Frickin' lawsuits...

[LisaWagnerCRS]

Unless you've been under a rock (and maybe you have been...) you should be aware of a number of lawsuits being filed against small and large restorers, and restoration manufacturers, by Thermapure regarding "high heat" patent infringement.

Having run a business in CA forever, I can tell you this... whether the lawsuits are legitimate, or frivolous, we all still end up paying in the end. It drives up costs for everyone.

So even though I am NOT a restorer, and I do not dry structures with high heat (my only high heat is my hair dryer), I am still keeping connected to what is happening on this issue, because I am a user of restoration equipment to dry my rugs... and if these lawsuits go the wrong way, that WILL impact me financially.

Tomorrow at 12pm Pacific, Ed Cross is having a webinar on this topic specifically. (Not my hair dryer, but the lawsuits.)

He will be covering the objects of the patents, the Thermapure Process and how it relates to drying, and the challenges to the validity of the patents - and other potential defenses.

Even if you are not directly impacted by this issue, it's my tendency as a professional in this industry to be aware of the big picture on things like these so I am prepared and informed. But that's me... I hate being sucker punched.

The webinar is $50. If you've ever gotten on the phone with a lawyer before, you know that fifty bucks is pretty much free compared to hourly rates of these guys. =)

CLICK TO SIGN UP => http://www.restorationdefense.org/content/webinar

If you have never been on a webinar before, it's easy. You hit a link to watch it, and your headphones to listen to it... or you can call in and listen by phone. So even if you are not at a computer tomorrow, you can call in and simply listen no matter where you are.

We always record our webinars and calls - it's pretty standard to do that because it's just a push of a button. I have not seen that Ed will be doing so for this one, but I assume he will be. So even if you cannot make the webinar "live" - I'd sign up regardless, and if it happens to not be recorded, then you can just get a refund... it's a tiny amount of money, so that would be an easy refund.

If it seems like I'm nagging people to be on the call... I am. I've seen some of the behind the scenes details from some of the various parties involved, and I have to say, this problem needs to be addressed and fought as a collective group to find the best possible solution as soon as possible. This is a really big deal.

I appreciate Ed stepping up to be the advocate for the industry on this one, and I'm doing what I can to help spread the word. That's the one thing everyone can count on from me... a complete inability to keep my big mouth shut. =)

Hope to see you all on the call.

Lisa

 

[John Buxton]

"The more I think about it old Billy was right, let's kill all the lawyers, kill 'em tonight,"

 

[Bjorn]

this your new crusade

how much do you want to bet this crosss dude is going to be the star speaker at liisas next event

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

this your new crusade

how much do you want to bet this crosss dude is going to be the star speaker at liisas next event

Don't know if I could afford his speaker's fee... he's almost as much as Joe is. :mrgreen:

We do have a large loss and multiple loss restoration symposium in May in Nashville for our members, it's a literal training event from how to go market for the work, land the jobs, and then make sure you get paid for it. It's a members only event, and will sell out, like our last one did... but Ed Cross is not a speaker at it. Sorry to disappoint you Terry.

I'm sharing Ed's information because I think it's important to... and he's a friend and I support my friends, especially when they are doing the right things.

But thanks for giving me crap Terry. It reminds me how this place is just like "family" sometimes... :shock:

Lisa

 

[joeynbgky]

Are you two going to fight or hug in Nashville?

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

Are you two going to fight or hug in Nashville?

Are you kidding? I'm going to SELL him something!

I gotta be me!
Lisa

 

[Jimmy L]

:shock:

 

[Desk Jockey]

Your involvement with this marketing venture has tarnished your image in the industry.

Hell Jimmy that alone is reason to like her!

 

[XTREME1]

WINNING

 

[The Great Oz]

Come on guys, Ed Cross is the real deal, and I'd make a point to hear what he has to say. This case isn't about getting a group together to try and take money from a corporation, it's about getting together to stop a corporation from taking money from everyone.

 

[Burtz]

like chemd who

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

I agree with ODIN as it's all about self promotion Lisa.

When does it end?

Your envolvement with this marketing venture has tarnished your image in the industry.

Stick with being the Rug Chick and leave the sleazy marketing tactics to Joe.

My rug business was built on strong education-based marketing systems, which is also at the core of the Piranha systems. Business is ALL about marketing, it's about conveying your value in a way that makes the sale a win/win. And some of us are more skilled at that than others. And we enjoy it more. =) I absolutely love to teach.

And there is nothing sleazy, or tarnished, about me or my work in this industry. And I'd point out at least I have "a mark" I've made in this industry...I'm not sure what you've done lately. I'm not even sure who you are.

Anyway, this webinar has nothing to do with Piranha, or with me. It was something I shared, like I would a book I liked, or a class I liked.

It's Terry's job to give me crap. Quit stepping on his toes...

Lisa

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

Did you guys know that Water-out filed Chapter 11 because of this Thermapure lawsuit?

I did not know about that until today's call - which had a really clear overview of the basic of patent violations, and what constitutes them - and the current parties being sued.

I was wondering why I had not seen Charlie Cressy around... it's a shame to see a company go under because of something like this.

Lisa

 

[sweendogg]

While slightly off topic... Lisa whatever happen the photos and pictures from the last event? Never heard or saw a word about them!

 

[joeynbgky]

Lisa sleazy? I think not. Untill shes walking around drinking vodka out of her starbucks cup. Wearing a low cut shirt with fake boobs hanging out........ Thats sleazy Lisa is Classy..

I would like for Lisa and joe to take over a carpet cleaning company.. (run it) for 3 months themselfs........ And let all of us know how they turned it around. And that there stuff really works... I'll be the guinea pig.. I mean I think they should do this, just to prove to you losers their stuff works... Besides that will give them better insight to the business

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

Lisa sleazy? I think not. Untill shes walking around drinking vodka out of her starbucks cup. Wearing a low cut shirt with fake boobs hanging out........ Thats sleazy Lisa is Classy..

I would like for Lisa and joe to take over a carpet cleaning company.. (run it) for 3 months themselfs........ And let all of us know how they turned it around. And that there stuff really works... I'll be the guinea pig.. I mean I think they should do this, just to prove to you losers their stuff works... Besides that will give them better insight to the business

I'm not sleazy... I'm scratchy (it's the wool).

Joey - you can go to http://www.gottnow.com to opt in for the info to build your business. It's free.

You couldn't pay me enough to step in and clean up some of the messes others have in their companies. So I gotta be the parent and tell them to clean up their own damn room... and give them the tools to do it. =)

Lisa

 

[LisaWagnerCRS]

While slightly off topic... Lisa whatever happen the photos and pictures from the last event? Never heard or saw a word about them!

Yeah, I wrote about this some over on Cleanfax. Actually, I should put some of the photos and video clips up into Shutterfly, I'll see if I can get my assistant to do that (I hate the tech stuff...)

The most interesting thing from all of the "amateur" cleaning tests by "professional" cleaners (which thankfully Tony and Jim and several members helped to coordinate and execute) was this... actually several interesting things. One was the willingness of many to want to be involved... but very worried about having anything published/released. =) So I promised nothing involving anyone in particular would go out without an okay...

I don't think this was a worry about the performance of their tools... I think it was more at that time a worry about being publicly "linked" to me. I didn't take it personally. I get that a lot... would love your help Lisa... but could you not mention it. LOL. That's why I love not working for a big corporation.

Anyway there were things that we said we'd do differently next time, soiling the pieces, measuring the differences, etc. My hope is that Tony will take what we saw in AZ and can leverage that into some more specific real-world tests, even along the lines of what Gelinas did at Connections on his own (I loved that).

But here was something. We saw some clear differences in performance between the rental unit and truck mount of course - but we saw SIGNIFICANT improvement with the SAME piece of equipment but DIFFERENT users. For example, a test with one item that tested well, would test significantly better when tested by a person who actually owned and used the machine involved.

So those not just trained - but trained specifically on a particular machine - showed a substantial difference.

Now... the SOA tests do not use trained cleaners. Or I should say, they do not incorporate real application of a tool in their tests. It's certain strokes in a certain way, etc.

So there is no relevance or impact of proper training in their studies. It is solely the soil and tool - the tech is absent.

And what we saw was that the biggest game changer was between the good and great was the technician and his/her training as it related to the piece of equipment.

That was my biggest takeaway on the testing front.

My other biggest takeaway was seeing how easy it was to completely overtake internet search numbers on a blog started at ground zero over a long established corporate entity. I knocked them down on several key keywords, and drove more traffic that their site did during the same period. So that was pretty revealing also. And after seeing the president's performance at Connections... and looking at some of the backstage numbers and trends in their business - I just don't see good times on the forefront for them. There is no real innovation or creativity in that group, and with petroleum prices sky-rocketing, I don't see high hopes in store for sales.

Which means more business for cleaners to keep the "not new" like new. =)

Lisa

P.S. By the way - had a question on my blog on what rug to buy for her home based on a new baby coming, and I told her to get Karastan. I really think wool is a better choice all the way around, and I'm curious to see how the hard cost increases right now shape sales of synthetic versus wool in the coming year or two.