Anybody here sick of this IICRC shagainery...........

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

Is there anybody else here working for a living that is sick of this IICRC shit or have I just not found the right cool aid?

 

[Bob Foster]

What people are sick of is how it was run. What we've been discussing lately is how it possibly could be run better. Probably the biggest changes in years have recently occurred that look positive. The most visible changes have more to do with who has left and who had become involved.

One real functional change that did occurred is the new professional manger who administrates the organization

What some people are rightly concerned about is if these changes are real and genuine.

So if your pissed off about the IICRC tell us specifically what you're pissed off about?

 

[Leslie Judson Jones]

Is there anybody else here working for a living that is sick of this IICRC shit or have I just not found the right cool aid?

I would invest it in rental property

 

[ACE]

The IICRC is the best thing to happen to our industry.

It’s not a marketing company and the IICRC has never produced a single job for me. I would not drink a beer with anyone in on their committees, but I’m glad there is an organization training techs and establishing industry standards.

What do you expect? It’s a bunch of old salts running the show, kind of like this board .

 

[Dmreed4311]

Been in business 16 years and have never had anything to do with them except for taking one course in the begininning. Never in 16 years had any customer ever mentioned them or ask if we have their certification. some people find thei clasees helpfull

 

[kevinj61]

having someone or some company setting industry standards such as the IICRC is a good thing but they need to get out of bed with the truck mount manufactures and the carpet mill people if ya know what i mean, it's good for a beginner to the carpet cleaning business to lean the basic's to help them get going but other than that don't need them, don't need to be certified by them either, lets face it carpet cleaning isn't rocket science, and really, for a new guy just starting out you can lean everything you need to know from these boards and your local supply business such as a interlink supply or adco pro or whatever store you have in your area, the rest is all just practice makes perfect, the more you do it the better you get-I've been cleaning for a combined 10 years and many others much longer, iv'e never ever had a customer ask if i was was IICRC Certified, most customers never even heard of them in the 1st place--being IICRC certified doesn't automaticly make you a better cleaner then the next guy who isn't, being a great cleaner only comes from time and experience, has nothing to do with the IICRC--just my opinion.

 

[dan mabes]

Scott
Several years ago I would have completely agreed with you. In 2008, extremely upset with the direction the IICRC was taking, I simply did not renew any of my 19 IICRC certifications. King JB and Queen RT simply had too much influence which allowed them to benefit financially, along with their "friends", to our detriment.

I serve on the IICRC BOD now. In the last few years there has been a tremendous shift in the direction the IICRC has taken. Now there is a paid PROFESSIONAL President. There is a new Ansi Standards Director, and an Education Task Force among other things. Contracts are put out for bid, and nominations for Officer positions are posted on the IICRC website so anyone can submit nominations for these positions. There are several new members on the BOD who have helped to contribute to the changes listed above. Several longtime critics of the IICRC (extremely professional and talented individuals in the industry) have noticed and commented on the changes they have seen.

In the 13 years I had my certifications, it is true that no one ever asked about the IICRC or if I had any certifications. But the education I received was invaluable to my skills and the growth of my business.
Send me an email if you like, dan@mastercarecorp.com, or call me on my cell 860-234-5834 if you'd like any more information.

Dan M

 

[randy]

If the IICRC was smart they would extend a period of time where any tech that allowed their creds to expire could renew without having to retake the classes etc. Realize as a board that people had very good reason to turn their backs on the IICRC and welcome them back into the fold without penalty. I would send letters out to everyone with lapsed creds offering that.

 

[Hoody]

If the IICRC was smart they would extend a period of time where any tech that allowed their creds to expire could renew without having to retake the classes etc. Realize as a board that people had very good reason to turn their backs on the IICRC and welcome them back into the fold without penalty. I would send letters out to everyone with lapsed creds offering that.

Great suggestion Randy!

 

[Bob Foster]

Just a couple of days ago I received a letter from the IICRC that the committee had voted to approve my request for reinstatement of past certifications.

They also said that my reinstatement was contingent upon them receiving $285 for back fees and reinstatement fees. :shock:

 

[Ron Werner]

I just happen to be considering reinstating my Master Cert.
Just got the letter that says since my certs all expired in 08, I need 2 CECs in a Mstr category (thats done, cost me $1500 to fly to San Fran for Steve Marshes Uph class- money well spent!), Indicate whether I belong to a trade assoc (I currently don't but its $400+/yr), show proof of past certs. Once they have all the info, I will be considered, then an invoice for "annual and reinstatement fees" will be mailed. When they get the fees I'll be reinstated.

I guess for proof of past certs I can mail them my 08 IICRC card :roll: Hec, they certified me and are asking me for proof I was certified???
The ONLY reason I'm considering it is like me getting BBB accredation, credibility with clients. They don't know beans about IICRC, but they see "Certified", thats all they see.

 

[The Great Oz]

Ron,
The CCINW costs $200 per year - $375 per year if you want to get $500 back in education credit per year.

Would have paid half of your class, and anything left over could be used for another seminar or convention.

AND, you'd have Tony as your IICRC rep.

 

[Ron Werner]

I get a Rep now??? Is that like an MP? :roll:

 

[Marc Imbesi]

If the IICRC was smart they would extend a period of time where any tech that allowed their creds to expire could renew without having to retake the classes etc. Realize as a board that people had very good reason to turn their backs on the IICRC and welcome them back into the fold without penalty. I would send letters out to everyone with lapsed creds offering that.

LOVE IT!

 

[Ron Werner]

I'd second that!

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

Since many let their Master Cleaner status lapse due to the old King and Queen passing making Color Repair an additional requirement to keep the status (even though people had already earned and paid for it...) then I think something should be done to acknowledge this protest... because Lord knows, Color Repair is NOT needed to be a Master Cleaner, the motivation was to sell more classes for certain people, and not because of any dire need by consumers to have MC's with color experience.

(By the way... that is all just my opinion....)

So, if they are retroactively requiring MC's to take another class, then IICRC should take some of that large (and largely wasted) marketing budget and give vouchers to every MC to pay for the course. Having more active MC's is better marketing than anything else.

I also think they should create a "amnesty" on all the past dues for these dropped off MC's in particular, because this change was colored with political bias.

Or... the current board could simply undo that requirement, or provide a substitute that would be easier to find and take, because very few teach that damn class...

So Dan M. and Tony - think any of those ideas are possible? :mrgreen:

Lisa

 

[harryhides]

Since many let their Master Cleaner status lapse due to the old King and Queen passing making Color Repair an additional requirement to keep the status (even though people had already earned and paid for it...) then I think something should be done to acknowledge this protest... because Lord knows, Color Repair is NOT needed to be a Master Cleaner, the motivation was to sell more classes for certain people, and not because of any dire need by consumers to have MC's with color experience.

So, if they are retroactively requiring MC's to take another class, then IICRC should take some of that large (and largely wasted) marketing budget and give vouchers to every MC to pay for the course. Having more active MC's is better marketing than anything else.

I also think they should create a "amnesty" on all the past dues for these dropped off MC's in particular, because this change was colored with political bias.

Or... the current board could simply undo that requirement, or provide a substitute that would be easier to find and take, because very few teach that damn class...

So Dan M. and Tony - think any of those ideas are possible? :mrgreen:
Lisa

Lisa, I am but one Board member but having said that, if there is the will to enact some of those ideas, then I do not see why it cannot be done.

 

[Bob Foster]

Timing is everything. Maybe show and demonstrate good reasons to pay up the IICRC? New faces would make all the difference.

 

[Mikey P]

Look out mama, there's a white boat comin' up the river
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you better call John
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away, I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun and it's making me brave
Daddy's gone, my brother's out huntin' in the mountains
Big John's been drinkin' since the river took Annie-Lou
So the powers that he left me here to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin' what to do
The closer it got the more those feelings grew

Daddy's rifle in my hand felt re-assurin'
He told me,"Red means run son, numbers add up to nothing"
But when the first shot hit the dock I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flash in the sky

Shelter me from the Powder and the Finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never feared
You fade away so young
There's so much left undone
Remember me for my love, I know I miss her

 

[bob vawter]

Red and swollen tears tumble from her eyes
While cold silver birds who came to cruise the skies
Send death down to bend and twist her tiny hands
And then proceed to target "B" in keeping with their plans

Khaki priests of Christendom interpreters of love
Ride a stone Leviathan across a sea of blood
And pound their feet into the sand of shores they've never seen
Delegates from the western land to join the death machine
And we send cards and letters.

The oxen lie beside the road their bodies baked in mud
And fat flies chew out their eyes then bathe themselves in blood
And super heroes fill the skies, tally sheets in hand
Yes, keeping score in times of war takes a superman

The junk crawls past hidden death its cargo shakes inside
And soldier children hold their breath and kill them as they hide
And those who took so long to learn the subtle ways of death
Lie and bleed in paddy mud with questions on their breath
And we send prayers and praises.

Country Joe McDonald

 

[Shorty]

One thing that always irked me with the IICRC was the on-going fee structure.

I don't mind doing courses, and paying for those courses along with all the added expenses such as:

Travel (You think you pay too much shiteatinggrin shiteatinggrin shiteatinggrin ) ?

Accommodation

Meals

Possible loss of wages whilst away from the business.

Etc; etc; the list goes on..........

To me, that is part and parcel of learning.

What I object to, as I alluded in my first sentence, is way in which IICRC always got to extract money from you.

Such as if you don't get enough credits, or do a follow-up course withing two years, you lose your certification.

Now maybe I have got that a bit wrong, it's been a while since I was a paid up certified member, but I beieve that is the gist of what stirred me.

You guys over there, a lot of you go to these fancy universities and get to stick a bunch of letters after your name.

Are you required to do a follow-up course every couple of years from that same university to retain those letters. ??

Or go to some trade shows such as Connections etc; (social functions ), and gain some brown nose points. Ivebeensold Not sure if that's the righ term. :roll:

I believe in trying to keep up with as much as possible in our profession, and if that includes doing refresher courses, so be it.

But to lose your certification after one has proven oneself, because you haven't done the above, it's just like a case of instant amnesia.

"Sorry Mrs Piffleton, I can't do that, I didn't pay my dues & I've forgotten what to do".

Gimme a break.

I personally would like to see a major overhaul of the IICRC to get it set on the course it was originally designed for, certification of our profession, and NOT an endless pit for making money for executives by "add-ons", to suit their cause.

All the structure is in place, thousands of us have paid for it, to see it all fall over would be a bloody shame and (in my opinion), a sad loss, especially for those new people joining our profession that are going to need the training and support of their peers.

I also feel it's time our profession was made a trade to further impress our knowledge amongst our clients and help keep the scammers at bay.

Let's try and keep this post serious for the sake of those that may follow in our footsteps.







Otherwise Cucu has my permission to bust yer kneecaps & drown you in Guinness. shiteatinggrin

 

[dday]

I was a certified tech/certified firm for years. I was too receive my Master cert when they sprung the "color tech" requirement. Being color-blind, I had not much hope of ever being proficient at color repair. I voluntarily ended my all affiliation with the IICRC at that time.

The IICRC took and took and took for years ... if the "new" IICRC continues take without any give, then it is same thing with different beneficiaries. A $10 fee ought to pay for the issue of a new certified ID card.

Certified firm fee should be lower and cover years, not a year.

Certification in one area should be automatically renewed at no cost. I was a certified inspection mechanic in PA twenty-five years ago - and I still get my new card every four years for the cost of a stamp.

The IICRC is built on a recurring revenue model - that is no way to run a certifying body, especially if it is allegedly a "non-profit." Either a person is knowledgeable and certified or he/she is not. Once certified, that status should not depend on coughing another $50/year per cert every year for life, plus an annual certified firm fee!

I like the education and I like the classes, and I have no problem taking days off and traveling to Jon Don to learn new skills and refresh old ones and I have no problem paying for those course.

I do have a problem getting nickled and dimed, or Grant- and Franklin'd, every year of my life until I retire.

So until that recurring revenue, "screw the cleaner" mentality passes into the sunset, screw the IICRC.

I know a lot of good people invested a lot of their time and talent to the organization. But those good works are tainted by the blind eyes they turned to the darker practices of the organization while hard working cleaners were opening wallets to support the financial vices of the leadership. People knew what was going on, and allowed it to continue for an immorally long time.

I'd be willing to join a MIICRC - Mikey's Institute for Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification. This industry needs to scrap the remnants of the terminally dishonest IICRC, and build an entirely new organization with new people, and at least 50% of those people should be in the trenches cleaners and restorers - whether owner/ops or multi-truck operators.

 

[dan mabes]

Several of you have posted some very constructive comments and they are worth pursuing. Thank you for your positive posts. I too will see what can be done. Progress may be slower than desired, but if the progress is there at least you know things are heading in the right direction
Dan M

 

[GCP]

having someone or some company setting industry standards such as the IICRC is a good thing but they need to get out of bed with the truck mount manufactures and the carpet mill people if ya know what i mean, it's good for a beginner to the carpet cleaning business to lean the basic's to help them get going but other than that don't need them, don't need to be certified by them either, lets face it carpet cleaning isn't rocket science, and really, for a new guy just starting out you can lean everything you need to know from these boards and your local supply business such as a interlink supply or adco pro or whatever store you have in your area, the rest is all just practice makes perfect, the more you do it the better you get-I've been cleaning for a combined 10 years and many others much longer, iv'e never ever had a customer ask if i was was IICRC Certified, most customers never even heard of them in the 1st place--being IICRC certified doesn't automaticly make you a better cleaner then the next guy who isn't, being a great cleaner only comes from time and experience, has nothing to do with the IICRC--just my opinion.

exactly...

 

[harryhides]

I agree with Dan's comment above and so for those of you that would like to see some fresh faces on the Board, you can now for the first time in the history of the iicrc, participate in the process of determining the make up of the Board. The deadline for Nominations is this Friday and all you have to do is to go here -

http://www.iicrc.org/iicrc-nomination-recommendation.shtml

Fill out the info of ANY person that you feel would represent your views and submit your Nomination. You may Nominate as many people as you wish but they do need to be people that are willing to be on the Board if elected.

 

[bob vawter]

I agree with Dan's comment above and so for those of you that would like to see some fresh faces on the Board, you can now for the first time in the history of the iicrc, participate in the process of determining the make up of the Board. The deadline for Nominations is this Friday and all you have to do is to go here -

http://www.iicrc.org/iicrc-nomination-recommendation.shtml

Fill out the info of ANY person that you feel would represent your views and submit your Nomination. You may Nominate as many people as you wish but they do need to be people that are willing to be on the Board if elected.

are we allowed to vote for ....oursefs? 8)

 

[Ron Werner]

what are the requirements to be on the board? ie obligations, travel etc

IS there anyone reading this post that would like to be nominated?

 

[harryhides]

Bawb, Yes, although it is a tad tacky.

Ron, most of the requirements are listed on the Form that you will find on the above link.
Travel expense are covered, you time in most cases is not.

 

[Ron Werner]

Duty of Loyalty

The duty of loyalty is a standard of faithfulness; a board member must give undivided allegiance when making decisions affecting the organization. This means that a board member can never use information obtained as a member for personal gain, but must act in the best interests of the organization.

Is this a new one?? Seems I've heard a lot about directors not having this "duty".

Mission of the IICRC


The mission of IICRC is to identify and promote an international standard of care that creates and maintains the health, safety and welfare of the built environment.

Interesting way to word it.

 

[bob vawter]

Bawb, Yes, although it is a tad tacky.

well we MUST hold serve!!!