Diversity

We hear that word a lot lately. It's been abused and overused along with many normal words that have taken on a new life in this age of political correctness. In the cleaning business, our customer base must be diverse, and not in the context of the politically correct. I mean types of customers ... large or small ... commercial or residential.

I've seen too many fail because they put all their eggs in one basket. Small cleaners are extremely vulnerable. For example, a one-truck operation falls under the spell of working exclusively for a large commercial client. A simple change in lower-level management can end the arrangement and leave the small operator out in the cold.

Back in the '70s, we supplied a major contractor for Sears with truck-mounted equipment. The largest Sears contractor also bought our equipment. Between the two, we sold 121 truck-mounts in just a year. These two accounts required nearly all of our time and their demands took us from our mainstream customers who built our business.

Then one day, we got a call to come to a meeting in Philadelphia. They demanded that we reduce our prices below those we had already deeply discounted. There was no room for profit, so we had to refuse and the next few years were quite painful but we survived. It took a while for us to reconnect with our original customer base.

Don't let one or two large companies make up your entire customer base. Hundreds of small residential customers are much better than a few large commercial accounts. They won't dominate your time and they won't all leave you at once. (That's assuming your work is up to par or above average.)

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

First of a nine-part series about the CFR

The "Council on Foreign Relations" in my opinion is behind the move to destroy our economy and lower Americans' living standards closer to the level of those in third world countries. Nothing expresses the goals of their globalist conspiracy like quotes from prominent CFR members and others who know them. This quote is from the Chief Counsel to Congress' Reece Committee, which investigated the CFR in the 1950s.

"The Council on Foreign Relations, another member of the international complex, financed by the Rockefeller and Carnegie Foundations, overwhelmingly propagandizes the globalist concept. This organization became virtually an agency of the government when World War II broke out. The Rockefeller Foundation had started and financed certain studies known as The War and Peace Studies, manned largely by associates of the Council on Foreign Relations; the State Department, in due course, took these studies over, retaining the major personnel which the Council on Foreign Relations had supplied."

Rene A. Wormser, Chief Counsel to the Reece Committee

CFR membership is a who's who of Washington and Wall Street elite going back nearly a century. Most presidential candidates in the 2008 election were CFR members but do not advertise their membership. They posed as liberals, moderates and conservatives to control all aspects of the debate but assured CFR control of the 2008 election by having several members in the race from both political parties.

Democrat CFR Candidates: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson
Republican CFR Candidates: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Newt Gingrich

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

TMP Yellow Pages update

In October of 1990, we placed our Yellow Pages advertising through a new agency called API, started by Janet Stackhouse and Bill Ray who retired from Ameritech. They offered to place ads anywhere in the world and offered monthly payments and a discount. This seemed attractive and was well received by hundreds of Bane-Clene® operators.

TMP Worldwide bought API and opened an office in Indianapolis to service our many accounts. The Indianapolis office was closed in 1994 and the accounts transferred to Cincinnati under the management of Rick Klein whose people did a good job. In 1999, TMP closed that office and our accounts were transferred to the Cleveland branch. In 2009, TMP closed the Cleveland office and our accounts were transferred to Chicago. All of these transitions were carried out seamlessly.

In early April, 2011 we received the news that TMP's Bane-Clene accounts were being sold to TMG Marketing Solutions. They are located at 821 SW Alsbury Blvd., Suite C, Burleson, Texas, 76028. The person who contacted us is Kasey Maxwell who may be reached at 817 447 1238. Their web site is www.tmgMarketingSolutions.com.

It is my understanding that TMG may require annual billing instead of monthly payments. If you continue with TMG, be very careful that your ad is placed in a timely fashion and not lost in the transition. If you have any doubts or questions contact your local yellow pages representative to be sure that your ad appears in the next directory.

Also, TMG has informed us that if your account with TMP was being drafted either on your checking account or a credit or debit card, you should call TMG to check that transaction.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Craftsmen

Watching a carpet installation crew at work while I was on vacation validates my theory that installers are a big part of the carpet industry's problems. One man was cutting the carpet to size on the parking lot. On the parking lot? But, don't you cut a carpet face down? That's right. He had it face down on the dirty parking lot.

The other guy was carrying the cut rolls into the job. How do you carry a long roll into tight places all by yourself? You break it in the center, walk on it, fold it over and the other guy helps hoist it up on your shoulder. "But that would break the backing," you say. And you would be right. No wonder there are so many lumps and bumps in the carpets we clean.

They were in an unmarked, white, beat up van. I asked their company name and they told me they were sub-contractors working for a well-known TV merchandiser. There was no power stretcher or vacuum cleaner on the truck either. Folks in Dalton should be careful who sells and installs their stuff. No wonder consumers are buying other floor covering.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Just when we think it can't get worse, it does

Top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac have usurped more than $35 million in salaries and bonuses since they were handed that big government windfall of $153 billion in bail-out money from taxpayers. Fannie and Freddy donated millions of dollars in campaign contributions and this is their payback. BTW...they're still broke.

The United States of America is siding with a foreign government for the first time against one of our own 50 states. The Justice Department is siding with Mexico and drug cartels in litigation being brought against the state of Arizona. The offense... enforcing federal laws that the feds won't execute.

Gas prices are likely to hit $5.00 a gallon soon according to Jon Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil. The cause is supply and demand. Thanks to our binge of buying cheap goods from 3rd world countries, they have our money to spend and they all want cars. Those cars burn gasoline and compete with us on the world market. Duh!

And another big surprise may be coming. More than 450 billion dollars are hidden in the reduced Washington budget. Double accounting mischief used by politicians can only be funded by adding it to the federal gasoline tax. I hope I'm wrong, but get ready for more bad news on the fuel front.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Bane-Clene® owner honored

MTOClean of Los Angeles has received the coveted Tribune "Readers Choice" award for "Best Carpet Cleaning Company." The newspaper recognizes superior businesses and publishes ballots in the Sunday edition listing entertainment, restaurants, retail stores and services on which their readers vote. MTOClean was a runaway vote-getter according to the staff of the newspaper.

When he notified us of the award the owner of MTOClean, Jack Hoar, said: "Our technicians are skilled and know their jobs. But, it's the equipment that provides the superior service performance and Bane-Clene® is simply the best. Please extend our thanks and appreciation to all at Bane-Clene for allowing us to win this award. It has been a distinct honor to work with you over the years."

Thank you for the kind remarks Jack and congratulations on winning this prestigious award. We're extremely proud of you and equally proud of having the honor of being a vendor to such a fine company. You and your superb staff are the essence of everything we teach at Bane-Clene Institute.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Appropriate for tax day

President Ronald Reagan said, "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

The political budget battles characterize that famous statement. They have done all of the above and still can't get enough money. They just can't stop spending and are getting ready to turn us upside down and shake us! It may not come in tax increases, but look out for higher costs from inflation caused by all the funny money they're printing.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Network of Excellence stats!

There were 609,518* accesses to this web site in March for information about cleaning. Customers ordered supplies, visited our Catalog, Information pages, MSDS, Spot removal guides, Troubleshooting charts, the Cleaning Digest and Clene-Times publications and visited my BLOG. And thanks to all who sent e-mails to me about what I write.

Carpet mills, retailers, insurance adjusters, plumbers, banks and realty firms used it too. But most visitors were CONSUMERS. We know because when they can't find a local cleaner in our referral directory, they call our toll free number. Nearly all of these phone inquiries are referred to a Bane-Clene operator who is not listed on our directory.

Dramatic increases every year demonstrate the growth of internet usage. You may link to this web site for a one time fee of only $99. There are NO maintenance or renewal fees. This is the advertising bargain of the century!

*Total accesses to this web site last year were 7,662,953; 2005 6,803,494; 2003 3,735,610; 2001 417,621; 1999 71,645; 1997 7,914; 1995 823.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

TMP (Yellow Pages) Alert

A newspaper article should concern Bane-Clene operators who place their yellow pages ads with TMP. Their Milwaukee office was offered for sale to a competitor after a line of credit was not renewed. The entire TMP operation was unsuccessfully offered for sale but now they're trying to sell it in pieces to separate bidders, according to the story.

According to the article, Monica Ho, vice president of marketing, said the company wants to sell the Milwaukee office and 10 other TMP operations to other advertising firms. Ho said, "We feel confident everything will get picked up. TMP yellow pages print ads make up about 60% of TMP's annual revenue of about $230 million."

When TMP closed their Cleveland office a few years ago, Oka Negley sent a letter to Bane-Clene operators advising them to be sure a Yellow Pages contract was forthcoming. She advised them to contact their local Yellow Pages for confirmation. Make sure your ad is being placed by checking with both TMP and your local Yellow Pages.

Bane-Clene has used TMP for twenty years with good service even through the Cincinnati and Cleveland closures. We are in the process of placing ads in the Indianapolis Yellow Pages for next fall. Check the TMP office you do business with to be sure your account is not accidentally dropped in this period of transition.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

"Consumer prices rose only 2.1% over the last 12 months."

Did you ever wonder where the folks who write those headlines live or the exact location of their heads? Gasoline prices have gone nuts and every time I go to the grocery the items I buy have increased from 20% to 30%. Airlines have jumped their prices and nearly every vendor our company does business with has raised prices (or tried to) in the past two years.

This round of inflation started before Bush "bailed out" Wall Street and the banking system. It got worse when Obama "stimulated" the economy. Yet the government has the audacity to say, "Consumer prices rose only 2.1% over the last 12 months." That may be, unless you want to eat, heat your home, drive your car or go someplace on vacation.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Speaking of scams?

I've always thought that carpet cleaning is pretty simple, but today there are a number of seemingly complicated cleaning methods on the market. Some are patented, some are franchised and some have stringent contractual obligations. That last one brings to mind a salesman who wanted me to go into a partnership with him 35 years ago.

He had numerous commercial accounts that bought cleaning agents but he didn't represent an equipment manufacturer so he asked me to be his exclusive supplier. His idea was to give his client a carpet cleaning machine "free" with a contract to buy a specified number of 55 gallon drums of pre-mixed cleaning agents every year to run through the machine.

In effect he was selling expensive drums of water and I laughed at the idea and wouldn't have any part of it. Just recently I read about a company that's doing that very thing. What goes around comes around. It reminds me of the famous old line that has been attributed to P. T. Barnum... about one being born every minute.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Don't forget!

The tax man cometh on the 15th. Supposedly, the IRS will be taking a closer look this year at companies that sub contract work. Since many of you do, be aware that sub-contractors must be independent, with their own equipment, insurance, supplies and pay their own business expenses to qualify as legitimate subs under IRS guidelines.

Students in my class at BCI are reminded that the IRS puts more people out of this business than any other entity including advertising. Contract the services of a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to prepare your taxes. And don't forget to file for an extension if you're not ready to deal with the tax man yet. Talk to your CPA!

FYI: The IRS does not send e-mail notifications. Definitely do not reply to any notice that purportedly says it's from the IRS, and do not click on any link. They're scams.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.

Appropriate for April Fool's Day

Howard Olansky, famed Editor and Publisher of ICS magazine, said this from the speaker's platform at a convention back in the '70s. "Bill Bane is one of the best carpet cleaners in the world." Of course "Humble Howie" would say something like that just to be nice to me, so I took it with a grain of salt.

Last February I was thinking about having the carpet cleaned at our Florida home and "Humble Howie's" words came to mind. In a moment of temporary insanity, I decided to get a little portable carpet cleaning machine and do it myself. To sum up, it's not the '70s, it wasn't a Bane-Clene unit and I'm 35 years older.

My apologies to all of you professional cleaners. I should have gone to our web site and contacted a local cleaner to do the job. That's the last time I'll ever do that even if I live long enough for the carpet to get dirty again.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2011 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

I'd like to hear your comments on this article.
Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.