John, That a great job. have you had anyone work for you and screw the job up?
How do larger companys make sure this doesnt happen?
Certified hood cleaning company doing shoddy work
- Thread starter mbryan
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John, That a great job. have you had anyone work for you and screw the job up?
How do larger companys make sure this doesnt happen?
JohnB
JohnB
Yes I have had a few people work for me , I do pay them good , which is probably another factor.. Employees usually work more efficient when they are paid better.. IMO... Now as far people messing stuff up sometimes it happens , but I always stress if a part of a system can not be cleaned (CALL ME) I see what you are saying , I guess if I had employees all over the country it would be hard to watch all of them... But I really stress before and after pictures.. It only takes an extra second to snap a photo.. I have even gone as far as to request photos of links being changed and photos of all system inspections.. and in many towns where I know the local fire inspectors I send copies of photos and inspection reports... I also believe if a company hires an employee that does not do a quality job , either the company should fire him or the company should except responsibility for the bad work and offer a way to make it right. Also many companies take a job that they are not capable of cleaning ( Chinese Restaurant with a Walmart pressure Washer) This is unacceptable.. If I see a hood I know I cant clean I Don't take the Job .. Or I charge an initial cleaning charge and scrape it the first night and pressure wash it the next night...
mbryan
New member
Thats a great question. Ron you should call the guy I talked about earlier, Don Pfleiderer from enviromatic, his company is living proof that photo inspections do work and can be done over a broad area.
http://www.enviromatic.com/html/nationwide.html
That page explains how he makes sure that the job is done right, and from what I remember this guy has thousands of accounts. Here is an excerpt from the page:
"Enviromatic does not accept the idea of inaccessible areas. We require all areas of the system to be made accessible and company have the proper equipment to reach the complete system and properly clean it. We do not allow program/partial cleanings unless prior authorization is granted in writing. We do not allow "Catching up" and "Getting a little more each time" for grease exhaust cleanings as those statements have always been the biggest lie in the industry in the past. Initial cleanings will be done to the same standards as the normally scheduled (repeat) cleanings."
Thats a great service he provides, I wonder how many hire him?
Those are great points, happy holidays David.
As an owner of a company who services KEC only. This conversation regarding certification is a no win argument. As owners we are given choices on many different things. We must decide on what road to travel. Education, training and good tools are most important along with those basic venue one must decide how to market those assets.
Certification is all of those in one basic word. The holder has taken the time, money and effort to better his marketing & education with level of workmanship. The holder of that document has demonstrated competence and knowledge to service the accounts in a manner that should reflect positive on the instructor base. In much the same thing as a student in college who graduates with a Bachelors Degree and goes out and creates an issue that reflects negative on the institution that gave him the degree. Do we blame the college? NO.
The holder of that document reflects the positive along with the negatives. We as owners check work and recheck-what we service. Do our people make mistakes and clean less than we desire – YES. We as owners must limit those exposures as much as possible. That is all that is possible, & anyone who says that they don’t come across this is less honest.
Shoddy work is not limited to people who have certification and I am sure that the non certification people have all the best training and all but they still do shoddy work. We must take care of our own company and make sure that our customers gain a positive experience with our service. When we fall short-get up and try again and regain the customers good faith.
Lou hoods&more
New member
He been a bit quiet since May "09"....wonder if he'll respond?
BlueBliss
New member
I'm not sure if I like that you revived this thread... I just read through it for the first time and now I feel like I have to add my two cents... I would like to think that certifications gaining clout, cleaners getting better, and customers more knowledgeable would make a big difference in KEC, but I think things are great as they are. KEC has a great range of "you get what you pay for." I have my bids get violently rejected every day (sometimes many times a day now that we joined the bidslot family!) because we are "too high." Many restaurants need that $200 dollar cleaning of just the visible areas and a sticker. We have even considered opening a subsidy with no know affiliations to our company that just goes around with one guy underbidding the rest for the cheapskate restaurant owners wanting just a sticker. Once the competition is closed, the subsidiary closes too. Then, force a reputable, quality service on the market. I'm pretty sure that's a form of predatory pricing though...
I think the best way to improve KEC is through the "3rd party victims" such as the insurance companies and requirements in rental agreements, especially when attached units are involved. It might not effect that run down strip mall, but could work well where property values are more worth protecting.
On an interesting note, our insurance company sent us an extensive list of churches and other non-profits that they insure who all had policies threatened pending cleaning. Its just a shame that we hold extra low pricing for that category, or we may have made bank on gouging the desperate.
I think the best way to improve KEC is through the "3rd party victims" such as the insurance companies and requirements in rental agreements, especially when attached units are involved. It might not effect that run down strip mall, but could work well where property values are more worth protecting.
On an interesting note, our insurance company sent us an extensive list of churches and other non-profits that they insure who all had policies threatened pending cleaning. Its just a shame that we hold extra low pricing for that category, or we may have made bank on gouging the desperate.
I think Josh Dodson the very first president of the grease police is changing the industry one greaser at a time. His program is successful, he sells quality service.
However the national insurance is getting closer and closer.
Certification will be mandatory in the Kec industry. Please understand I truly don't have any thing in this fight, I just have witnessed the progression over 20 years and believe me it's moving.
However the national insurance is getting closer and closer.
Certification will be mandatory in the Kec industry. Please understand I truly don't have any thing in this fight, I just have witnessed the progression over 20 years and believe me it's moving.
dodsonish
Grease Police President
Also the only President of TGP.
I was appointed by my peers, each of them have inspired me to hold my standards as high as possible. Without that sense of accountability to those that expect such high standards I can't say that I would be much different than any other cleaner that uses "inaccessible areas" as an easy cop out.Can sum it all up with one phrase, "I am Matt Bryan". Those of you that don't get it, will soon.
It is good to know my efforts aren't going unnoticed though. Thanks Ron.
Pretty Nasty Photos you didn't erase
This kitchen exhaust system was serviced by a certified individual one month before these photos were taken.
The hood
Up the duct
Duct above the hood (the rectangular object in the middle of the picture is an access panel)
Nobody is perfect. But why not strive for perfection? Nobody expects anyone to get a kitchen exhaust systems spotlessly shiny every time. But at least open access panels and remove the combustible materials to the depth that NFPA 96 requires so that if a fire should get in to the kitchen exhaust system, it wont spread to the rest of the system.
Any certified cleaner should know this. They should know to look for access panels and know how to clean out the grease through them.
This is the kind of stuff I am talking about. If it happening here in Los Angeles, I am sure it is happening across the country.
Certification of kitchen exhaust cleaners gives absolutely no guarantee that they will perform their jobs correctly.
Great Hood Cleaning Thread