Do you want your techs customizing the cleaning or to stick to one method..?

[Mikey P]

After spending a week training our newest tech, I started to think that expecting new hires to figure out what is best for each and every situation really could be too much to expect.

Some companies can afford to have a guy work as a helper for 6 months or more before they are responsible for picking which pre-spray and rinse would be best. Other companies need the tech to be able to set up and start cleaning far earlier than that.

One prespray and boost with Oxy or Solvent when needed?
3 or 4 presprays?
One rinse or three?
7 spotters or just a bar of Fels?

Train with the top dog or owner for as long as needed or send them to IICRC or Manufacturer classes? or both?


Joe Appleby's request for a do it all prespray for carpet, uph and in home rugs is making more and more sense to me now..

I'd love to hear how you go about training your new hires about chemicals and methods.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Joe Appleby's request for a do it all prespray for carpet, uph and in home rugs is making more and more sense to me now..

We keep it simple but we don't clean the more demanding situations (apts, restaurants).

2 presprays, 1-for residential and 1 for commercial. No chemists on staff, no peroxide, no boosting unless specified prior by the estimator. In house training if they stick with us for a while then we get them certified. In house training is still far more valuable because its tailored to our company and not just generic training.

 

[Russ T.]

Chavez knows the value of a guy who's comfortable with a rotary extractor. A tech can simplify the chemistry simply by using a RE.

My focus will be getting a guy comfortable on it from the very beginning. That way he can be a hero without the need to be a chemist.

A lot of the top presprays are sufficient for 90% of what I see every day because I use a RE.

 

[hogjowl]

It's really hard on anal retentive narcissists to understand that not everybody cares about them or their needs. I suspect you need to keep it simple and communicate often because I suspect he really doesn't GAS.

 

[Old Coastie]

New guy here. I hire for heart and honesty; skills can be taught. We train on their house, or their mother's. I take them to empty move-outs to get comfortable with the 175 and CRB. They get wand time, vacuum time and absorb the ethic of serving the customer. I have them dress neatly like the others and make ID cards for them. They have all taken an interest and sense of ownership in their work and even though I'd sometimes like to flog 'em, it is a process. In time they will mature.

I hope.

 

[Mikey P]

dang, I like that....clean their or their family's house.


Great idea.


Welcome Stephen, got any more gems?

 

[hogjowl]

Where's the rebel flag on I-65 located?

 

[Old Coastie]

Haha, hogjowl, c'mon down to Bama and let me show you. We LOVE Yankees!

Taste like chicken...

 

[Brian H]

We really don't have new guys working alone. In the past though, new guys were to clean by the book. No freelancing trying different methods or chemical mixtures.

More experienced guys (but not all of them) are encouraged to try other things if they are not getting good results. I'm okay with it as long as I have confidence they know what they are doing.

We have had some great success over the years when the crews are doing that extra something to give the customer a positive experience. We have even changed some methods over the years because of things we have learned that work well.

I also have some horror stories of guys not knowing what they were doing and trying to freelance. At a former company I ran, we used to use a 111 Trichloroethane product as a spotter for grease spots, etc. I had a new guy figure he could save a step if he just dumped it in the cleaning concentrate. We had to rebuild the pump, replace the metering valve, replace all the quick connects, etc.

 

[hogjowl]

Haha, hogjowl, c'mon down to Bama and let me show you. We LOVE Yankees!

Taste like chicken...

I was born, raised and still live south of that flag. If YOU live north of Clanton then YOU'RE the Yankee!

 

[Desk Jockey]

and what's wrong with being a Yankee? Upset because we have "teeth" not "tooth" and we marry strangers, not our relatives. Our homes don't have wheels and we don't tawk funny neither.

 

[ruff]

I was born, raised and still live south of that flag. If YOU live north of Clanton then YOU'RE the Yankee!

Yea. Yea.
But do you still taste like kosher chicken, Julep?

 

[ruff]

Chavez Resto is still working on teaching their techs how to stir a pre-spray.

It's work in progress. Currently, Rich or Dan or any original family member, premixes at headquarters. Rich will keep us informed on each and every exciting shred of positive developments.

Roger, Richard?

 

[hogjowl]

and what's wrong with being a Yankee? Upset because we have "teeth" not "tooth" and we marry strangers, not our relatives. Our homes don't have wheels and we don't tawk funny neither.

Dont pretend to be a white guy, Taco.

 

[hogjowl]

I taste like pork.
Not chicken.

 

[steve_64]

and what's wrong with being a Yankee? Upset because we have "teeth" not "tooth" and we marry strangers, not our relatives. Our homes don't have wheels and we don't tawk funny neither.

Sooo, Youve never been to mMichigan have you.

 

[Desk Jockey]

They have Mexican's in Michigan? I didn't know I was free to go there.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Dont pretend to be a white guy, Taco.

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

prespray?

 

[steve_64]

They have Mexican's in Michigan? I didn't know I was free to go there.

Only during the summer. Somebody has to pick all the fruits and veggies.

 

[handdi]

tawk funny funny

 

[Jim Pemberton]

New guy here. I hire for heart and honesty; skills can be taught. We train on their house, or their mother's. I take them to empty move-outs to get comfortable with the 175 and CRB. They get wand time, vacuum time and absorb the ethic of serving the customer. I have them dress neatly like the others and make ID cards for them. They have all taken an interest and sense of ownership in their work and even though I'd sometimes like to flog 'em, it is a process. In time they will mature.

I hope.

Great post Stephen

I think training them at their home or mom's is a stroke of genius. They are in comfortable surroundings, and know the "story" of the place better than they ever will anywhere else.

Semi related comment:

I know a cleaner who prefers to hire employees whose parents had their carpets cleaned professionally growing up. That isn't always easy, as those who can pay for carpet cleaning often send their children off to "bigger and better things" than working for a carpet cleaner, but those who grew up in a where that value system of paying for cleaning existed have a better "instinctive feel" for the job, and the value of what they do.

As a distributor I've found that people who had parent's who had their carpet cleaned, or had their own carpet cleaned professionally in the past, become more successful carpet cleaners than those who never understood the value of the service before they began to offer it themselves.

 

[steve_64]

i learned on my house and my family and friends when i started.
it makes sense to have employees do the same. come to think of it thats what ive done too, that and on apartments.