I just wanted to know who certified the certifiers LOL
Who certifies the certifiers that certify the certifiers?
Him. he’s the founder… lol
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Speaking of which…very nice…especially when it snows as it did on Sunday. My wife hated it, my one year was indifferent, and I was in heaven!
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It’s not about whether they ask or not. It’s about whether they ever call you in the first place. Only a marketing dunce (not calling you one) would discount the fact that the consumer will weigh the “certified” contractor more heavily if all other things are equal.
In the consumer’s mind the certification is of value because (a) someone made a course (b) you took the time to attend it and (c ) you have proof that you learned something.
Compare that with trying to convince a potential customer that your competition’s certificate is baloney. You are automatically playing from behind. Why do you think all these real estate agents and CPA etc. go get all these letters after their name? The public eats that up, that’s why.
If the homeowner sees two ads for a roof cleaning company and one says “Certified by the National blah, blah, blah, Institute of awesome roof cleaners” and the other says “we clean them thar roofs real good like.” Guess who will get the call if the homeowner is unsure or a little skittish?
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I think most homeowners see thru that kinda stuff. My wife is college educated and probably a typical mom who calls for services. She calls the $99 guy to wash the house because he is cheap and good. Same for carpet cleaning and the like. I think most people see thru the certification stuff as nothing more than BBB and Chamber of Commerce mumbo jumbo. Even still if they are that impressed with a cert and look it up they will see easily enough that it is either the pay for it online kind like awesome wash bought or just a peer based cert program. Either way, it’s better to lose money than support an org. Just my thoughts. Everyone has to do what suits them.
People can argue about how much the general public are influenced by certifications, but there’s really no downside to having it. It can either do nothing, or help… so unless you have some issues about giving money to the group that offers it, it’s probably a smart move marketing-wise.
I doubt most customers would take the time to investigate certification programs, but I suppose some might. The UAMCC certification isn’t EZ mode pay and get it… you have to have a minimum of 2 years in business, have 10 hours outside training if less than 5 years, and then pass a test.
http://www.uamcc.org/education/certification
I would imagine any average customer that looked that up would be very impressed by it.
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They work and have been known to work for a long time. Certifications are no different. I am very aware of these certifications being ■■■■■■■■ and will still choose a company that has them over one that does not.
Here is another way to look at it.
It’s what your conscience can live with I guess. There is a lot more to owning a business than making money.
I kind of agree with @tireshark. I don’t think having them hurts you in anyway plus I feel like that if someone at least made the effort to get one, even if it’s kind of cheesy, then they’re at least making some effort to become more knowledgeable.
I am a firm believer in training. When I first started I went to 5-6 events and took some courses in things that interested me. No, they weren’t the all encompassing that spending days doing hands-on would be, but did expose me to different techniques, and products but most of all met some people that if I did come up on a problem and needed some help or more info I could reach out to. I’ve taken courses in waste water management, ladder safety(several), wood restoration, etc.
Do I know a whole lot about waste water management, hell no, but I am more aware of the potential pitfalls and have enough sense that if it may be a problem I’d call someone. The ladder and roof safety courses were right up my alley and parts of it were hands on and they helped a lot. Wood restoration I do a fair amount, but by no means do I know as much as someone who does it daily or has been doing it for years, so it was nice to learn some tips from guys who do a ton of it. Plus you learn all the things you don’t know that you might think you did.
Heck I learn something new every job, so I think taking some structured training helps. I have guys come in all the time to work with me on roof cleaning and I know I’ve helped them.
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Lol. Come on man, we aren’t talking about setting up an offshore account to take advantage of a tax loophole… we are just talking about educational certificates.
I dont know about all the drama that went down between everyone in the past, so i cant speak to that. What I can do, is research the programs that are offered, and follow up with participants to see if the courses are worth the time.
If you know of some trusted places that offer training programs, im all ears… but if not, then we can only choose from the sources that offer them.
Raymond Burke wirh spraywash academy is top notch. Paul Kassander, now that he has broken ries with Uamcc, is a good bet. Anything with ties to uamc or pwn@ I can’t support with money or any type of endorsements.
Maybe it was me?
Remember, don’t relegate your self to “we can only choose from the scources that offer them”. Sometimes the scources are evil and need to dry up from lack of funding.
Yeah I get what you are saying, and it’s a valid point, but right now there are only a handfull of training programs out there, and even fewer from people that no one has a problem with. I think we will see more offerings from solid dudes as the industry progress.
Ray and Paul are good guys, but no training programs yet I believe. I think Ray is going to start up some soon, which should be nice. I’m not a huge UAMCC guy, but their certification program seems to be the most stringent. I’ve written about the SWS certification program before. I don’t agree with all of their marketing tactics, but their course is extremely thorough and professional.
Right now I’ve got my eye on an @Everett_Abrams wood course down in Texas with Doug Rucker in February. 3 days including a hands on deck and house restore. Would be awesome to work alongside Everett on a real job!
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Everett is top Notch. Everyone come to my shop, I’ll cook a hog, charge $200 and tell y’all all I know. Don’t know what we will do after that 15 minutes is up but we can watch the hog cook. I’ll write certifications until I run out of scrap paper.
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Certifications must be on high quality paper for authenticity. A fiverr trust badge as well for the website/marketing materials and I’m in. Can we have collard greens and corn bread too? 
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Sorry man, I can’t deal with walking next to someone wearing overalls in public. You three will have to figure it out. 
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Sorry, I can’t support an org that doesnt believe in ball valves… however, if Ikii is coming, I’ll make an exception.
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