Bug alert

An entomologist warns about an epidemic in America. Bed bugs are arriving on imports from countries that do not consider them a problem. He recommends that new clothing, towels, underwear and socks be put in a clothes dryer for at least 20 minutes. The heat will kill the bedbugs and their eggs. One item that has bugs or eggs will grow into an infestation.

Don Terry has an excellent article that addresses the subject of bed bugs from a cleaning service point of view. The link is: http://www.baneclene.com/articles/bed-bugs.html

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Simple proposal for the new Congress

Term Limits of 12 years. Two Six year Senate terms. Six Two year House terms. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms

No tenure / no pension. Pay raises will be governed by the CPI. Purchase your own retirement plan and participate in Social Security with funds in the congressional retirement fund moved to the Social Security system immediately.

Balance the budget. Cut out the ridiculous spending. No more earmarks. Abide by laws imposed on the American people. Pay taxes like 40% of us do!

Keep laws short and simple. Never sign a bill unless it is read and understood.

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Another "bigger isn't better"

Every level of government has far too many people living off the few citizens who pay most of the taxes. And in some cases, especially at the federal level, they are living like royalty. Our founders surely never intended this to happen. The early legislators served short terms in government and then went home to tend to their own business.

Now there are career politicians and tax supported schools dedicated to turning out candidates to fill the offices. There are 435 congressional representatives who begin running for re-election the moment they get to Washington and many of them stay there a lifetime. Our society is so bogged down by bureaucracy it's no wonder the economy is in bad shape.

This mentality has even spread to our own industry. CRI and IICRC are microcosms of what's wrong today. Too large and too influential, they try to micro-manage the routine activities of all within their realm. An example is the 37 people involved in the two CRI cleaning and maintenance committees. I don't think any of them are active carpet cleaners.

They have contrived the notion that the simple chore of cleaning a carpet is on a par with rocket science. That alone should be evidence that they don't know what they're talking about. The folks on those committees should go back home and tend to their real jobs. Their companies would probably benefit, too.

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And speaking of change

Remember when you heard that if you make under $250,000 a year you won't see any new taxes? An attorney friend sent me a warning that he heard the President's finance team is proposing a new tax on all transactions at financial institutions which supposedly will be tacked onto an innocuous bill after elections next month.

If they sneak this bill through, it would mean that any deposit or movement of funds within any account will be taxed at 1%. Every check you write, deposit you make or even a pay check or social security payment being direct deposited will be taxed. I sure hope this isn't true!

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Way to go, Charlie!

Charley Reese said this: "Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. If both Democrats and Republicans are against high taxes, why do we have high taxes? If they're all against deficits, why do we have deficits? If all of them are against inflation, why do we have inflation?

"You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does. You and I don't have the constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code or set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

"One President, 100 senators, 435 representatives in congress and nine Supreme Court justices; 545 human beings out of more than 300 million are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. These 545 people spend most of their time telling us that what they did is not their fault."

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Dalton buzz: Consumers "de-select" carpet!*

Carpet sales tanked so Dalton bureaucrats coined the phrase "de-select" to explain why people don't buy carpet. Then they concocted a bogus survey that says it's all the carpet cleaners fault. Why not tell it like it is? Bad business practices have finally caught up. Here are some reasons for the slump from a study with the actual number of consumer complaints in each category:

Installation ( 314 complaints ... the most ) Shoddy installation is the worst offender. Leading were mis-matches and rude installers who failed to power stretch causing seams to peak. These puckered ridges an inch or more high running down the length of a room not only look bad but are dangerous because they can cause trip and fall accidents.

Carpet sales ( 253 complaints ... a lot ) Delivery schedules gone awry and not delivering warranty papers cause consumer discontent. Fiber blends introduced for economy rather than performance left bad memories. Product substitution and retailers taking deposits after filing bankruptcy caused consumer heartburn. Specification blunders were numerous, too.

Cleaning and maintenance ( 131 complaints ... the least ) Most were do-it-yourself related about watered-down chemicals and malfunctioning equipment. Complaints about professional cleaning firms were nearly all about BS (bait and switch) and rude technicians. None involved equipment, chemicals or methods which makes me doubt the validity of the SOA program.

* Giving a Rug Doctor a Platinum rating won't help. They'll stop "de - selecting" carpet when the entire industry starts treating them right..... starting in Dalton.

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Do you think they'll even consider it?

Send this to your representative in congress and ask that it be made into law.

"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to Senators or Representatives. Congress shall make no law that applies to Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to all citizens of the United States."

Maybe it already is the law, but if it is, we'd never know it!

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Thank you for visiting

There were 593,791 accesses to the Bane-Clene web site last month. People looked for information, ordered supplies and visited catalog and information pages, such as MSDS, Spot removal guides & Troubleshooting charts, the Cleaning Digest®, Clene-Times® and my BLOG.

Besides cleaners, carpet mills, carpet retailers, insurance adjusters, banks, realty firms and plumbers visited this site. But here's the really exciting news. Most visitors were consumers looking for someone to work for them. We know because when they can't find a local cleaner in our referral directory, they call our toll free number. All phone inquiries during the past year were referred to certified Bane-Clene operators except in these Zip Codes:

01721, 02891, 04043, 06518, 06610, 06824, 06987, 08092, 11550, 13440, 13516, 14,785, 15417, 15421, 15444, 15468, 15621, 15650, 15701, 15752, 16601, 17110, 17340, 17349, 17536, 17844, 18512, 19904, 19938, 19971, 20794, 20814, 21076, 21605, 21620, 21629, 21660, 21666, 21663, 21738, 22021, 22090, 22701, 23061, 23081, 23185, 23188, 23212, 23230, 23266, 23322, 23429, 23451, 23455, 23468, 23805, 23840, 24265, 24273, 24282, 24290, 24502, 26426, 27106, 27213, 27376, 27511, 27514, 27526, 27612, 27711, 27940, 28560, 29680, 29926, 30240, 30252, 30263, 30518, 30655, 31023, 31794, 31909, 32024, 32309, 32311, 32431, 32667, 32828, 33009, 33069, 33067, 33157, 33131, 33324, 33435, 33456, 33549, 33584, 33606, 33615, 33711, 34209, 34446, 34606, 34609, 34681, 35550, 36201, 36564, 37363, 37405, 37411, 37620, 37853, 38053, 38079, 39701, 39705, 39746, 41377, 45115, 45140, 46552, 48188, 48504, 48505, 48611, 49036, 49280, 49437, 50325, 50344, 50401, 51650, 54457, 55830, 60081, 61115, 61122, 64089, 65049, 65065, 65203, 65541, 65613, 65711, 65803, 67351, 67756, 68516, 70575, 72113, 72301, 74012, 74851, 75023, 75048, 75070, 75201, 75712, 75801, 76092, 77379, 77414, 77651, 77845, 79924, 81212, 82414, 85085, 85253, 85255, 85258, 85354, 85704, 87112, 87532, 89012, 89028, 89141, 90115, 91791, 90803, 91941, 92211, 92234, 92243, 93003, 93010, 93277, 93465, 93907, 94018, 94530, 94590, 94954, 95042, 95054, 95112, 96078, 96080, 96737, 97007, 97071, 97333, 97414, 97606, 97701, 98004, 98074, 98110, 98133, 98271, 98335, 98338, 98406, 98409, 98515, 99850.

Another exciting thing is that total accesses to this web site last year were 6,908,988 compared to 3,735,610 in 2003, 106,328 in 2000, and only 823 in 1996, our first year on the internet. This dramatic growth indicates how fast internet marketing is growing.

Be part of this advertising bonanza by calling Don Terry at 800 428 9512 or e mail him at our "Message Center." Don will make a home page for you or link your existing home page to this potential gold mine for a one time fee of only $99.

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This will chill future carpet purchases

CRI has been recruiting CSP's (Certified Service Providers) (requires an annual fee*) for more than five years. A big mill has mandated that their carpet must only be cleaned by an IICRC certified firm (requires an annual fee*) and the CSP must use CRI/SOA products (requires test fee*) or their carpet warranty will be void.

Most thinking people in our industry see this as an attempt to circumvent warranties while increasing CRI and IICRC revenues at the expense of cleaners and suppliers. One wag on an industry bulletin board said it best, "It's like Big Al's protection racket." The added expenditures are of questionable value to established professional cleaners, many of whom have years of experience and most of whom use time tested methods and products.

The irony is consumers** with no experience can rent a Rug Doctor® and clean their own carpet with equipment that is highly-rated by CRI. They don't pay the IICRC fee like professional cleaners and their warranty remains in full force. This is an insult to professional carpet cleaners and deserves an apology from the CRI and accomplice carpet mills.

Logistically, that warranty mandate will not work. According to CRI's own web site, only about 300 independent cleaning firms out of more than 40,000, have signed on to the program. About two thirds of the 987 CSP's are franchises, many of which are owned by carpet mills. Of the thousands of cleaning agents, cleaning machines and peripheral products on the market, only a small percentage have been tested by PTL, CRI's exclusive testing affiliate.

Sadly, the result of these shenanigans will mean that a multitude of carpet warranties will be declined or at least be in jeopardy to further aggravate consumers. The resulting higher cleaning fees that will give consumers even more reason to choose another floor covering the next time they buy. It's time for CRI to rethink this project before it bankrupts the entire industry.

* Just like licenses and taxes, fees always go up.

** Nearly all cleaning related complaints are generated in the DIY market! Professional Cleaners' complaints are nearly all about Bait & Switch operators. There are virtually none about equipment, cleaning agents or methods.

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BBB BS warning

Elizabeth Goldsmith, of Florida State University, wrote a book titled “Carpet Cleaning Tips for Dummies.” She says beware of companies that offers a per room price. Some unscrupulous air duct cleaning companies have branched out into carpet cleaning, offering an initial low price and then saying much heavier cleaning is needed at a much higher cost.


The BBB of Northern Alabama reports a company ran full page ads in local papers saying they would clean up to 10 ducts for $89.95. One complaint was that on arrival the technicians said, ‘You have mold.’ When asked how they knew they said,’ We could smell it,’ and quoted a price of $7, 000, but if the customer acted now, it would only be $5,000.

That company is no longer operating, the BBB said, but they have re emerged across the country under different names. Some of the duct cleaners even carry a mold test kit and the tests always come back positive. It seems that tests can be rigged to come out any way the tester wishes. Does that sound familiar?

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Attitude

Everyone we come in contact with can be affected by our attitude. If we're in a bad mood, we need to take a break and get our emotions under control before making that next service call. Personal problems should never be brought into a customer's home. Even fellow employees will shy away from someone who complains all the time.

A positive attitude projects confidence while a negative attitude projects failure. Both of these rub off on customers. To project a positive attitude, we need a sincere smile on our face when we greet a prospect or customer. Smile while on the telephone, too. You might look odd, but the person on the other end of the line can sense a smile.

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The blame game

Several years of plummeting sales caused big carpet mills to look for someone to blame. (It couldn't be their fault could it?) So the CRI* decided to blame carpet cleaners, who made an easy target. Undocumented and bogus surveys claimed that consumers were unhappy with carpet cleaning, which justified CRI launching the new SOA program under the guise of consumer satisfaction. But it is really designed to extort money from professional cleaners and suppliers.

Carpet makers have gone one up on each other for years. First it was one year, then two, five, ten and now lifetime warranties. These are coming home to roost and mills need a way to bail out. Manufacturers can't do it without calling attention to some of the ridiculous claims they've made, so the "non-profit" CRI was chosen as a willing accomplice to save them.

I believe the purpose of SOA is to create a smoke screen for manufacturers to circumvent or void warranties altogether. The most ingenious** aspect of SOA is that carpet cleaners and suppliers get blamed for consumer dissatisfaction (not true) while having to pay for the CRI program that accuses them (true). Reminds you of Washington politics doesn't it?

* CRI is run by carpet mills

** Maybe insidious would be a better word!

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To your health

Everyone in the cleaning business has to sneeze from time to time. Dust and pollutants in carpets, furniture and other items enter the nasal passages and cause this natural reaction. If you try to stifle a sneeze because you're in a customer's home you may do damage to your ears.

The increased pressure from a stifled sneeze will build in the nasal cavity and force mucous into the Eustachian tube which can cause an ear infection. Try to get outside, but if you can't make it, put a handkerchief or your sleeve over your nose and mouth and let it happen naturally.

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