Werner Braun interview

[Mikey P]

I've locked the Hot Seat for tonight.
I hope he comes back tomorrow to answer the many questions he could not or chose not to deal with tonight.


If you have any comments on how it went tonight please post them here.

 

[cu]

rough night for mr b me thinks , but for the most all he did was dodge questions with lame answers and took a long time to do so with no real feeling
should run for congress or something
he knew what he was in for from the last time, someone should offer to take him out on a truck for a day....where,s ken snow when you need him

 

[-JB-]

Oh listen to you two hacks!

 

[truckmount girl]

That was not easy for him. Lots of TOUGH questions asked and a lot of frustration vented.

I think he did pretty well considering the volume of questions, the real test will be in how well he comes back and answers the unanswered questions, fills in the sketchy ones and keeps us aprised of the new developments.

Asking for INPUT before implementing protocols, procedures and standards would do a lot to give the program credibility.

We will see what transpires in the next few days.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[joey895]

I just read that whole thing and I agree he should be a politician. He answered alot of questions without actually answering any questions.

 

[-JB-]

Problem is as I have said numerous times before, this industry's veterans are some of the most honest, down to earth folks I've ever met, that kinda goes against the grain of corporate America doesn't it?

That's fine with me.

 

[The Cleaning Artist]

I work for several large law firms. I traded a cleaning for our attorney to go over some information that I supplied him with about the cri/soa program. I have had a few phone calls for more sources of information for him and he has already picked it apart in a very short time. Just waiting to see if there is enough fruit for the warrant. Only time will tell.

Remember these words, REQUIRE and RECOMMEND.

As non soa members we will have to play hard on the RECOMMENDED but not REQUIRED language.

I will start advertising again spending my money mentioning in my ads the RD with it's gold rating and asking the homeowners are they happy with the results from rental machines? If not call a true professional that delivers results that far exceed any rental machine!

The more light that is shined the dirtier this scheme is!

 

[The Cleaning Artist]

I don't plan on cleaning on the moon T.
No need to be nasa approved

 

[Fon Johnson]

I agree with the dancing around questions but it does appear that the program is evolving. I think that it is slowly becoming clear to them (maybe) that there is a difference between testing in a lab and real world cleaning. Without real world soil, the testing almost seems to be a moot point.

Another funny thing is that someone mentioned "Consumer Reports" regarding testing products. My father in law seems to live by them as if it were a bible. I have found their reports to be WRONG and FLAWED on more than one occassion. My in laws went out with my wife and bought a car without my knowledge (OH YEAH, IT WENT BACK THE NEXT DAY!!!!) The car they found that they just HAD to buy was oh so highly rated by CR. EVERY mechanic I have talked to told me to stay away from that POS. I have also compared CR to real world reviews on independant bulletin boards, etc. They often do not match up! Lab testing "aint" always "where it's at".

 

[Mike Brummett]

The man has guts, that's for damn sure, whether you agree with the CRI-SOA program or not.

He had a hell of a lot more anger directed his way this evening than any hot seat guest that I have read, but he handled it like a gentleman, which is a damn site better than many on this end behaved.

For some reason he is supposed to KNOW EVERYTHING about the mills motives and every detail about every test done on every machine and chemical ever tested.
I'm impressed that he could cite many of the details that he did, given the barrage and nature of many of the questions.

But, because he's human, like the rest of us, and can't possibly address every question with a minutia of detail, in this format, that makes him a crook and CRI the Mafia.

Much of this anger is misplaced, and many of the questions directed at the wrong entity.

It would be good to get a rep on here from Shaw or Mohawk as well as someone from Professional Testing Labs, to do a hot seat interview or two.

MIKE

 

[The Preacher]

MIKE B.

if the CRI doesn't know what the mills are up to who would???

i think they are paid by the $$$ the mills spend in dues to be a part of the CRI.

How many mill executives are on the CRI board or on a committee of the CRI???

 

[Bob Foster]

This whole thing is to draw focus to us cleaners instead of fixing the problem - crappy carpet and crappy installs and crappy misapplication of carpets for intended use.

Its a deflection from the real issues. The last think they need to worry about is a Rug Doctor or even a lousy cleaner.

Divide and conquer is their tactic and with the bunch we are that won't be hard to do until someone throws together a class action lawsuit.

 

[Mike Brummett]

Danny,
Read my post again. It is not about CRI, the orginization, it is about ONE individual who is part of that orginization, Werner Braun.

There are over 400 carpet mills and one person is not going to know every detail about all of their policies, operations and decisions.

Most good managers delegate a lot of decision making to others. The larger the outfit, the more it is necessary. Hand in hand with that: the better the manager, the more he/she delegates.

Consequently, the person at the top is usually NOT a walking encylopaedia of every tidbit of information.

This is why I went on to suggest that OTHERS should be interviewed as well.

As I understand it, the guy in the KNOW at CRI about SOA is not Werner Braun, it is Ken McIntosh. Werner is aware of the overall scope of the program, but Ken probably has a much larger cache of details about SOA, at his disposal.

Everyone wants to rag on Mr. Braun for not addressing/answering every single question asked with a straight YES or NO, but it just isn't that simple.

If the customer asks YOU "Will this stain come out of may carpet?", Do YOU answer with a YES or NO? Most experienced cleaners do not. They say something like: "Mrs. Jones, we will make every effort to do our best to remove that stain, but it may not come out completely. This is because some stains cause dye changes or even bleaching that is often not revealed until after cleaning."

To take the same analogy a bit further: After you explain REALITY to the customer in those terms, does the customer call you a liar or say that you are a slick politician?

Because you did NOT give a straight YES or NO answer. What you said, in fact was, "I DON'T KNOW."


Think about it.............


MIKE