a bright red tongue, all classic symptoms of the disease. The diagnosis was probably right.

The article went on to report that some people, including the physician on this case, say the disease is caused by carpet cleaning. The family had their carpets "sanitized" by a professional company just five days prior to the illness. The paper was fair in that it did report that a staff rheumatologist at the hospital downplayed the connection to carpet cleaning.

The story also quoted an "expert" from California with another theory. "Some children are born to be susceptible. Most people think you come into contact with some kind of microbe, a virus or something we don't know. Most people attribute the dust mites that have bacteria on them and are liberated by the carpet cleaning. The immune system gives in to the bacteria, but it has nothing do to with the carpet cleaning or chemicals."

Monday, I'll dig up some articles at the office that I wrote on the subject and post more on this subject on Wednesday of next week.

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Tried and true

With directory advertising moving more to the internet, the consumer is offered a plethora of information when searching for a cleaning service. Large franchises buy guaranteed positions on the first search page and sundry other peripheral suppliers of goods and services horn in on what was once a specific territory in the Yellow Pages. The result is mass confusion.

Yellow Pages are not dead yet, but are not first any longer in our efforts to attract calls. Being well represented on the web is very important and necessary, but the Yellow Pages should continue to get a percentage of our business. For the latest on a successful media mix, take a few days and come to our advertising class at Bane-Clene® Institute where we explore the subject in depth and make specific recommendations.

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"Silver" vs. "Platinum" for real "Gold"... and on real "Dirt"

Last winter, Werner Braun asked my opinion of the SOA testing program. My answer set off a firestorm of censure which even includes the veiled threat of being banned from CRI's Certified Service Provider program. Did I miss something? Whatever happened to the freedom of speech part of our constitution?

One major objection I had was that the Rug Doctor® rental machine was classed by the CRI as "Gold." I offered to do a comparison to demonstrate how erroneous that rating was, but CRI did not accept. Rug Doctor has since been promoted to the new "Platinum" rating, so I'll make another offer for a comparison between a Bane-Clene® machine and a Rug Doctor.

We'll clean any carpet, (the dirtier the better) anywhere, in any home or any commercial location. All three parties, (Bane-Clene, Rug Doctor, CRI ) will put up $10,000.00 each, with $30,000.00 going to the winner's favorite charity. Judges will be selected by mutual agreement. I'll put up more if the other parties want to increase the paltry $10,000.00 wager.

CRI has made ridiculous comparisons with their so called testing program. Examples include powerful Steamway® and HydraMaster® truck-mounted units classed as only "Bronze." Today I'm issuing this challenge for CRI to put their money where their brain should have been, or "86" the whole sordid SOA program.

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Correction

Immediately after I published an article last month about some good economic news coming out of the carpet industry, the Georgia Department of Labor issued a statement that Mohawk Industries has notified them of its intention to close a plant in Cartersville, Georgia. The plant closure will plunge more than 225 workers into the ranks of the unemployed.

Meanwhile, CRI continues to punish professional carpet cleaners and their suppliers with the expensive and unpopular SOA program. Maybe if the economy would get a little better in Dalton they'd stop trying to make a living on poor carpet cleaners.

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Positive Attitude

If you work with an irritable person, don't let their attitude rub off on you. Instead:

• Control your actions. Don't overreact. The grump needs some one to irritate.
• Don't let grump make you stressed out. A little harmless joke can lift everyone's spirits.
• Have a talk with grump. A little talk may find out what's wrong.
• 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. This will encourage others to think and act in a positive manner.

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CRI "Diamond" rating?

Recently I saw an interview by Dave Foster of Floor Radio fame, in Dalton, Georgia. Werner Braun, President of the CRI and Fritz Rench, Chairman of Racine Industries, debated the SOA program. I was struck by two comments made by Mr. Braun. He rudely said to Mr. Rench, "Your products do not perform as well as SOA approved products and that's your agenda."

Mr. Braun may be right in his view because only CRI regulates and is able to compare the tests. My personal opinion is that the tests show partiality for money and are extremely skewed. The truth was confirmed when this comment slipped out. Mr. Braun said the CRI has added a "Platinum" rating to recognize those that work hard to improve their test results.

It cost my company nearly five thousand dollars to get to "Silver." We chose not to spend more for a "Process test" which would have gotten us higher. For you professional cleaners who do not know or care, the little Rug Doctor machine improved from "Gold" to the top* "Platinum" rating while some powerful truck-mounted equipment like Steamway is rated only "Bronze." The old accountant would have two comments. "Go figure!" and "Follow the money!"

For some interesting commentary on the topic from "real carpet cleaners" click on this link by Lisa Wagner, the famous "Rug Chick." http://realdirtoncri.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/real cleaners welcome/

* A well-placed source says that CRI has a "Diamond" rating** in the planning stages.

** There are some marketing possibilities such as, "If you think diamonds are a girl's best friend, just wait till you see what CRI Diamond rated equipment can do for her carpet."

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Nothing to do with golf

Watching golf on the 4th of July at Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, brought back some memories of an unpleasant trip. In 1982, Newtown Square was the headquarters of RGM Associates, a company that contracted cleaning services for Sears® customers on the east coast. I was summoned to meet with the President, Bob McCaffery, who had purchased 121 of our truck mounted units in the past few years.

As Bill Jr. and I boarded the plane for Philly, we were excited about the probability of getting an order for more units. But, instead of an order we got an ultimatum to cut the price 20% or they were going to build their own units. We couldn't do that. RGM was owned by a restaurant supply company that had the capability of manufacturing equipment with stainless steel.

During the next few years just about all of those 121 units appeared on the used equipment market and most buyers came to Indy to have the equipment inspected, refurbished and to take our training course. It took more than five years for the market to absorb that used equipment and hurt our sales for awhile. But guess what? We're still here and RGM is gone!

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Stainmaster® update

Home Depot® lost the Stainmaster line of carpet when Lowes® was appointed the exclusive "Big Box" outlet for the famous line. The Stainmaster trademark is owned by Invista™ which says Stainmaster will also be offered as in the past through selected independent carpet retailers.

Bane-Clene® has been conducting an on-going test of Stainmaster carpet since it came to market in 1986. For a report on the carpet in the Winter 2007 issue of the Cleaning Digest click on the link below and scroll to the Stainmaster story on page 6:

http://www.baneclene.com/cleaning-digest/Winter2003.pdf

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Carpet complaints

A recent white paper by Debbie Lema of Racine Industries indicates that CRI's testing program is seriously flawed. Tests can be made to arrive at any conclusion the tester wishes, just like the bogus survey CRI used to justify the new SOA program. CRI claims professional cleaners and their suppliers are responsible for most carpet complaints. That simply is not true!

Here's the truth. I've monitored complaint sites on the internet since 1995. Installation is still the number one complaint about carpet. Shoddy sales practices, defective carpet, late deliveries, broken promises and product substitution by carpet retailers are close behind in second place. Some desperate retailers even take deposits while in bankruptcy and never deliver the carpet.

Complaints about carpet that I have reviewed and cataloged during the past year were: Installation   314, Sales    253, Cleaning   131. Professional carpet cleaners' complaints are a distant third and are nearly all about bait and switch advertisers and rude technicians.

Most cleaning related complaints were DIY and came from consumers, building managers and janitorial people who were trying to do their own cleaning. Consumer complaints about equipment, chemicals or methods used by professional carpet cleaning firms are nonexistent.

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Can prospects and customers find us?

With so many search engines and endless protocols, managing business listings can be a chore. A study by a firm that deals in information said major shifts in the consumers’ media usage show print Yellow Pages falling in popularity and search engines becoming the primary sources.

The migration from print to online may be larger than we think because of the popularity of social and mobile networks. A recent report stated that more than 73 percent of adults regularly visit social networking sites. The number may not be accurate, but there definitely is a shift in how people are referred to us.

More than 90% of consumers have mobile phone subscriptions, up from 64% only a few years ago and there is an influx of social media usage by consumers via mobile phones. Facebook and Twitter saw growth in traffic last year of 112% and 347% respectively.

The constantly evolving media landscape makes it critical for us to review our lead generation sources. TMP is helping us with media strategy and they have access to all of the latest research. If you haven't been back to Bane-Clene® Institute recently you should take the time to update your advertising strategy.

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Complaints on the internet

The internet should be monitored for complaints. People can post anything without giving it much thought. Yelp, blog, tweet and twitter give a public voice to those who in pre-internet times would have complained to the manager or owner of a business. Now they can let the whole world know of their displeasure whether it's real or imagined.

Arrange for "Google Alerts" (you need an account) that will let you know anything that is said about your business. Reply to any negative feedback so others will see your side of the matter. A "Google Profile" explains your business and can be linked to your website or blog. You can arrange for a fee for it to be on Page 1 of any Google search mentioning your company.

There are dozens of complaint sites on the internet. Angie's List is more than that and has patrons posting more than 12,000 reports, good and bad, every month. With more than a half million members in 124 major cities, Angie's List is probably the most potent consumer organization in the world. They issue coveted awards for good service every year.

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Free speech?

Celebrating Independence Day made me think about how rapidly our freedom is fading in this country, even in the private sector. Last winter, Werner Braun, the President of CRI, asked my opinion on the SOA (Seal of Approval) and their testing programs. I challenged the motives and direction and my comments set off a firestorm of rebuttals and worse.

Included with my reply were some anonymous comments from e mails I had received and also from public bulletin boards to demonstrate how the rank and file in our business felt about the SOA. It represented a good cross section of opinion from carpet cleaners, business owners, salesmen, distributors, carpet retailers and equipment manufacturers. There were even some comments from people who work for carpet mills.

Now CRI is threatening to ban those who speak out against them from participating in the Certified Service Provider program. Sound familiar? Those same tactics were used in Nazi Germany in the '30s. U.S. politicians today want to install the "Fairness Doctrine" to stop activists on talk radio. Cuba, Venezuela and other totalitarian states have such policies.

How does that make you feel, especially if you believe the part of our constitution about free speech? I guess it's not guaranteed any longer, ostensibly not in the CRI. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing I spoke up and now others are joining in. Welcome aboard.

If you have thoughts or comments on the subject please send them to: wfbane@baneclene.com

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July 4, 1776

Our founders were opposed to big government and the worst of their fears has come to pass. Stories of malfeasance in most branches of government are legion, but have all been woefully exceeded now by the people who manage Arlington National Cemetery.

As we cook out, go to a ball game, play golf, watch fire works and celebrate this special holiday, let's not forget the reason for it and those who died for it. As our nation continues to distance itself from the constitution that was so artfully and ingeniously crafted by our founding fathers, pray that we soon find the means to return to the roots of our independence.

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