[Darren O]

Joe they also do natural stone cleaning whats that got to do with carpet cleaning, hard floors,fire and flood its all about making money.

[Colin Day]

Mr Muscle how dont you do a course on Oven Cleaning at CCDO.

Ta! I could get use to being called Mr Muscle.... Shame most of my muscle is my mouth

This something I was going to ask at this years event about for next year. It is a great little add on for less than a price for taking an advert out in YP for a year and I've found oven cleaning has kept me in the game.... Just!

They could have an oven cleaners day out I suppose..... OCD Out!!!

[Joe H]

Ok Darren, but I think hard floors and flood have a lot more in common with carpets - we have most of the gear to cope with them. To me oven cleaning is a different ball game.
Some carpet cleaners do window cleaning but I wouldnt expect to see window cleaning on the agenda at CCDO, although there was a WINEX and CARPEX exhibition in the same hall couple weeks ago (for cost convinence I reckon.

[jasonl]

I am just wondering , I have been in carpet cleaning 18 years now , 10 of them in Chem-Dry, I have never used a porty, and used a TM for only a few weeks. I have never has an insurance claim for damage to a carpet ,and always enjoyed lots of repeat and referral work.

I know little about chemistry, HWE, and other theory.

What I do know about is customer care, health and safety, sales and marketing.

I feel that any exam that is not simple will be failed by me , making me ineligible to join clean, even though I have successfully cleaned carpets for years.
Surely admission to CLEAN could be by industry experience, proven via customer verification.

I will take the exam, the above is just a thought though.

[Joe H]

Jason  Give us a quick resume...............

I presume you have mostly been doing bonneting ....... what gear have you had the success with (inc fluids)

whats your tm you got?

[derek west]

Behave Colin ............Every organisation has cliques and indeed that's what the NCCA's been criticised  for by many on here who either imagined it to be the case or possibly found it to be so.

Human nature causes cliques to form and " outsiders " will always feel unwelcome or threatened in some way, so will either go off with " like minded " friends / colleagues and without realising it form their own cliques.

What constitutes a clique is theoretically groups of like minded individuals working together to protect their own interests and dominate the social or working environment to disadvantage others.

Problem is, it takes strong leadership to make EVERYONE feel INCLUDED and TRANSPARENT organisation  /  sharing of benefits / opportunity for everyone to achieve the highest level within the organisation for the least confident to feel WELCOME and INCLUDED.

Anyone who's been in education or training will understand what I'm saying it's not theory it's just understanding human behaviour and being able to communicate to the masses NOT just the followers.


Have a Happy Easter

gonna look like hellraiser the movie soon with all these nails on the head.

[robert meldrum]

There's no such thing as  GOOD test or a DEFINITIVE exam.............but there needs to be a starting point for any organisation that's attempting to raise public perception / credibility.

Perhaps it might have been better to name the EXAM an ASSESSMENT with a view to formulating a TRAINING PROGRAMME after all assessments had been collated and given the assessors a starting point on which to build a training programme.

There'll be a strong resistence to sitting an exam ( human nature again ) and it might be worth introducing an online test which would follow a paid for training package .

For the doubters.............this is a well tried format and although it seems over simplistic the learning still has to take place in order to give the answers. Quick / easy /  effective.

[Neil Williams]

I dont want to sound critical but what is amusing me is that more then a few on this forum have criticised the NCCA because of the 2 day course culminating in a  1 hour tick box type test.

That'll be me then And I don't want to repeat myself but there are people out there with NCCA badges all over their websites and vehicles who one day decided to take up carpet cleaning, did the course, pass the exam and still without a real clue what they are doing are advertising themselves as experts.

Now we have CLEAN with a much shorter course and a even shorter test - and this seems highly acceptable to most of those that were critical before.

Where did this idea of a course come from, there is no course. It just so happens to be happening at the same time as a carpet cleaners get together. this exam if you want to call it that is to see who has the actual experience/knowledge of carpet cleaning through doing the actual job.

very different.

[expro]

Hi jasonl,

I think you have answered your own question as to why you have to sit an exam.

To join this type of body you have to SHOW a level of competence/knowledge by passing an exam.

You state you know very little about chemicals,these are a very important part of cleaning.

Before any body can recommend you they have to be confident that you have the knowledge
and experience to carry out the job without problems.

I understand that you have never had a problem with any jobs before but that was in a field you
were trained for using a limited range of products.

Do you understand all about carpet construction,fibres,soil levels,dye migration.and how to avoid
shrinkage etc? not to mention how to avoid bitumen bleed.

If you do understand then what's the problem you should pass the exam.

Expro

[derek west]

i wouldn't pass the exam, fact.

would my customers swap me for one that does pass the exam. no chance.

does this have any relevance? no idea but when your on the tenth episode of "jay jay the jet plane" you tend to write anything to try and keep sane

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

It was Rainbow and Button Moon when my kids were little, Derek.

4 or 5 hours of that and you're a gibbering wreck 

[Andrew Briscoe]

It was Rainbow and Button Moon when my kids were little, Derek.

4 or 5 hours of that and you're a gibbering wreck

i will know how you feel in a week or so   

Andrew

[derek west]

rainbow was for adults wasn't it?  

you wanna try watching "dirtgirl world" (no not that dirtgirl world ) its a new kids one where the cartoon characters have real eyes and mouths, it effin freaks me out maaaaan.


good luck with that andrew, people think you can't sleep cos the baby keeps you awake, its not that, its the bloody tunes from the cartoons going round and round in your head.

[jasonl]

Hi jasonl,

I think you have answered your own question as to why you have to sit an exam.

To join this type of body you have to SHOW a level of competence/knowledge by passing an exam.

You state you know very little about chemicals,these are a very important part of cleaning.

Before any body can recommend you they have to be confident that you have the knowledge
and experience to carry out the job without problems.

I understand that you have never had a problem with any jobs before but that was in a field you
were trained for using a limited range of products.

Do you understand all about carpet construction,fibres,soil levels,dye migration.and how to avoid
shrinkage etc? not to mention how to avoid bitumen bleed.

If you do understand then what's the problem you should pass the exam.

Expro

For example, I know how to avoid  shrinkage ,using LM cleaning, however ,using HWE I would not have a clue.
I can recognise wool , over say polyprop, I have no clue how to test for each using a burn test.
I have always avoided bitumen bleed, by not over applying solvents , this was common sense though that if you need a training course to tell you, frankly you should not be in the job.
Dye migration , I used to test for this , not this century though , since bleeders can be spotted immediately with experience.
 Carpet construction ,, I know little about it , I do know , by sight , which carpets respond well to cleaning and which do not.

Guess I am a bad cleaner then?

When I joined the BDMA and passed the exam nearly 10 years ago, we were given a book with the syllabus in it, the questions in the exam were taken from this. I would say this is a lot fairer than an exam to find needs out, but that if you do not pass you cannot join the CLEAN.

So is the exam to test for knowledge? or to allow membership to CLEAN? or both?

[Peter Sweeney]

Good luck andrew

Robert,

Your posts are spot on and in hindsight perhaps "assessment" would have been more suitable. It is hard to avoid the perception of a clique and it's only by inclusion that we can avoid this. Obviously it does'nt help with the "serial distracters" and this also creates a perception of us and them but we've said it before and still mean it, anyone who wants to "pitch in" will be welcome (lord knows there is enough to do).

Only time will prove our intentions and people can make their own minds up about that for now. But be aware, this is going to work and everyone will benefit, not just C.L.E.A.N members (although their gain will be far greater) and you can quote me on that

Pete

[derek west]

Good luck andrew

Robert,

Your posts are spot on and in hindsight perhaps "assessment" would have been more suitable. It is hard to avoid the perception of a clique and it's only by inclusion that we can avoid this. Obviously it does'nt help with the "serial distracters" and this also creates a perception of us and them but we've said it before and still mean it, anyone who wants to "pitch in" will be welcome (lord knows there is enough to do).

Only time will prove our intentions and people can make their own minds up about that for now. But be aware, this is going to work and everyone will benefit, not just C.L.E.A.N members (although their gain will be far greater) and you can quote me on that

Pete

i think someones missed roberts point, all though i could be wrong

[expro]

For example, I know how to avoid  shrinkage ,using LM cleaning, however ,using HWE I would not have a clue.
I can recognise wool , over say polyprop, I have no clue how to test for each using a burn test.
I have always avoided bitumen bleed, by not over applying solvents , this was common sense though that if you need a training course to tell you, frankly you should not be in the job.
Dye migration , I used to test for this , not this century though , since bleeders can be spotted immediately with experience.
 Carpet construction ,, I know little about it , I do know , by sight , which carpets respond well to cleaning and which do not.

Guess I am a bad cleaner then?



Jasonl
Knowledge about carpet construction/fibres is a must have because you can then spot a carpet that will
shrink before you clean it.!!

It is also worth knowing that bitumen bleed is not just caused by solvents.It can also be caused by waterbased
products

Expro

[jasonl]

With LM  cleaning I have found that a well fitted carpet has more of an influence on shrinkage risk  than what the actual construction of the carpet is..   I will take the exam ,, out of interest.

 I really want CLEAN to work out and would like to take an actice part in it.

[derek west]

It is also worth knowing that bitumen bleed is not just caused by solvents.It can also be caused by waterbased
products

Expro

can you name a couple for me for future reference

[jasonl]

It is also worth knowing that bitumen bleed is not just caused by solvents.It can also be caused by waterbased
products

Expro

can you name a couple for me for future reference

I can name one Derek... Water, very hot water, I have seen it happe a few times.