Anyone here a IICRC certified firm? I applied for it a week ago and just got an e-mail that I am up on there website. I guess I got it.

Congratulations.

Every cleaner should be IICRC certified once in their career.

Yes, Joe. My firm is IICRC Certified and I serve on the committee. Congrats! Happy to see you on board. Don't hesitate to call or email, or to contact anyone on the BOD if you have questions, concerns or just want to get involved.

Kevin Jones

P. S. For future reference, Rick's board has always avoided these politically charged discussions. I started not to answer for fear of emotionally charged responses.

Good for you Joe, if you want to know who else is CF just go to the iicrc web-site. But remember - you are just a regristrant not a member and have no say in what goes on there unless you become one of the one thousand members worldwide who belong to one of the 16 Associations that owns stock in iicrc or you happen to be one of the ten appointed and able to vote "at large or honorary" members.

Kevin is the one who gets kinda emotional on the boards, but he means well, lol:
Posted By Kevin Jones on 5/23/2007 at 3:24 PM
"I was just bitchin' and gripin' in general."

ps, Kevin there are over 50 committees and TAC's and you'd be surprised how many of your so called, "naysayers" have served on several committees for many years.- see:
http://www.iicrc.org/discus/>

Joe,

Glad to have you as a Certified Firm. We have been a Certified Firm since we went into business. I also serve on the Certified Firm Committee and two other committees.

Kevin Pearson

I'm certified but we aren't a certified firm since we've put alot into equipment and various other expenses (like moving into a larger building and everything that goes with it.)

I'm not on the BOD and honestly not the slightest bit interested in any political aspects of the IICRC.

But within 60 days we will become a certified firm because we see where it will further our interests as a professional flooring company. If you're certified I would suggest kicking out $150 or whatever it is and let everybody know about it.

There's always a very slight chance that, within one year, your business will not get any benefit from it. But there's NO chance that it will hurt.

David Edwards
Carpets To Go
New Bern, NC

How do you get involved with the IICRC. I and my firm are certified. However, this doesn't make alot of difference in the commercial market.

I can be reached at whendrickson@embargmail.com

Thanks to all. I know the politics of this,I have been reading the boards for several months.I got my carpet ceaning certification 4 years ago.Bill Yeadon was my instructor and I learned alot.Great guy very down to earth. I am also going to go for more certs in the future. In my opinion it's a good way to get educated in different areas and at the same time adds to your marketing. Now that I have the CMS program from Rick and a Certified Firm status I think it will be a big plus. By the way I am glad I found Rick and discoverd the encap process. The Cimex and recently purchased Icapsol are great machines.The marketing program is also great stuff and Rick is a cool guy. I've learned alot from all the posters on this board.
Thanks again!

Back in 91 when I first got into the cleaning business I took a lot of IICRC classes and it was a great way to get into the business and learn.

Currently I still am certified as a tech, however don't have certified firm status for my business. It's never been an issue and I've never had a customer ask for it. The only time it comes up is when I bring it up...customers just have no idea what it is. Maybe it's different because I'm in Canada.

For me I don't see the benefit of the IICRC besides their training program which is excellent. From what I've read on other boards it seems like the IICRC has sold out to big business and even if that's not true the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth as well as most cleaners I know. I think they may loose a lot of credibilty on the part of the smaller owner/operator type businesses which still makes up such a huge part of our industry.

Just my opinion.

I go back to the days it was the I.I.C.U.C. and we had all the certifications including IICRC Certified Firm status and I can honestly say that it never put one dime in my pocket, but I sure put many dollars in theirs. We were also members of the old SCT before Ed York sold it to Sonny Bass and then Sonny sold it to the Reets family. Certification has been watered down IMHO, even our "bait and switchers" (in my area) are certified. I have said this before and I'll say it again (not to hurt anyones feelings) but if I give you a "certificate" and you in turn give me a "certificate" in any area we choose, we are both "Certified"

"Certified" down under, has an entirely different meaning for some.

I have a "friend" that was "certified".

She is still in the insane asylum.

Come to think of it, after meeting some "certified" carpet cleaning "professionals" over the years, maybe the meaning could be the same.

Have a great day.

Shorty.

I've seen the light, and changed my ways.

There's more than one reason to be certified. For me, I do it for myself more than my clients. I get a certain satisfaction from it and intend to pursue certification as master cleaner. For my clients? No. So I can jump up and say, "hey, look at me, the master cleaner! Hire me!" Nope. I'm actually glad the IICRC is around and I like taking an active presence within my industry - even if it isn't quite perfect. It gives me even more opportunities to stick my nose in where it probably doesn't belong. Like I said earlier, I'm not interested in the politics but I do find enjoyment in disrupting the process from time to time.

No one that I remember has ever called and said "I want you to come clean my carpets because the IICRC said to call you." However, certain accounts in my area require you to be certified before they'll hire you. Places like the local school districts. The City and County (lots of buildings there, like civic centers, community colleges, regional airports, etc.) Some federal government solicitations (I live near four military bases). Some of the larger companies around here that are a bit more educated about their investments, like Moen, Hatteras Yachts, Bosch and a few others.

When these people ask me if I'm currently certified with the IICRC, I can whip out my certificate or my little card and say "yep." Does it really mean anything? In the sense that someone has mentioned above (Rambo??), no it doesn't. Lots of hacks are certified.

But in a different sense, it very much DOES mean something. It means that when these accounts become available, I've got my foot just as far in the door as anyone else.


David Edwards
Carpets To Go
New Bern, NC