With all the board and industry "talk" about certifications, proper machines, proper products and such, when are the manufacturers and such going to REQUIRE salespeople and installers to be CERTIFIED? Fon Johnson made an excellent point a few posts ago about the customer knowing nothing about a warranty. How many times have each of us been told by a prospect that their salesperson recommended dry cleaning as the preferred method of cleaning? How many times as each of us heard that the prospect needed to wait as long as possible to clean because it resoils too quickly? How many bad installations have we seen? Of course, I think that can't be put on the installer as it is the store owner/manager requiring the installer to put in carpet totally against what the CRI recommends. I put in a carpet for Shaw and had to fill out paperwork stating the conditions in the home. This released me from liability when the carpet buckled due to the temperature being 28 degrees. I recommended against the installation, but the "man in charge" told me to install it anyway.
I think it's time the IICRC and our trade organizations begin to push for these measures. As a registrant with the IICRC, a Certified Firm owner and a member of the CF committee, I think it's time to push for these measures. What do you think? We can start a grass roots push right here!

Good question Kevin. I don't see the mfgs. making any demands on the ones they sell to, but they should. A grass roots movement may be what it will take to change the current conditions.

the only real solution is to have every cleaner licenced like plummers electrisions GCs and the like, then have the techs who are not licensed work as apprentices. This would naturally drive the cost of cleaning up.

It would also more then likely do away with the IICRC at least in its present form.
Since call businesses would be required to be licensed and for all intensive purposed be certified firms.

This will not happen for many reasons the IICRC being one of them. They would loose control of things they are not willing to. Not the ORG it self but many in it.

we need to work to change it. I'm extremely pro IICRC and would like to see it take the lead in these endeavors. My biggest concern is the consumer and letting her (or him) have confidence in the industry and in firms that are PROPERLY certified or licensed.

I recently took an IICRC CCT class and we were told by Jan 07 all cleaners will have to have their businesses certified by the IICRC in order not to void the manufactors warranty on carpets.

that's the jist of this whole thread as to why us but not everybody else. I'm glad to see you weigh in on the subject. The pot needs to be stirred a little.

For the sake of argument. I am a owner operator and certified. Now I have to be a certified firm? I am the firm, me myself and I. Why? I have no employees. I will be the one on the job, doing the work.

Bob

is that you have to be or work for a Certified Firm. As I have said before, I am on the CF committee, or at least I was before I posted this! lol I may not be anymore!! j/k of course. I don't disagree with the requirements. Though you are a certified person, I see the point of the CF status. If it's done right to protect the consumer then it's a good thing. There are probably some issues there to be resolved also. However, my main question is that if you are required to be a Certified Firm in order to not void a warranty, then why are salespersons not required to be certified through a sales program? There are thousands of carpet salespeople out there selling a product with no clue of how it's supposed to be cared for and the great majority have no idea of how to perform fiber identification and what fiber is what! If you are going to hold one arm of the industry liable, then you need to hold the other arms of the industry liable. If the the manufacturer is saying you must use a CF to clean it and hwe is the preferred method yet you have a salesperson telling the consumer to not use hwe cleaning, then what have you, the manufacturer, accomplished? Nothing.

Moody's Carpet Care holds dual certifications plus the CRI Seal of Approval. We are a Certified Firm thru the IICRC and are also certified thru the C/R (Certification Registry) In 2002 we qualified for the Seal of Approval as a carpet cleaning company. At least CRI made a attempt to get Retailers,Installers and Carpet Cleaners to distinguish themselves by committing to a higher standard of knowledge and service. This program had little interest by our (Carpet Cleaning Industry) What a shame. The suggestion of liscenseing as are Plumbers , Electricians and Pest Control people may be the only answer. I am for anything that would make us more proffessional in how we serve the public. For what we charge, we owe it to them.

Ray,
Great point. As I said in my original post...can you say "Grassroots Organization"? I would love to see the IICRC take the initiative....
call me sometime at 252 341 6599.

What about companies like Miliken who tell the customer they will void the warranty if they don't use Milicare to clean their carpets?