The Lost Art of Follow Up 

by Greg Sprunk, President of Superior Cleaning Equipment Inc. 

I have had several experiences lately where I am grieving over the loss of follow up. 

You remember follow up. It's where the person who you call then calls you back. Or the company who gave you a proposal follows up with out you calling them first. Or the company or person does what they say they are going to do or arrive on time the day they said they would. I believe it is key to the success of people and relationships. Lately the examples have been business related but I have also had experience with family members and it makes things so much more difficult than it needs to be.

This week I have several examples:

• The landscape company owner who came out and gave a nice proposal but after calling him back I had to call again where he then apologized because he was so busy. 

• The person who has been working on doing some remodeling on the building who all of a sudden doesn't show up for a week and then when I call him tells me he had the opportunity to have this remodeling job and he will be back next week. 

• The beloved family member who I text and call and then wait for days until I either call again or they remember to call. 

• The sales rep who keeps moving the date back week after week on items we have paid for up front and been waiting on for months and we have to call and follow up once a week. 

I love follow up and I also promote people based on their ability to execute it. Let me tell you why I think it is a skill you absolutely have to have to succeed:

I have a person who worked for me who started out as a driver for us. Anything I asked him to do, he did it and always let me know when he was done. I never had to follow up with him on anything I gave him. After noticing that he was not only early every day but he always got things done I promoted him to a salesperson. He didn't want to do it. I had to pull him kicking and screaming into sales. He wanted to stay hourly but I told him that because he got things done, he was organized and always followed up that he was already halfway there. He didn't think he was a salesperson. He now is one of the Top Salespeople in our industry and makes 4 times what he was making before because he had the ability to follow up and was diligent in how he dealt with people. 

I preach as a company that when a customer calls, we get a web site lead, we get a person who walks in and asks for a quote or that we promise to follow up on a question that if we just follow up we are miles ahead of the competition. Isn't that sad? But it's true. If we are the first one out there to hand him a quote, show the customer a machine, call back and do what we said we would do and then follow up we are more than likely to earn that persons business. 

We spend a lot of money on software, smart phones and business phone systems but it means nothing if the person operating them doesn't follow up with the customer. 

I am not the smartest, smoothest, educated, technically savvy or best looking guy out there. But I like to cross things off my list every day, follow up and communicate and I think it has a lot to do with the success of my business. And I think I have used follow up enough times in this article. 

I hope you like what you read. Putting something aside? Follow up on it. Make more money. Make someone happy that they didn't have to follow up on you. 

Greg Sprunk has owned Superior Cleaning Equipment Inc for the past 24 years. With stores in Phoenix and San Diego it is one of the largest cleaning and environmental equipment dealerships in the country. He is the also founding President of the Phoenix Chapter of EO (Formerly YEO Young Entreprenuers Organization). 

Staff Changes

We have recently had some staff changes here at SCE and I can tell you that I am excited about them. Although we lost some veteran people they were not enabling the company to move forward. With a small business, people who are willing to go the extra mile and also to communicate well becomes paramount. The people we have here are not only outstanding but do indeed go the extra mile and have taken it upon themselves to help run Superior Cleaning Equipment in a manner better than I can alone. That's my highest compliment. We are lean, but we are far from mean and we are ones to sell and service your machines.

Question regarding trigger guns:

I have had several customers complain to me about their operators wiring the guns open on the wash rack and leaving them running and what the dangers are. There are a couple of reasons that you should not leave the gun on when not using it, wired or not. They are as follows:

Safety: Gun control is for the protection of the user. Having a trigger locked in open position with 3,000 psi is incredibly dangerous. Back in the day when I was a contract cleaner using this equipment I had a layer of skin ripped off me with the spray from not being careful and almost lost a toe with a working gun. Pressure washer operators not only need steel toed boots, protective clothing and eye wear but need to have the equipment operating in its intended form. All equipment we sell is certified to UL1776 Specs. If you modify that by wiring the gun open, using a non certified hose without the proper length of hose guard on it, etc. you are opening yourself up to a lawsuit should the operator get hurt.

Maintenance & Wear & Tear: You are going to not only be wasting water you will be having the machine take on unnecessary stress. When the gun is on the off position the pump goes into bypass and the heater shuts off therefore saving fuel as well as wear on the burner motor. The best thing to do if you are going to stop washing for more than 3-4 minutes is to cool the machine down by turning off the burner first, then turning off the machine when the wand is lukewarm to the touch. This prevents thermal expansion in the coils, which are one of the most expensive components on the machine and reduces wear on the unloader, etc. The bottom line is that modifying equipment puts you as an Owner, Manager or Supervisor in a compromised position. You need to make sure that all operators are using as specified with every piece of equipment for yours and their safety.

Thanks for reading. Greg

Landa is back with new designs/products!

Lately the new products coming out from manufacturers have been few and far between because of the economy, corporate mergers and scarce management resources. So it was a pleasure to attend a recent Landa Regional Dealer Show in Nashville Tennessee and hear about some major new developments in new products as well as go over the heritage that has made this brand the strongest in the industry for the past 40 years.

Landa has had a lot of firsts in the cleaning equipment industry and a few are as follows:
First to have the entire line certified to the UL1776 standard.
First to have multiple language labels on their equipment.
First to use electrostatic powder coat baked paint on all their frames.
First factory in our industry to have ISO9001 Certification.

Some of the new products coming out this month are:

A re-designed HOT Series oil fired electric powered hot water portable pressure washer with a list price of under $2,800.00 that includes a three piston heavy duty pump with a limited seven year warranty and a five year coil warranty with a national dealer network. How about a TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled motor) that had dealers standing up and cheering. It is lighter and looks great. No one else can match it feature for feature for the price.

A redesigned PHW Series machine that was already the envy of the industry and copied frequently. Now it has Snap and Go technology so you can easily add time dealy shutdown in the field or a steam valve or auto start stop. We can stock the base unit and option up saving the dealers inventory dollars as well as the customer. Thick poly molded fuel tanks, water tight electrical box, cup and tool holder and lighter weight and beefier look will make this unit tough to beat in the coming year and solidify the unit once again as King of the Hill in the portable electric market.

Another new product offering was the TRV pressure wash trailer with fold away tongue, 300 gallon tank, hose reels, wand holder, filter, electrostatic powder coat paint and priced at under $3,000.00. Add one of the newly re-designed Landa skids and you have a great system ready to do battle in this dirty world.

A brand new line of cold water units with different versions of direct and belt drive pumps called the PD Series to compete with the big box stores. Unlike the competition however you get dealer support, warranty and no need to keep the box for not much more than the box stores charge. Pretty exciting.

Celebrating 40 years this year with the strongest dealer network in the industry is a good reason to invest your hard earned equipment dollars in a brand that has staying power, is out front of the competition and gives you the support you need.

Soaps-Detergents-Chemicals and the impact they have on your equipment.

One of the things that always fascinates me is when people buy a very high end quality piece of equipment and then use whatever soap or detergent the door to door salesperson happens to offer the lowest price on.

Whether it is a car wash, pressure washer, parts washer or water treatment system the quality manufacturers of this equipment have basic guidelines to follow when using cleaners in the products.

With pressure washers, soaps with formulations meant to not scale up coils and to work in conjunction with down stream injectors or hot water are important. Many customers run soap through the pumps and coils causing premature damage and unnecessary expense to the equipment by trying to save a few dollars. The right application system and the right detergent can help you clean better and also save you costly repairs.

With aqueous parts washers made with a mild steel cabinet, detergent takes on even more importance. You need to have a soap with a rust inhibitor to protect the cabinet and the parts from flash rusting. In other words, using a detergent not made for you specific washer type will cause major issues.

With water treatment systems depending on the type, soap can be a huge issue. Most recycling systems need to have a low foaming emulsified detergent as aeration and solids precipitation are major functions of the systems. Getting the solids and oils to separate as well as not have foaming issues that can damage electrical equipment are the primary reasons for choosing a detergent that is made for your system. Unfortunately, they are more expensive than your local blender is tempting you with. However, almost any wash rack going through a recycle system or discharging to sewer through an interceptor will see much better results with a detergent made for reclaim systems. Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and total suspended solids (TSS) can be immediately improved with the right detergent.

In car and truck washes, soaps protect vehicles and equipment and are made to work with certain models. Touchless car washes are much more dependent on the right combination of low and high pH formulas. Friction washes need soaps that have specifically blended lubricants to keep brushes and foam pads working smoothly on your vehicle. With the capital expense made on these systems why run the cheapest detergents you can find through them. Cost per car is the most informative measure. Not how much the individual drum is. Usually the higher end manufacturers have concentrated solution to make sure you have less space in the equipment room with bette results. Built in conditioners and softeners are more expensive but give better results.

In other words, buy your detergents from professionals who are familiar with your equipment and the specific ways it can operate better. Usually the best sources are people you purchased the equipment from as they have a vested interest in making sure you are satisifed with the equipment and are usually the ones servicing and warrantying it. They too have a vested long term interest in your satisfaction and in many cases the less detergent you use the better. You wont be hearing that from your door to door soap salesperson.

Thanks for reading.

Environmental Business Getting Stronger

I am glad to report that activity around wash water systems has really started to pick up. Closed loop wash rack recycling systems have always been a passion of mine and the Water Maze line of products is getting stronger and stronger. We have some great new technologies using coagulation and flocculation as well as indexing paper filters and more modular components to keep the costs and maintenance down on the systems. Mechanical filtration works very well but has limitations on the waste streams and has higher consumable and maintenance cost than the new systems coming out. Recycling water will always have costs associated with it to re-use the water over and over but I am very pleased with the advances in technology and what the future holds for our industry. This product line keep getting better and better.

Check out our updated page on water treatment at http://www.scecorp.com/2008/SCEpages/treatment-recycle.html.

Thanks for reading.

How not to do business in the new economy

I am having an experience with my uniform supplier whom I have apparently had a contract with for the last 5 years. In the past five years we have had the same uniforms with the same outdated logos and the same worn out uniforms. We have been overcharged for things we did not need, had price increases on things we did not even know we had and even were charged for renting things we owned! As a business owner who provides a service I have sympathy for mistakes, even poor communication but when the contract was up the company told us that we needed to give them 90 days notice in writing or it renewed for approximately 3 more years at at least 70% of our current service.

When telling them we wanted to cancel, they kept coming and would not stop, they kept delivering uniforms even though we had purchased our own and were having the techs wash them themselves. When I saw how much we were paying for shop towels and seeing them lay all over the shop we started purchasing heavier duty disposable ones. They got an attorney and came up with a number of 70% of our current service in a year to settle.

Now being in the service business with written agreements, we understand that both parties have to be happy and in our agreements you can cancel anytime. We also have services we have canceled in the name of saving money and then returned to using them again. Like @Road GPS in our trucks and our janitorial services in our stores. We found out we needed them and came back to them. We also have had many customers come back to us or new ones where people who have serviced them are out of business and their equipment is not running as well as it was when it was being serviced every frequently. Some customers have service less frequently that are on contracts as they are slow and we understand. We are in the relationship for the long haul. We see the big picture.

In this case, the vendor is forcing us to do business with them. We did sign a contract and we did not see that we had to give them 90 days. That is our responsibility. They did however offer to re-sign us with a one year for much less service and when we decided not to do that the gloves came off. It is incredible in the age where we are looking inward to how we can become a better vendor that companies still operate like this or can even survive.

Companies have to provide a benefit to their customers. We hope that you find doing business with SCE valuable and productive and that our relationship enhances your business. If not, we wont get attorneys involved or hold you to a contract. We will just try to improve and get better. We need you, the customer or we dont survive. We have made many changes in the last six months and learned a ton through out this experience. There are things we do well and areas we need to improve. Like many compnaies we are a better, stronger company for looking inward. But nothing matters if you arent seeing value and dont need us. Thanks for reading.