A lot of people in this industry offer classes to get certified in this or that for XXXX amount of money.
My question is, who certifies the certifiers? What is the threshold to become a “expert” in this industry?
Are they just self proclaimed experts because they have been in the business for 5, 10, 15 or 20+ years?
I have yet to have one customer ask me if Im certified, been to any schools or received any certs to clean their driveway, roof, house, business etc etc. Not one I tell you.
Those who certify are simply the ones who thought of getting suckers to pay them for a certification. It offers no reduction in insurance or much more than a check for rhe giver and a sticker for the reciever
Maybe something to tell your customers to differentiate yourself from your competitors. I could never afford the travel and training. Now that I can, I don’t need it.
The ‘who certifies the certifiers’ question can pretty much be applied to any industry. The creator(s) of every certification program, or even college course, started it without being ‘certified’. So to answer your question, yes, these programs are based on the experience of the person (or people) that offer them.
As far as marketing, you probably aren’t going to be asked by a customer if you are certified… however, i still believe that there is a marketing benefit. Like Bill said, it’s another way to set yourself apart from the competition. If you have two equally reviewed companies… where one has certifications from training programs, and one doesn’t… i would imagine that people would generally tend to choose the one that does.
As far as education, they are generally most useful to people new to the industry. As with any program like this, it shortens the learning curve.
A lot of people are dismissive of them, but i have never really understood that stance, especially since the same people are also often complaining about uneducated workers. In my opinion, more education is a good thing. Every industry certification program had to start somewhere, and that’s where we are at now in this industry… not necessarily perfect, but improving year by year.
Regardless of your personal opinion about certification programs, here is the one thing that is less subjective. I’ve done a ton of research about these programs, and i cant recall one single person who said that they got ripped off, or didnt learn anything. Quite the opposite… i have seen many people praise the programs, and say that the confidence/knowledge they received directly led to new jobs.
When a customer asks me such nonsense I just tell the the truth and tell them there is no such thing…
I have guys running around telling customers during the estimate phase that if they don’t hire a guy that has a hot water machine to clean their house they are wasting their money… How ridiculous is that?
As George Carlin says… It’s all BS and it will kill you…
JDW is way expensive. They quoted me $1400 a year for my business in Florida
I shopped around and went with a local agent. Same policy compared side by side was $600ish a year!
Here is the BS claim report that JDW posted on FB the other day. 95% are BS pre existing damage that JDW paid for.
Soft washing a roof caused it to leak??
You washing a house when raining caused a basement to flood?? GTFOOH. No wonder they are expensive. They pay everything!
I think it might be worth the money at this point. If they pay everything then it is good insurance. If I mess something up I want my customers to be happy in the end.
Not sure about the premium increases after though.
#1 how can you say that? You just assume you can make 40 percent more do customers tell you. HEY now that I know you got certified I want to pay you more? There is no way to verify that. #2 just checked power washes store… The $349 101 certification is on sale for 99 bucks… So I guess that make all you guys the 99 dollar guy…lol… Does that mean that you were only charging 59 dollars before being certified?
I have never had a customer not hire me because I was not certified. BUT I have had them hire me when they ask me if I am. And THEN I whip out the phone and show them how people can PURCHASE a certification… Ok I’m done now…
1, I have been told numerous times that other guys charge x amount for the job. It always ends up being the same range. Maybe I am generalizing though.
2, I charge $329 per 1000sqft. I market as mold remediation. Before you ask, yes I have had everything approved and legal by the state and insurance provider.
I mean… you can argue about the difficulty, but you cant just purchase a certification, you have to complete a series of tests. That is true for most, i believe.
I dont get the anti-education sentiment. I mean, I get that you guys have been in business for a while and dont need training… but why call the new guys that want to pursue these training courses suckers, and imply that the people that offer them are con men? Do you say the same about technical trade courses at community colleges?
I dont see how training courses are a bad thing for the industry. Again, check the feedback… nothing but praise from people that have participated. I would think we should encourage the development of these courses, to create a more educated industry… but maybe that’s just me.
Although, I imagine this is a common reaction in most new industries. Like, back in the 1800’s when somebody said, ‘Hey i’ve done a few heart surgeries… im thinking about starting a little course to train new guys’, i bet there were a bunch of vets that said
‘Dont take his course, it’s a waste of money… i spent a couple of weeks helping Doc. Skeeter down at the mine entrance, and all his patients live well into their 40’s, so dont fall for that scam… figure it out on your own, or go ask Doc. Skeeter if you can help him… plus, I hear he is offering a 2 for 1 deal now… pay for a heart surgery and get a chlamydia treatment for free!’
Dont be so cynical guys. It’s one thing to dismiss all the various soaps and degreasers everyone sells… but we are talking about education here. It’s generally a good thing.
If customers are asking about certifications, dont crap on the guys that have them… impress them with your knowledge on the subject, and tell them to ask the certified guys to do the same. Chances are, your decades of experience will outshine the guy in his 1st year, who took a few courses. I mean… it better, right? Otherwise, maybe you should sign up.
Didn’t call anyone a sucker or a con man… Just called getting certified in pressure washing or soft washing is BS.
I have no problem with any one teaching or selling a course. That is great.
But the day anyone claims to be certified, implying to their customers that they are some how better or more knowlegable then some one that is not certified. Then THAT is BS.
To use your word the “certified people” are now conning the customers…
Have you ever noticed that all these "certified " people are the ones asking for advise???
