The real agenda

In 1962, when I cleaned my first carpet, the industry was dominated by plant cleaners who used the shampoo method. Steam cleaning became popular with on-location cleaners in the early '70s. In 1974 some plant owners and their suppliers petitioned the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Federal Trade Commission to ban the word "Steam" from Yellow Pages advertising. They almost got it done!

That bold attempt to stifle competition became a rallying point. More than 1,000 independent cleaning firms banded together to organize the Steam Carpet Cleaners' Association. This loose coalition orchestrated a meeting in Philadelphia with ICS, JCBC, AIDS, BBB, FTC and much of the opposition in 1977. The conspirators were soundly defeated. If that battle had been lost there would very likely be no hot water extraction cleaning today.

There's a new bureaucratic battle brewing to control the entire floor covering industry. Cleaning, installation, training, certification and even the approval of products are the targets. I believe an easy route to void carpet warranties is the real agenda for the CRI/SOA program. Their complex scheme already has been very costly for independent cleaners and their suppliers and will get worse. It also will be devastating to consumers if allowed to take place.

There are some brave and vibrant young people stepping forward to lead in this fight, but they need followers. Independent cleaners and their suppliers should recognize this current threat and step up to defend our industry. If you don't, you'll be taxed and ruled by people who do not have your best interest at heart.

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Eye Safety

If your eyes become irritated from embedded dust particles, resist the urge to rub them. You could scratch the cornea. Here are some tips:

• If you wear contact lenses, remove them.
• If a particle is over the colored part of your eye, flush it out with water.
• If the particle is over the white of your eye or inside the lower lid, you can use a dampened tissue to gently remove it.
• If your eyes water, don't dab away tears because they might help wash the particle out.
• If that doesn't work, or any time you're in doubt, seek medical attention.

An important part of the cleaning job is seeing the dirt. Have a regular eye exam.

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Security awareness

A recent bulletin by a large city police department reinforced what we've been teaching at Bane-Clene Institute for more than thirty years. The public is very security conscious, and are being warned by public officials to be careful who they let into their homes.

In the bulletin, the police said, "Install good dead bolt locks, a wide angle viewer and use it whenever anyone knocks at your door or rings your doorbell. Do not open your door to strangers. Ask for identification and if in doubt call their company."

Home invasions are on the rise. Those of us in the service industry should understand the security consciousness of the public. Drive a clean, well-lettered vehicle, wear a distinctive uniform and have an authentic identification badge visible. These efforts will help belay some of the fears that are prevalent in many people today.

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It's about control

Lisa Wagner made the point on her blog* that most independent carpet cleaners really don't care much for the IICRC. Stories of corruption, conflicts of interest and sweetheart contracts for a few insiders are threatening to derail this successful program that was the brainchild of Ed York. Jim Pemberton, whose father Lee helped organize the original IICUC, and Tony Wheelwright are leading an effort by a few dedicated people who are working to preserve the organization.

I've never been a fan of IICRC because of many of the things Lisa talks about, but primarily because I never wanted them to dictate the curriculum at Bane-Clene Institute. Not being a fan doesn't keep me from being concerned about the possibility of IICRC failing. If this should happen, some troubling events may occur that I think would be detrimental to the well-being of all independent carpet cleaning firms.

It's interesting to note that most franchises do not openly support IICRC. Equally interesting is the fact that more than 70% of CRI's CSPs (Certified Service Providers) are franchises. Some of the largest carpet mills coincidentally own cleaning franchises. Here's what I think is happening. CRI, which is owned by these mills, is waiting for IICRC to implode and has the machinery in place with the Seal of Approval program to take over certification in the cleaning industry.

Franchises control franchisees. It would be simple for CRI to control the cleaning industry if most "approved" cleaners were franchises. I heard a representative of a carpet mill express those very motives at a meeting in Dalton back in the early '90s. I didn't take him seriously then, but I sure do today!

I believe danger lies ahead if CRI and their member franchises take over the entire carpet cleaning industry. Independent cleaners need to wake up, organize, become active in an association or form a new one. But, don't sleep through this one or it will cost you dearly.

* http://realdirtoncri.wordpress.com/

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Retirement and succession primer

Retirement is something I've never really given much thought. I started working as a newspaper boy in 1937, and have never been unemployed since except for seven years in the Marine Corps from 1944 to '51. Even though that was not exactly like being unemployed, military service wasn't exactly like having a job either. You couldn't quit.

I've been reading some of the literature that crosses my desk about business owners retiring. There are seminars that make it sound like all you've got to do is show up, pay the fee and you'll learn how to retire rich. I've made a few notes that may help simplify the project a bit for folks who are thinking about hanging it up.

Apparently the first thing to do is set a goal on when you want to quit, then discuss it with your partners and family members to figure out how it can happen. An attorney and accountant should be involved for the financial aspects and the legal ramifications of anything you do. And finally, you've got to determine who will run your company in the future. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

That'll be $495.00 please. But wait! Just keep it and put it towards your legal and accounting fees. Or you could do like me and just keep on working.

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Making enemies is easy

About a dozen years ago I spoke to a class at Bane-Clene® Institute about appearance, manners and other requirements I believe are necessary for a successful residential service business. I talked about not smoking on a customer's property, using deodorant, hair cut, shave, proper attire and especially good manners and polite behavior, which I think are so important.

One student fit the description of being exactly the opposite of what I was talking about in my class. He had long, dirty hair and smelled of body odor. Obviously, he didn't like my comments because he proceeded to malign me on internet bulletin boards for several years. He went into tirades about me and my company until he finally went out of business.

Over the years I've had seven, that I know of, who were offended by what I say and who publicly chastised me. Four didn't make it in the business very long, I outlived the fifth one and two are still at it. I'm sorry if I offend people, but my job is to tell students the truth about what it takes to succeed, not to pander to tender feelings.

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e-mail from a Californian

Dear Mr. Bane,

I've been keeping up with the articles on the CRI Seal of Approval that you and Lisa Wagner, the Rug Chick, have been informing us about. The other day I went online to see who had the Seal of Approval, and there are Bane-Clene® machines and cleaning agents approved. I also understand that Bane-Clene Institute received the Seal of Approval.

I've been to your fine establishment twice for school and passed the course with 93%. I use only Bane-Clene equipment and products. It is sad I wasted time and energy purchasing the best equipment and cleaning agents, and had the best training when all I needed to do was rent the Seal of Approval, "Rug Doctor®." My 60% repeat customers and referrals surely would have been higher as well as my profit margin if I used a Rug Doctor . . . NOT!

Despite what the CRI might think, I will let my customers and my bottom line speak for itself.

I'd like to again thank you and your excellent staff for your continued support and encouragement. You will always have my Seal of Approval.

Tim Oxedine,         Salinas, California

Thanks Tim. You're not the only one who's annoyed by CRI's insulting money and power grab. Our school was awarded the SOA from CRI in 2001, but that program was abandoned a year and a half later and replaced with the one they are pushing today. As old Al Jolsen used to say, "You ain't heard nothin' yet"

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The "Inspector" says

Selva Lee Tucker started the Flooring Inspector's Educational Guild and has classes at North Carolina State University to teach wood flooring inspectors about wood. With all of the controversy about testing, inspections and warranties, I thought this would be a good time to post excerpts from an e-mail he sent to me.

"Thank you Sir, you may not remember me, but long ago, I think 1990, I attended my first industry class at Bane-Clene® Institute. I bought a Mega-Port®, the small one, and learned so much in your class that I started looking for others. So coming from you and your company, I am honored and want to 'gloat'. See, only the smart ones go to the Bane School".

Mr. Tucker went on to say, "I was thinking of Dr. Terry and Dr. Brown and trying to arrange a carpet class in the future for inspectors. There are too many myths and deliberate misconceptions concerning carpet. I have always held your family's approach of good quality and honest work as one of the beacons in this industry, I hope you continue leading by example."

Tucks Floor Inspection or Consulting Services
The Flooring Inspectors Educational Guild
864 238 5507

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The boycott is working

Have you noticed all of the Citgo® commercials on TV lately? They talk about local ownership and the good they do in the communities they serve. This is a sign that Citgo has suffered massive losses in sales as more people find out who their purchases really support.

Citgo is the state owned petroleum company of Venezuela that is ruled by Dictator Hugo Chavez. This raving communist hates America and everything we stand for. Thanks to Americans who love their country, his oil company is hurting. God bless America!

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If CRI®

If CRI must go on a crusade, fighting bait and switch advertisers would be a worthy cause. B&S generates more discontent with carpet on the professional level than any other complaint. While they're at it, they could campaign against DIY, where most cleaning related complaints originate, and go after suppliers who sell watered-down products to the retail DIY market.

If CRI is really interested in having enough qualified cleaning firms to service their members products, a return to the old SOA program and support for cleaning industry schools would be a step in the right direction. Schools can train the numbers CRI needs, not labs that use fake dirt or committees of non -cleaners who believe carpet cleaning is rocket science.

If CRI would stop punishing professional cleaners and their suppliers with added expenses via their bogus SOA testing program, the cleaning world would be a better place. We know how to clean a dirty carpet and we use the right stuff to do it or we don't stay in business.

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Kawasaki Syndrome again and again and again

To follow up on last Friday's blog, I looked back in our office records on Kawasaki Syndrome and the file is very thick. We first reported on it in The Cleaning Digest® in 1982, and there is a report about every two years thereafter. Early news stories blamed carpet "shampooing", but the following reports dispel that theory.

For the first report in 1982, I consulted one of the most prominent pediatrics specialists in Indianapolis. Dr. Wendell Brown told me, "I haven't seen the disease in my practice, but I have diagnosed it a few times at a pro bono clinic at Methodist Hospital. Those kids came from homes that probably didn't even have carpets, much less clean them. I don't believe there is any connection between Kawasaki Syndrome and carpet cleaning."

In a report in 1987, Dr. Peter Sherrod, a prominent Texas pediatrician said most doctors had discarded the theory that carpet cleaning has some bearing on Kawasaki Syndrome. The doctor said, "There is no correlation. People were trying to find a connection for awhile, but they haven't succeeded."

Just this summer, another noted pediatrician, Dr. Robert B. Pauszek,* told me that he had only diagnosed a few cases of Kawasaki Syndrome in more than thirty years in practice. He said, "I see absolutely no connection between the disease and carpet cleaning or the equipment and cleaning agents that professional cleaners use."

Whenever a rash is diagnosed as Kawasaki Syndrome, reporters do a quick computer search for their story and all the old articles that claim a connection to carpet pop up on their screens. "Bad information just gets recycled," said Dr. Brown. Imagine how much more bad information has been added and embellished since that interview in 1982.

*Note of disclosure: Bob Pauszek is a golf buddy.

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Real world testing

DuPont® spent 50 million dollars to introduce Stainmaster® in 1986, but apparently couldn't afford maintenance literature or even answer my inquiries about cleaning the new product. As cleaning professionals, we needed to know; so, in 1987, I started a testing program to see for myself how to clean it and how it would perform.

L. S. Ayres & Co., installed a champagne colored cut pile, made by WestPoint Pepperell in our family room which is adjacent to a blacktop drive and garage. Foot traffic is funneled through the center of the room, so it was a poor choice of color and pile texture. The salesman at Ayres never questioned my selection and when I asked about cleaning he said, "Don't worry about it, it hardly ever needs cleaning." No cleaning or warranty information was delivered by the installers.

During the first five years the Stainmaster was cleaned monthly and a variety of topical treatments (some not recommended by DuPont) were applied to monitor the effects. In May of 1991, DuPont sent Cy Gantt to look at the carpet. Part of the entry he made in our guest book reads, "The carpet is beautiful. It is difficult to put into words what it means to have Bane-Clene® as a friend." Cy brought an artificial tree for our pool as a gift, which we cherish.

In June of 1991, DuPont dispatched Caren Mc Cabe to our home. Her entry in our guest book says, "Thanks for a wonderful two days. It was a pleasure meeting all the folks at Bane-Clene and seeing the results of your testing program. It really looks great." Caren wasn't very kind to me beyond her approval of the carpet tests. She beat me in golf at my club and again the next year when I was her guest at DuPont Country Club.

DuPont has sold the Stainmaster brand name, but twenty-three years later, that old carpet is still here. It has survived rigorous testing, pizza, pets and grandchildren. The traffic lane is not apparent, the tip definition is excellent and the fibers demonstrate remarkable resilience. It saddens me that DuPont never publicly acknowledged this project.

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Oka Negley officially retires

Oka retired Friday and it was a sad day in my life. She joined the company as my secretary on August 16, 1976, and has been the best and most loyal assistant one could ever hope for. She is the perfect secretary; always on time, always prim, always proper, always efficient, always there when needed and always supportive.

In addition to her secretarial duties, for many years she traveled on Mini-Clinics and for the past twenty years managed our advertising programs. She has been our legal liaison with the difficult assignment of monitoring federally registered trademarks and copyrighted material. Oka has also been responsible for editing publications and advertising material.

Her warm personality has made her a natural to greet students at Bane-Clene® Institute, which she's done at every school since its founding in 1978. Always the official greeter and registrar at conventions, Oka has met most of our customers and has thousands of friends and fans who attended schools and conventions over the years.

On behalf of Elizabeth, Bill Jr., Don and all of her associates at Bane-Clene, I wish her the happiest, healthiest and most enjoyable retirement. Unofficially however, Oka has kindly agreed to come to the office one or two days a week to help keep things on track while we adjust to her new lifestyle. She will be at schools and special events for awhile, too.

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