Certifications and organizations

Scott Stone

New member
Today I saw this on the Delco board. http://www.dcs1.com/dcs1boards/messages/detail.cfm?ID=56650&Board_ID=10

The text is as follows...
http://www.therhca.org
Restaurant Hood Cleaners Association
www.therhca.org


The RHCA is an organization that offers affordable kitchen exhaust cleaning certification to any qualified and trained kitchen exhaust cleaner.


You must be certified to clean kitchen exhaust systems

NFPA 96 states that you must be certified to clean kitchen exhaust systems.

Our certification is affordable

Starting at $25 for online certification*, we are the most affordable kitchen exhaust cleaning certification association in the United States.

Once you pass the online test, you will receive your certification to clean kitchen exhaust systems per NFPA 96.

Just wondering what your feelings on it are...
 
Today I saw this on the Delco board. http://www.dcs1.com/dcs1boards/messages/detail.cfm?ID=56650&Board_ID=10

The text is as follows...
http://www.therhca.org
Restaurant Hood Cleaners Association
www.therhca.org


The RHCA is an organization that offers affordable kitchen exhaust cleaning certification to any qualified and trained kitchen exhaust cleaner.


You must be certified to clean kitchen exhaust systems

NFPA 96 states that you must be certified to clean kitchen exhaust systems.

Our certification is affordable

Starting at $25 for online certification*, we are the most affordable kitchen exhaust cleaning certification association in the United States.

Once you pass the online test, you will receive your certification to clean kitchen exhaust systems per NFPA 96.

Just wondering what your feelings on it are...

That is absolute BS! Many certified firms like to use DECEPTIVE marketing techniques, to make customers believe that you HAVE to be certified to clean exhaust systems. IMO, that is almost as bad as charging someone for work that is not being performed.
 
The more I look at this, the more it makes sense. The direction that Phil Ackland and IKECA are going in is making it easier for kitchen exhaust cleaners to get certified. The way Phil put it on the call, it was something along the lines of if there are more certified cleaners, then they will have a bigger voice in the industry.

I have been totally against making certification easy in the past, but I can see where having more certified cleaners in the field would be a good thing for the industry.
 
Scott,
I am amazed how gullible folks are. A Certification for $25. ! :eek: Why don't we go to South America and become a DR. for a few thousand? Oh we do! LOL I would not want a $25. certified contractor cleaning my home or anything else. I am Nationally certified through the PDCA. It takes some effort and cost to complete the program. If you can buy a title, which we do, what is the Value? Where do you learn and raise your values to be above the rest? We are Certified with many companys. Woolman, Flood, etc. What does this mean. You have insurance, been in business for five years and can write? Does it make you better? Not in my eyes. It is the training and knowledge that comes along with the Accreditation that counts. Paying $25. for Certification is a joke to me. I pay more than that for a gallon of paint! Just my 2 cents. Thank You.
 
Hey Terry,
No offense, and I'm certainly not defending this "RHCA", but just what exactly is "PDCA", and why is that particular certification better than any other? Because it costs more? Does anyone really think that having some "accreditation" ensures that your company delivers quality workmanship and good business practices?

My opinion (which I am entitled to), is that certification or accreditation, is just a means for some business to make money on some other business. This includes membership to specific organizations such as PWNA, or even BBB. I recently dropped our membership to the PWNA and BBB because of it. Being a member or having a piece of paper does not make you better than any other contractor, it just means that you paid money and/or took some test. Not a true gauge of practical knowledge. As I explained this to my BBB rep, he went ballistic on me. I asked why was he so upset, and I realized that the rep gets a commission on my membership. HA, not any more!!

I am certain that 99% of the folks who hire you have no idea how much a certification costs, or what it entails, or cares one way or the other, as long as their job gets done correctly. Sorry for the rant.....
 
Ackland Endorses Listing "Hood" Cleaners

Just taking a break from finishing off the 4th edition of the Cleaning and Certification Manual and stopped by the BBS.

I think this new $25.00 "Hood Cleaning Certification" is a great idea. All those companies that specialize in cleaning the hood only should join. Then, at least we would have a better idea who the "artists" are.

In the "old days" I always wanted to open up a "Hood Cleaning" company. Cosmetic Hood Cleaners of America (or Canada) (Actually both -- Do I smell another association coming?)

We will clean your hood better than anyone. We promise to clean all you can see. We guarantee the lowest prices. We will clean to NFPA 96 requirements for Hoods.

Wouldn't that be nice? Think of it. No more liability insurance, no more ladders, lights; having to get into those dark greasy ducts, climb around roofs in the middle of the night.
Just come in, clean the outside of the hood and the face of the filters (don't really need to bother with the backs, cuz hey who's going to look.

And the best part is you could do, what, say, 10 to 15 jobs a night. One man! Cash on delivery only. Someone should do the math.

I have to get back to the salt mine. Anyway, happy April 1st gentlemen.
 
Phil, maybe this is something we can have a round table discussion about at the 2008 Grease Police Convention.

I have contacted the RHCA and the only response I got was in an email:

"Ikeca offers $75 on line certification, ours is $25. We both offer proof of insurance and we go one step further by requiring a federal ID # and by making sure that whoever gets certified actually cleans kitchen exhaust systems, Ikeca does not. I even heard a rumor that Elvis Presley got certified by them on line, so how could you possibly trust their on line certification?"

I had to chuckle when I saw that, but he does have a point. What is the difference between his $25 on line certification and IKECA's $75 online certification? It sound like the answer to that question is unfortunately the obvious one...
 
Phil, maybe this is something we can have a round table discussion about at the 2008 Grease Police Convention.

I have contacted the RHCA and the only response I got was in an email:

"Ikeca offers $75 on line certification, ours is $25. We both offer proof of insurance and we go one step further by requiring a federal ID # and by making sure that whoever gets certified actually cleans kitchen exhaust systems, Ikeca does not. I even heard a rumor that Elvis Presley got certified by them on line, so how could you possibly trust their on line certification?"

I had to chuckle when I saw that, but he does have a point. What is the difference between his $25 on line certification and IKECA's $75 online certification? It sound like the answer to that question is unfortunately the obvious one...

From the email response, it looks like the RHCA requires more to become certified than IKECA. While other certifying bodies are lowering their standards:( , and making it easier to become certified:( , someone else is "raising the bar":) . I wonder how the requirements of the RHCA compare to those of the other certifying bodies.
 
Back
Top