More coming?

News commentators are finally acknowledging that inflation is headed much higher. For several years I've been saying that inflation is a problem. But the Fed maintains that inflation is under control and refuses to raise interest rates simply because government is the biggest borrower in Fantasy Land. This policy hurts those on fixed incomes and people who are working, too.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Wall Street Journal; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Census Bureau; USDA; U.S. Dept. of Labor; FHFA; Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller; RealtyTrac; Heritage Foundation; The Conference Board; FDIC; Federal Reserve; U.S. Treasury

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Want to irritate customers?

Speak fast, throw in a lot of "uhs and ums" and wave your hands while you talk. Call a customer you just met by their first name, use the word "absolutely" profusely and treat customers like bumpkins by continually asking, "Do you understand?" or "See what I mean?"

Since we want to please our customers, try to avoid these speaking mistakes. Don't explain your operating procedures and give specifics about the method you use unless you are asked. For the most part, customers don't care how you do it, they just want it done and done right.

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Going bananas

A banana is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

Bananas contain three natural sugars sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant boost of energy and can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent illnesses and conditions such as strokes. According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

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Think positive

"Bad thoughts only lead to failure," said Norman Vincent Peale the last time he spoke at a Bane-Clene convention. "You can think yourself to failure or you can think your way to success. Belief is a form of thoughts. You can disbelieve yourself into a frustrated existence or you can believe yourself into a successful life. It is up to you.

"We do not half realize the power of thought either to destroy or to create. Thoughts actually are forces. You can't see them but they are substantial nevertheless. Thoughts are dynamic powers.

Think negative thoughts and you activate negative forces, drawing back to yourself negative results. Like attracts like. Send out hate and you get back hate. Send out fear and you get back fear. Send out defeat and you draw defeat to yourself.

"Conversely, send out positive thoughts and what comes back? Positive results, of course. You defeat yourself, or you gain victories by the thoughts you think. So get a good thought, build it up, develop it. Get a faith thought, make it grow. Don't let it stop on a minimum level. Let it take over. Make a giant of it and it will make a giant of you."

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Rules of the Cleaning Business

1. Nothing happens until you make a sale. Sharpen your advertising program and get out of the office to make cold calls. Make sure phone scripts include all the many advantages of your service and be prepared to talk about all the services you offer.

2. Satisfy the customer and they will sell for you. There is no better emissary than a third party who recommends you to friends and relatives.

3. Listen to employees and customers. They will tell you what's happening, although it may not be what you want to hear. This will allow you to correct potential problems before they happen.

4. Resolve complaints as soon as possible. The most loyal of all customers are those who have had a problem quickly and efficiently resolved. Act quickly.

5. Don't be afraid of change. It is inevitable. Change occurs every moment and we need to be aware of those changes that affect our business. Be alert to all changes in taxation and regulations by local, state and federal governments.

6. But most important of all, don't change just for the sake of change.

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Beating a dead horse

A bright youngster named Chuck bought a horse from a farmer for $100.00 The day the farmer was to deliver the animal he told Chuck he was sorry but the horse had died.

Chuck ask for his money back but the farmer said he'd spent it, so Chuck ask for the dead horse and said he'd raffle him off to get his money back. The farmer said, "You can't raffle a dead horse!" Chuck said, "Sure I can! I just won't tell anybody the horse is dead."

The farmer saw Chuck later and asked about the raffle? Chuck said, "I sold 500 tickets at $1.00 each, they cost $49 to print so I had a profit of $350.00." The farmer asked, "Didn't anyone complain?" Chuck said, "Just the guy who won the horse, so I gave him his dollar back."

The bright youngster named Chuck went off to college and now works for the government. He helped formulate the stimulus and bail-out programs and is now working on Fannie and Freddie.

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Elmer's tune

Elmer Wheeler, the legendary salesman whose slogan was "Don't sell the steak; sell the sizzle," told a manufacturer of drill bits, "Selling a 'round hole' is the key to getting more sales." He believed customers are motivated by different things. Elmer said, "If you want to make friends with a horse, give him an apple and give a dog meat, but it won't work the other way around."

Your customers want clean floors, carpets and furniture. In your presentation, make sure you mention the benefits of "External Extraction®" and that you remove soil, waste water and foul smelling air from their home. Tell them you leave the carpet soft and residue free so it will not attract dirt and resoil rapidly. They expect a clean carpet, tell them about the extras.

Mention that you don't bring cumbersome equipment into their home where it may damage paint and furnishings. And don't forget to stress safety. You don't generate carbon monoxide and you use gentle, safe pressures and temperatures. Talk about your quiet system and employees who are also quiet and polite. Sell Bane-Clene's nearly 50 years of experience and your certification. That's the sizzle in the cleaning business today.

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Does anyone else ever wonder....

...about the ponzi scheme known as the stock market? I heard it described the other day as, "The systematic fleecing of the populace by a select few." Let's all sing a chorus of "Happy days are here again."

...about "Rules of engagement in war?" What ever happened to, "All's fair in love and war?" Our military is hamstrung with "Rules of engagement." I pity these guys on the front lines today. With politicians and lawyers running the wars it's like making them fight with one hand tied behind their back.

...about the hazards of texting while driving and all the new laws proposed against it? Meanwhile new cars are coming out with big information screens in the center of the dash. It's going to be a lot worse than texting when everyone is driving around looking at those screens.

.....about all the recession talk? Traffic is the heaviest I've ever seen and malls are so crowded it's hard to even walk. Doesn't anyone work any more? If they're all out of work, where do they get the money to drive and shop? If they're employed, why aren't they at work?

.....about Wikileaks? Heads should roll and higher-ups should be fired or prosecuted. I haven't heard of anyone being punished except a lowly Private. Isn't anyone higher-up responsible?

.... the Congressman who cheated on his taxes among other crimes? He's complaining about being censured when he ought to be in jail.

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More on unintended consequences?

With the advent of the internet and the sophistication that has come with the generalized use of the computer, another unintended consequence has occurred in the cleaning business. Many of us are hung up on change and seem to ignore old proven strategies that work best in our business.

Before abandoning operational and advertising programs, do an honest evaluation of your operation and don't change anything just for the sake of change. Remember what Abraham Geiger said, "Draw from the past, live in the present, but work for the future."

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"Green"

There's a new law in California that is similar to an extra sales tax on carpet. It decrees that five cents for each square yard of new carpet be collected and used as an incentive to reduce the amount of post consumer carpet in landfills.

Naturally, there are requirements for carpet mills and importers who sell carpet in California to register with the state. No doubt there will be an additional (tax) fee to register, too. What other unintended consequences might there be? You know there will be some. Stay tuned!

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49th anniversary today

Wednesday I answered a question about starting a business in tough times. My son, Bill Jr., started a part-time cleaning service with $20 in capital and one customer. The economic climate was as bad as the weather and it was 5 degrees below zero that morning.

That humble beginning has grown into our company as it is today. Never in my wildest imagination on that cold Sunday morning could I have dreamed of the vast number of lives this little venture would touch over the next half century.

Today, our carpet cleaning division services thousands of central Indiana customers and we ship merchandise to professional cleaners in all fifty states and fifteen foreign countries on five continents. Is America great, or what?

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A bad time

A fellow e-mailed this question to me the other day. "Is this a bad time to go into the cleaning business?" Since he obviously is thinking about it or is new to the trade, he wouldn't know that I've written many articles on the subject. For example, 1962 was a terrible economic time and that's the year we started in business.

In 1969 we built our first two truck-mounts. My friendly banker told me not to do it and refused to lend money for the project. We got into the chemical business in 1974, and that was the beginning of a terrible recession. In 1978, when we bought the building on Keystone and opened Bane-Clene Institute, interest rates and inflation were both in double digits. A very bad time!

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Every major move in business that we've made has been during a bad economic time. So my answer to him was, "Yes! This is a terrible time to go into the business and if our track record is indicative, your chances of success are pretty good."

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