iicrc members

Who among us are still members of the iicrc? If not, why did you stop?

I have always been a member and enjoy taking the classes, but beyond that, I have to admit that they don't have much of a presence in our day-to-day operation. They were at ICE and it didn't look to be all that popular by the traffic levels and there are other organizations out there as well to compete with, but it makes me wonder if they are still having an impact?

Having an "industry standard" is very valuable in my opinion, but only if people are aware of the standard. With more and more cleaners dropping from their ranks, the visibility of those standards and the organization itself is fading from view. Soon, nobody will know what the heck iicrc means nor will they care.

Between all the revenue brought in via members, classes, product lines seeking certification, etc., there must be some funds available for more visibility and influence with the public at large. Even working with the textiles companies should allow for a better exposure and education with those purchasing the carpet and furniture than there exist today.

At the present rate, there will be no organization to represent our industry and no "standards" as well....it will become the wild west again like it was back when I was starting out. The return of cleaners using WD40 and spray paint to rid stains would just be around the corner. Even worse, a cleaner will have nothing to lean on in lawsuits without an ANSI Standard to reference.

I support the organization still, but I am finding it tougher every year to convince myself to continue. Maybe this will be my final year?

I'm still a member due to my residence mainly, I live in a sue happy states, any new carpets customers buy will need to be cleaned by an IICRC certified tech, I know I know that don't mean jack, I agree with that, but it only takes one crazy customer that has their warranty thrown out because I'm not certified and failed to inform him / her. I don't want to be out $ 10,000 paying for new carpets, the chance is slim but I'm never a risk taker, pay $ 100+ / 2 years for certified firm and $ 300+ every 2 years to attend classes for certification is like paying insurance.
Oh talking about insurance, knock on wood, if that ever happens, will my liability insurance covers my ass for carpet replacement ? I do have custody and care coverage, I'm pretty sure it does, right ?

I feel the same way for the most part. A new carpet warranty would be voided if cleaned by a non-certified member, but it is still voided if not cleaned to standards.

Insurance will cover replacement as long as you were not negligent. If you cleaned properly, but something went wrong, you would be covered. If you apply improper methods or chemistry, no, you may not be covered.

So, if you applied bleach to wool, for example, you would not be covered as you did a negligent thing outside of proper methods.

As I understand insurance (a mystery in itself), you are only covered for incidents that accrue during the honest and proper application of the craft. If you applied too much heat and melted an olefin...that would be on you as you should know better on how to clean it. But if your wand snagged on a thread or you knocked over the lamp....you are covered.

I took a lot of the classes about 9-10yrs ago but its not what they make it out to be.. the classes are good but they make themselves out to be a governing body of carpet cleaning which its not

Ive done warranty calls for Mohawk, twice and neither time did anyone mention anything about iicrc

its kind of like the BBB..

Any classes since then AC?

I took one class 8 years ago and thought that it was a waste of time. Since then, I have taken several that were actually very helpful.

Gawd I hope they aren't like the BBB....that is just a mobster in disguise.

The majority of my education came from the forums. I wouldn't mind putting some patches on my sleeve though.

Funny you said that, Mo. There were 2 cleaners at ICE with patches down there sleeves of the company shirts.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to salute or not.

But think about for us cleaners the patches look goofy but some customers maybe impressed with that, unless they do a shitty job the the patches don't mean squat

The patches look great if you have multiple trucks and many techs out running around. I think it is sort of the opposite for the owner / operator though.

If I put all my patches on my sleeves, I would need both sleeves since I'm certified in 4 categories

Put them on a banner and mount it to the fender. You will like George Custer rolling down the street.

I think the patches on the sleeves are kinda tacky lol

no, no classes since then Rob.. most all of my knowledge is from experience and forums.

they make you think they are a governing body, like bbb
they lead you to believe youll actually get jobs through your membership, like bbb
they charge you each year to be a member, like bbb
they make you think that all sorts of customers are going to care if your a member, like bbb

but they are even worse because the classes at Jon don are actually sales seminars.

"your competition has this pro team coach backpack vac, do you?" -quote from the instructor

I can't disagree with AC on this one at all. I will say that they have become better about the sales stuff during classes, but it still exists. Everything else, is very accurate.

ACpower1 nailed it, I support classes but paying for their diploma that u earned (STUPID ) I payed for years and when the certification to clean new carpets came out i did the retail walk and all the stores did not know of the iicrc or their warranty program.
Lets just say 8 years ago i put the dues money into marketing. Yes i do new carpet cleaning referred from carpet retailers and back then was told Nobody is going to tell them who they Have to call to clean for their customer