IICRC Board Votes to Return to Original name
Keeps cleantrust as the consumer-facing service mark

VANCOUVER, WA (February 17, 2012) - The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) announced today that the Board of Directors has voted to return the formal name of the organization to the IICRC, keeping cleantrust as the service mark of the organization. The full details surrounding the transition will be announced at the Certification Council on April 22, 2012.

“We’ve heard the feedback from registrants over the past few months and considered many options,” said IICRC Chairman Darrell Paulson. “Ultimately, the board has decided to use the IICRC as the main brand and use the cleantrust as a service mark. This allows us to honor the 40-year history of our organization, while also working to gain more awareness with end-users. We are still working through all of the details and we thank the inspection, cleaning and restoration community for their patience during this process.”

The IICRC will retain the use of the updated logo, which represents the strength and breadth of the organization. The shape reflects a globe, symbolizing the IICRC’s international status. And like the organization, the logo is made up of many different parts that are working together in a unified pattern, depicting an organization that is deep in knowledge.

“Together, this powerful brand combination of IICRC and the cleantrust, will enable us to constantly work towards our mission of identifying and promoting an international standard of care that establishes and maintains the health, safety and welfare of the built environment,” said Paulson.

Updated materials with the new IICRC logo and an updated design will gradually rollout in the coming months, including ID cards, brochures, introductory video and a new website.
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About ServiceMaster by Best

ServiceMaster by Best is a cleaning and restoration firm based in Wichita, KS.  ServiceMaster by Best has trained and certified staff by the cleantrust (formerly IICRC) to meet your regular cleaning to specialty cleaning needs.  Since 2003 Best Corporation has acquired various ServiceMaster licenses to bring innovative products and services to the south Central Kansas and surrounding markets.  ServiceMaster by Best is the only entity in the region as a GS-42 GreenSeal Certified green cleaning services.  ServiceMaster by Best provides among other specialty cleaning services, Air-Duct, Carpet, Rug & Upholstery; Fire, Water, Flood, Smoke & MoldCleanup along with commercial and janitorial services.

ServiceMaster by Best is a licensed franchisee of ServiceMaster Clean division of the ServiceMaster Family of Brands.  ServiceMaster currently serves residential and commercial customers through a network of over 4,500 company-owned locations and franchised licenses.  The Company’s brands include TruGreen^®, TruGreen LandCare^®, Terminix^®, American Home Shield^®, ServiceMaster Clean^®, Merry Maids^®, Furniture Medic^®, and AmeriSpec^®. The core services of the Company include lawn care and landscape maintenance, termite and pest control, home warranties, disaster response and reconstruction, cleaning and disaster restoration, house cleaning, furniture repair, and home inspection.

Benefits of Repeat Business by a Carpet Cleaning Firm

What are the benefits of repeat business? (Question from eLocal blog)

What are the advantages of consistently working with the same professional? Do you offer discounts for repeat customers or faster service? How do you, as professionals, try to ensure that you establish long-term relationships with clients? Are there times when you won’t work with a customer again? What can customers do to keep good relationships with their favorite professional?

Answer: (as a eLocal expert vendor)

From the perspective of a service professional:

I like repeat clients! I like the ones that appreciate the service I provide and the ones that pay timely.

·         It saves me the acquisition cost of the new client.

·         My crew is familiar with them from having serviced them previously.  They obviously had a good experience from the previous time, or they would not have called again to be serviced.

·         Since we are a cleaning and restoration firm, competition is fierce and people often go for the cheapest cleaner.  We happen not to be the cheapest and thus it validates the value proposition that we put before our clients.

·         With repeat clients one builds a valuable relationship which extends to referrals and more business.

·         I approach my clients not a cleaner, but a solutions provider.  I want them to call me not just for their carpet cleaning needs, but advise on anything that pertains to their home or business and the maintenance of their properties.  This gives me the opportunity to serve them in more areas.

·         If I bring value to them, when there is a need for a vendor when they have a water damage or fire/smoke damage (where the scope of the work) is much more than Air-Duct cleaning, we both benefit from the repeat business.

·         When I have serviced a client before, I emotionally want to make sure they are a valued more.  I appreciate their business more.  It comes naturally to me.

·         I would gladly offer a better price to someone with I continually do business and have a relationship.

To establish a better relationship with our clients, we follow-up after each job how they were served.  We send them a Thank-you card after the follow-up call.  If we have their e-Mail address, we will also send them a brief questionnaire to see how our service was with the simple question, if they would use us again or not.

When clients do not pay for one reason or another, we will mark them not to be served again in our systems.  Very few have called back over the years.

From the perspective as a customer:

I have a HVAC contractor who served me well last year.  A few years back a plumber served me well.  I have a “handy-man” who served me well.  I pay these folks timely and they give me a great price.  I use them in my business to serve my clients.  Since I have established a good relationship with a few of these folks, they give a little extra attention to my clients.  This is a win-win for my clients, the vendors I personally use and an opportunity for me to be profitable.

How Should Homeowners Interpret Estimates?
For all contractors, designers and home improvement professionals, how accurate are estimates? Do most professionals shoot high and try to come in under budget? Should a homeowner expect projects to come in on budget or just near the budget? How should homeowners interpret differences between professional estimates?

Comment to the question:

Estimate: As defined by Merriam-Webster “to produce a statement of the approximate cost of” [among other things].  My approach to giving an estimate is as if I were the customer.  As a customer when someone tells me they estimate the cost to be $500 to finish project x, I take it at that.  If the vendor puts it on paper titled “Estimate”, $500 to complete project x; I read it as based on any unforeseen things, it will be $500.00 to finish that project.  If there are caveats of unforeseeable expenses, than I expect that discussion to happen during the “estimating” process.  When I give an “estimate” to the client, I let them know that this is only an estimate based on the scope of work described in the estimate.  Should other things arise, charges will be additional based on what arises.  Being in the cleaning and restoration business, to give an “estimate” to clean a carpet or air-duct is rather simple.  We are upfront with “based on the information you provided, we estimate the cost of x to be $ Y.  If our technicians arrive at the site and notice the scope of work outlined is different than on the work order, they are to call the office staff and expectations corrected.  Based on what is necessary charges may change and we communicate with the client before services commence.  How one communicates the word “estimate” is crucial to what a person may hear.

When a client asks for a bid on a certain project, it is generally do not exceed bid number that we give for the services requested and outlined in the bid.

Should a client want a proposal on what needs to be done, we discuss that and “propose” things that need to be cleaned and restored.  They may want something different than what we are proposing, we will create a bid based on the fine-tuning of the proposal.

When we perform restoration services, [unless a client is paying out of pocket], we use and industry-wide internet based software that has a initial day estimate, but by the end of the job will have a final billing.

Call it estimate/bid or proposal, communicating with the client and setting expectations of service is the key.  Over communicate with all parties involved, under promise and over deliver.

Read more at here.

Post-Christmas Organization

With Christmas gone and the new-year upon us, this is a great time to do some of the things that get left behind.  Being in the midst of winter, it almost is no fun being outdoors.  This is a great time to take on inside projects that have been put on the back-burner.  It is a little early for spring cleaning, but never too late to spruce up your home.  Here are a few tips on taking care of a few things around the house that may need attention. This article gives a few directions on organization and light duty cleaning.

Organization Related:

·         Plan:

o   Have a goal in mind on what you would like to accomplish.  Are you attempting to de-clutter a room or a level of the home or your entire home?

o   Be realistic to what you can accomplish in the time that you have.

o   Mark out a staging area to where you can put things that you will donate, items that you may throw away and the other that will be kept to go in the organized area.

·         Storage Supplies:

o   With a variety of storage options available, consider what suits your needs and budget.

o   Have containers for the size needed so that they will not be over-loaded to make them too heavy.

o   Apply peel-able labels so corrections and changes can be made as you are in the process of organizing. This will help store things neatly and you will know where things are located should you need them.

·         Organize:

o   Bed Room Closet: Perhaps the Children’s closet.  Sort out the clothes they do not wear.  Put the ones they use back on hangers. If you plan to throw away the damaged things, put them in the trash pile while keeping the ones you may wish to donate or have a garage sale in a separate pile.  Shoes, toys and boxes can be cleared from the floor or the top shelves as well.

o   Under The Bed: Often things get shoved under the bed.  Get rid of what is not used in the last year if it cannot be donated or sold at a garage sale.

o   Linen Closet: Apply the same principle to this area.  Making rags may be a good idea from old towels; however Micro-fiber towels are better for cleaning.

o   Bathroom Cabinets: Often there are old cleaning chemicals, hair dyes partially used, throw them out!  Keep only what you need.

o   Throw out the old: There is always a reason to keep something, but there is also a reason to make room.  It simplifies your life.  De-cluttering should be part of one’s tasks.

o   Have a place for everything: Be a minimalist.