Jim Pemberton
MB Exclusive.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 12,549
- Name
- Jim Pemberton
Why is your brother¹s answering service so expensive? I SO want to answer this question with a question: Why are you so cheap? but I won't because that wouldn't be kind. Instead let me explain that Perceptionist isn't an answering service, it's a scheduling service. As such, Perceptionist only charges when it is able to schedule an appointment for the client. The charge is $20 per appoinment, which I happen to think is a bargain.
Does he have any positive reviews or testimonials they would like to share for the answering service?By "he" I assume you mean me. My company is a client of Perceptionist. I pay the same amount as everyone else. For my company (high-end, personalized service with a high percentage of repeat and referral business) I'd rate it a B. There are some improvements I'd like to see made to make it more personalized, such as using a different script for repeat customers versus new customers. I know they are working on it and I understand the challenges of providing personalized service in a uniform way. The bottom line is that Perceptionist has captured sales for us that we would have missed because Perceptionist answered the phone when it otherwise would have gone to voicemail. As for other testimonials, I'm sure they have a bunch of people you can talk to. You can email my brother, Tiger Downey (yes, he was Tiger before that Tiger), at tdowney@perceptionistinc.com.
How much flack did you receive for naming ED YORK man of Century. By the way, John, we all figured you had some "guts" for doing that!
I don't remember getting any flack for that selection. It was a no brainer. That's not to say that there weren't people against Ed being recognized in that way; it's just that publicly opposing it would be seen for what it was: petty, small-minded and vindictive. And privately opposing it would have no effect because I was already on my way out as editor. (I think the Person of the 20th Century issue was my last as editor.)
Do you really believe that the IICRC has a future? Is the IICRC still relevant?Yes and yes. I think what the future looks like for the IICRC is an open question. Of course I wrote nearly a decade ago that its position was a perilous one and it needed to clean up its act in several ways to move forward into the future. Looking back, some changes were made; but there is a whole lot that hasn't been done that should have been done. Money and power are intoxicating and corrupting, and otherwise good people have done some awful things while under the influence.
As for relevance, practically speaking it's the only game in town for industry certification and, consequently, training. And don't underestimate the lift it gets from the carpet and flooring industry. And although I am too out of the loop to know this for a fact, I suspect the insurance industry gives wind to its sail as well.
Could the 'RICCO' laws be used against the IICRC/CRI/SOA fiasco?
I'm not an attorney, but I would imagine it would be a tall order to get a federal attorney to even open an investigation into the SOA program much less seek a RICO prosecution.
Did you have a role in developing the CRI-SOA program?
I was a member of the CRI committee that developed the program. I left the committee after it had initiated the chemical testing program and about a year before it implemented the equipment testing program.
Did you encourage or coerce manufacturers to have their products included in the CRI SOA program? LOL ... yes! It was me all along behind the scenes prodding and coercing those sheep -- I mean manufacturers -- to go along, knowing full well it would destroy them all! Then the Steamin Demon would come and take over the industry!!!
Seriously, I did talk to Bridgepoint and Jon-Don about getting their consumer spotters approved. The only manufacturer I talked to about the equipment program was my brother Mike (the inventor of the Steamin Demon).
How about a regular post/column on Mikey¹s Board about problems and other happenings in the industry today?While I am flattered by the suggestion, I must decline for two reasons. First, my focus right now is on faith, family and my still pretty new carpet cleaning business in Granville. In particular, my wife has some possibly serious health issues that we need to get a handle on. Second, I am probably the least in-touch person in the industry! I really pay very little attention to industry politics and goings-on. I was immersed in it for about 12 years because my job required it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth that lingers even now.
I can't predict what the future will bring, but for now I need to stay focused on deepening my faith, being a good dad and an attentive husband, and scrubbing rug. However, I will commit to visit Mikey's Board at least once a week and adding my voice if and when it seems appropriate. (And yes, Mike, I will be a sustaining member.)
As a proponent of High Flow, do it as an additional cleaning factor? A rinsing factor? Or is it part of "agitation" (because of the "erosive effect" of the water?)I agree with Scott Warrington's comments several days ago about what is called the cleaning pie (TACT) actually being a soil-suspension pie and that cleaning occurs after the soil is suspended. The high-flow rinse and extraction is the soil removal (cleaning) process. Jim P. and I had a discussion the other day and he thinks high-flow aids soil suspension and should be considered part of "agitation." I see his point. There is a commonly used factor in the pressure washing industry called "impact rate," and the equation used to measure impact rate shows that high flow (3.5 gpm at 60 psi) and truckmounts (1.2 gpm at 400 psi) generate about the same impact rate. Still, it is my experience that the unique benefit of high-flow is that the flushing action results in better soil removal.
How many people did your cleaning company employ at its "peak"?
14 trucks (mostly one-man).
What was your pricing structure?
Room pricing. We would charge different prices for different rooms. For instance, a living room or family room would be $29.95. A dining room would be $20, a kitchen $12, kitchen with with eating $20, bedroom $25, bedroom traffic areas $15. (That was in the early 80s.)
By the way, my father was the originator of room pricing in carpet cleaning (1961 or 1962). So now you all know who to blame: Downey!
Is your current cleaning business model different from your original one?The orignal business dates to 1897, and although I feel that old on some days, I'm not; so I don't know what the original business model was. My company in Granville (Downey's Carpet Care of Granville) is substantially different than the original company in Columbus (John M. Downey Carpet Cleaning). Mine is a high-end, personalized-service, mom-and-pop type company. Columbus is volume oriented: moderate prices, good but not great service, 7 crews. I still price by the room in my Granville business (from $25 for a kichen to $79 for a great room). The little advertising I do is testimonial. I don't do price related "specials."
You and your father both "grew up" in the same town as Stanley Steemer was started in. Any insight into competing with the "Yellow Trucks"?
My dad and Jack Bates (the founder of Stanley Steemer) were friends going back to the 50s. Bates actually credited my dad for giving him many of the ideas that he used to get the Stanley Steemer franchise started. (He'd stop by the office a couple times a year, in his Rolls Royce and flashing a big diamond on his finger, and rub it in!) As for competing with Stanley Steemer, we found that it was best to offer something different than them. We use a decidedly different cleaning process; their crews do big volume with young guys, we have older guys who do fewer jobs and take quite a bit more time on the job.
Do you see any room for a third industry trade magazine to compete with ICS and Cleanfax? ,
Boy that's a loaded question! My gut is that the growth in communication and information is going to be electronic, not ink on paper. It seems that advertising is down in both magazines already, and I don't see manufacturers adding a third to their budgets. My instinct is that if another magazine enters the market it will have to knock out one of the others if it is to be successful.
A related thought: Mikey's Board has the potential to be what Cleanfax was in the late 80s and 90s. Time will tell whether the potential is realized, but the parallels are fascinating.
What made you decide to create Cleanfax magazine in the first place?I decided to publish the kind of magazine that as a carpet cleaner I would want to read. At that time ICS was little but ads and advertorials. Everybody got it but nobody read it. There was another magazine also: Southwest Cleaning, which became Professional Cleaning Journal. They saw the same opportunity I did. The difference, I think, is that I understood the industry much better than they did because I grew up in it.
Does he have any positive reviews or testimonials they would like to share for the answering service?By "he" I assume you mean me. My company is a client of Perceptionist. I pay the same amount as everyone else. For my company (high-end, personalized service with a high percentage of repeat and referral business) I'd rate it a B. There are some improvements I'd like to see made to make it more personalized, such as using a different script for repeat customers versus new customers. I know they are working on it and I understand the challenges of providing personalized service in a uniform way. The bottom line is that Perceptionist has captured sales for us that we would have missed because Perceptionist answered the phone when it otherwise would have gone to voicemail. As for other testimonials, I'm sure they have a bunch of people you can talk to. You can email my brother, Tiger Downey (yes, he was Tiger before that Tiger), at tdowney@perceptionistinc.com.
How much flack did you receive for naming ED YORK man of Century. By the way, John, we all figured you had some "guts" for doing that!
I don't remember getting any flack for that selection. It was a no brainer. That's not to say that there weren't people against Ed being recognized in that way; it's just that publicly opposing it would be seen for what it was: petty, small-minded and vindictive. And privately opposing it would have no effect because I was already on my way out as editor. (I think the Person of the 20th Century issue was my last as editor.)
Do you really believe that the IICRC has a future? Is the IICRC still relevant?Yes and yes. I think what the future looks like for the IICRC is an open question. Of course I wrote nearly a decade ago that its position was a perilous one and it needed to clean up its act in several ways to move forward into the future. Looking back, some changes were made; but there is a whole lot that hasn't been done that should have been done. Money and power are intoxicating and corrupting, and otherwise good people have done some awful things while under the influence.
As for relevance, practically speaking it's the only game in town for industry certification and, consequently, training. And don't underestimate the lift it gets from the carpet and flooring industry. And although I am too out of the loop to know this for a fact, I suspect the insurance industry gives wind to its sail as well.
Could the 'RICCO' laws be used against the IICRC/CRI/SOA fiasco?
I'm not an attorney, but I would imagine it would be a tall order to get a federal attorney to even open an investigation into the SOA program much less seek a RICO prosecution.
Did you have a role in developing the CRI-SOA program?
I was a member of the CRI committee that developed the program. I left the committee after it had initiated the chemical testing program and about a year before it implemented the equipment testing program.
Did you encourage or coerce manufacturers to have their products included in the CRI SOA program? LOL ... yes! It was me all along behind the scenes prodding and coercing those sheep -- I mean manufacturers -- to go along, knowing full well it would destroy them all! Then the Steamin Demon would come and take over the industry!!!
Seriously, I did talk to Bridgepoint and Jon-Don about getting their consumer spotters approved. The only manufacturer I talked to about the equipment program was my brother Mike (the inventor of the Steamin Demon).
How about a regular post/column on Mikey¹s Board about problems and other happenings in the industry today?While I am flattered by the suggestion, I must decline for two reasons. First, my focus right now is on faith, family and my still pretty new carpet cleaning business in Granville. In particular, my wife has some possibly serious health issues that we need to get a handle on. Second, I am probably the least in-touch person in the industry! I really pay very little attention to industry politics and goings-on. I was immersed in it for about 12 years because my job required it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth that lingers even now.
I can't predict what the future will bring, but for now I need to stay focused on deepening my faith, being a good dad and an attentive husband, and scrubbing rug. However, I will commit to visit Mikey's Board at least once a week and adding my voice if and when it seems appropriate. (And yes, Mike, I will be a sustaining member.)
As a proponent of High Flow, do it as an additional cleaning factor? A rinsing factor? Or is it part of "agitation" (because of the "erosive effect" of the water?)I agree with Scott Warrington's comments several days ago about what is called the cleaning pie (TACT) actually being a soil-suspension pie and that cleaning occurs after the soil is suspended. The high-flow rinse and extraction is the soil removal (cleaning) process. Jim P. and I had a discussion the other day and he thinks high-flow aids soil suspension and should be considered part of "agitation." I see his point. There is a commonly used factor in the pressure washing industry called "impact rate," and the equation used to measure impact rate shows that high flow (3.5 gpm at 60 psi) and truckmounts (1.2 gpm at 400 psi) generate about the same impact rate. Still, it is my experience that the unique benefit of high-flow is that the flushing action results in better soil removal.
How many people did your cleaning company employ at its "peak"?
14 trucks (mostly one-man).
What was your pricing structure?
Room pricing. We would charge different prices for different rooms. For instance, a living room or family room would be $29.95. A dining room would be $20, a kitchen $12, kitchen with with eating $20, bedroom $25, bedroom traffic areas $15. (That was in the early 80s.)
By the way, my father was the originator of room pricing in carpet cleaning (1961 or 1962). So now you all know who to blame: Downey!
Is your current cleaning business model different from your original one?The orignal business dates to 1897, and although I feel that old on some days, I'm not; so I don't know what the original business model was. My company in Granville (Downey's Carpet Care of Granville) is substantially different than the original company in Columbus (John M. Downey Carpet Cleaning). Mine is a high-end, personalized-service, mom-and-pop type company. Columbus is volume oriented: moderate prices, good but not great service, 7 crews. I still price by the room in my Granville business (from $25 for a kichen to $79 for a great room). The little advertising I do is testimonial. I don't do price related "specials."
You and your father both "grew up" in the same town as Stanley Steemer was started in. Any insight into competing with the "Yellow Trucks"?
My dad and Jack Bates (the founder of Stanley Steemer) were friends going back to the 50s. Bates actually credited my dad for giving him many of the ideas that he used to get the Stanley Steemer franchise started. (He'd stop by the office a couple times a year, in his Rolls Royce and flashing a big diamond on his finger, and rub it in!) As for competing with Stanley Steemer, we found that it was best to offer something different than them. We use a decidedly different cleaning process; their crews do big volume with young guys, we have older guys who do fewer jobs and take quite a bit more time on the job.
Do you see any room for a third industry trade magazine to compete with ICS and Cleanfax? ,
Boy that's a loaded question! My gut is that the growth in communication and information is going to be electronic, not ink on paper. It seems that advertising is down in both magazines already, and I don't see manufacturers adding a third to their budgets. My instinct is that if another magazine enters the market it will have to knock out one of the others if it is to be successful.
A related thought: Mikey's Board has the potential to be what Cleanfax was in the late 80s and 90s. Time will tell whether the potential is realized, but the parallels are fascinating.
What made you decide to create Cleanfax magazine in the first place?I decided to publish the kind of magazine that as a carpet cleaner I would want to read. At that time ICS was little but ads and advertorials. Everybody got it but nobody read it. There was another magazine also: Southwest Cleaning, which became Professional Cleaning Journal. They saw the same opportunity I did. The difference, I think, is that I understood the industry much better than they did because I grew up in it.
