Beth n Rod

Ding ding ding.... Jimbo called it first. if it's not algae and easily removed, it is pressure treatment. And for the record, some stains are actually so far into the wood that they cannot be removed. Just because a stain exists, also doesn't mean it poses any harm to the wood. It depends on what it is. Beth

Check the Hi/Lo nozzle for clogs or damage. Rod!~

Let me know if you find stain nirvana. Since the VOC laws changed in 2005, I don't think it exists....at least not in our state. Beth

Damn that's funny too!!! But seriously...if you want to be taken seriously - you need a signature here. Rules are rules.... Beth

Dude Man Jimbo - You crack me up son! Beth

Oh, and fix your signature.... Beth

Well, based on what you wrote, we don't see the experience coming through. You may have been doing this a while, but that doesn't mean yu are doing it correctly. Please do not misunderstand. We want to help but you need to be open to learning the correct way. You can search in individual forums. There is TONS of info here..... Beth

1. signature. House rules. 2. promise to read and search and learn before you pick that wand up again. High pressure and wood do not mix. It is not the way to restore or to clean. There is years of data here. Also if you go to the FAQ there is a section on wood care and chemicals. Study it. We hope it helps. Beth

Please add your signature. House rules. Beth

Hi Jon, Good to see you on here. Hope life is treating you well. What have you been up to? Beth

That is a very cool photo.

Most powerful pressure washers fall also into the ultra-high pressure category with psi of 20,000+ Rod!~

Looks good! Very nice setting too. Beth

http://www.necanet.org/meetings/convention/ Visit the site for details

How To Fire An Employee By Mark R. Waterfill Would you rather get your teeth drilled or fire that problem employee? It is easily the most painful part of the employment process. The case law of employment claims is rife with horrible stories of terminations gone wrong. The purpose of this article is to set out guidelines which can help to make the tooth drilling process a little easier, both for you and the terminated individual. Take as much time to fire as you did to hire. The employer who decides to fire someone at 3 PM on Friday is making a terrible mistake. Never fire in a hurry, especially when you are angry. Take your time and plan both the firing decision and the means to do it. Document performance to support the decision. Hopefully you have good documentation procedures in place already and have given the employee evaluations and warnings that the performance is sub par or that there is some other business reason for the termination. Always tell the truth. If the termination is not for cause but because of a downsizing, then do not make up other reasons, tell the employee you have to downsize. However, if the reason given is that there is a downsizing, make sure that you are not looking to fill the position in the near future. Fire the employee for what they admit to have done, not what is speculated to have happened. In almost every for cause termination situation there are facts that the employee admits which are sufficient to justify the action. Use those as the reason for the termination, not what is suspected. For example, the bank teller who admits that she failed to count the money before placing it in the bag will be fired for that and not for theft of the money which she adamantly denies. Use a team to deliver the news. The team should consist of a person with authority to make the decision and one who can handle the details of the exit. It is often advisable to have a male-female team to handle the matter. Consider using a termination letter. Indiana law requires a written reason be given for any termination. Moreover, the exit interview can be eased substantially by the use of a termination letter. The letter can set out a general reason for the action, and handle the details of the termination with an increased degree of professionalism. Handle the money well. Know how much the employee is owed for wages, vacation, commissions, etc. By handing the fired employee an envelope with a check in the appropriate amount at the termination, you will substantially reduce the chances for lawsuit by a disgruntled employee. Terminate in a neutral site such as a board room or conference room. Besides being more fair to the discharged employ, the neutral site is more flexible than the president's office. The terminated employee may want to go over every detail of removing each nick nack from the office or go over other details that the company president doesn't need to remain to discuss. By using the neutral site, these situations can be avoided. Shut up. Termination interviews can be ruined by poorly stated oral presentations. You have labored over this letter which the employee is trying to read, so let them do so. The best terminations are when the employee reads the letter shakes your hand and walks out the door, nothing more to be said. Don't ruin it by talking too much. Also, don't engage in debate. The decision has been made and there is no reason to continue a discussion on the point. Consider a severance package. Many employees are looking for a "package" consisting of severance and other benefits. If you are willing to pay more than two severance, you should have an employment attorney draft a complete severance and release agreement which complies with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. In the long run, you may save a lot of time and money by providing a severance package. Remind the employee of any obligations to the company. In many states, including Indiana, covenants not to compete are enforceable even against employees who have been fired. Also, many employees know confidential trade secrets belonging to the company and they may not realize the liability they face for misappropriating those. It is good practice to remind employees of their obligations in the terminations letter. Post-termination considerations. Do not follow all of these suggestions and then screw up the entire matter after the fact. Be aware that post-termination defamation or discrimination claims can be very expensive. Keep the circumstances of the termination confidential and instruct all others to do the same. Firing an employee is easily the hardest part of management. However, by following these guidelines you might find that what you thought would be a difficult termination turn out to be as harmless as a visit to the dentist - with no cavities. http://www.pcsi-inc.com/publications/howToFire.php

Misconceptions About OSHA By Bill Taylor, CSP When a manager sits down for the weekly staff meeting he or she is surrounded by those people with direct control and responsibility for all aspects of the business/department managers. If a problem comes up, say for example, costs are too high, the manager does not turn to the finance manager casting blame and dictate he or she work harder to cut costs. Instead, a good manager, knowing cost overruns can occur anywhere, will try to pinpoint the problem so efforts to resolve the problem can be properly focused. The manager knows that everyone sitting around that table has a responsibility to control costs. Likewise, the manager will tell you that everyone at the table is responsible for managing production, quality, people, etc. These department managers in turn hold supervisors and employees accountable for the same charge. In other words, everyone has a responsibility for assuring production is met, quality is high, and costs are low because any employee can damage product, affect quality, or run up costs. Therefore, every employee makes up the production, quality and cost organizations. In this article, we'll talk about how to manage workplace safety and health the same way you manage the rest of your business. Why is safety different? Why is it that we manage safety in a different way? First of all, the safety manager is often just a warm body. Or it may be some young employee who was a sewing machine mechanic yesterday. Or perhaps we hired a bonafide safety manager, but we still do not have them at the manager's weekly staff meeting. We establish teams such as quality teams, to get employees involved in the quality process. We empower employees with the freedom to stop an entire production line if they are aware of a problem affecting production or quality. Because of this increased participation our production is good, quality is up and costs are down. We have sought the participation of a very vital and knowledgeable resource --our employees. But again, we manage safety differently. We do not involve employees in the safety process except maybe to put them on a safety committee or do an inspection. We do not hold employees to the same level of enforcement for earplugs, glasses and lockout as we do punctuality and insubordination. The Team Approach We have learned that if we want to improve something for which employees are responsible then we make it an important part of their workday. We put them on a team or committee and give them responsibility. We hold them accountable and recognize their efforts. We recognize them as knowledgeable adults with an ability to contribute to the overall effort. By involving the employees, they develop a greater sense of awareness and ownership. The result is better production, lower cost, etc. This empowerment (involvement) is actually changing the behavior of the workers. We have altered employee attitudes through proper motivation. Other Motivations Certainly there are different ways to motivate workers. Workers can be motivated by fear -- fear of losing money and/or their jobs for example. And while fear can be a powerful motivator, it is by no means the preferred method. For one thing, workers should not have to work under a shroud of fear. But also, the fear is usually short-lived. Once they realize they will not be reprimanded for failure to lockout the equipment, many will stop following proper lockout procedures. This is especially true if there is some personal benefit to be gained, such as saving time. Another method of motivating workers is by desire. Make it desirable for the employee to follow proper procedures. But like fear, the motivation is not long lasting. When something comes along that may prove more desirable to the worker, their priorities will change. By far the best method of motivation is by belief. If we can get the employee to understand it is in their best interest to follow proper safety procedures, then they are more apt to follow procedures. Employees must understand why it is important to perform in a certain manner and believe it is the right thing to do. Only then can we realize a change in the behavior of individuals that will be long lasting. They are following procedures, not because they are afraid of losing their job, or because they will be given some incentive award. They do it because it is important The Central Safety and Health Committee Method The Central Safety and Health Committee/Task Group method of managing safety is a behavioral management system. Developed in 1978, it is still a system as effective as any method available. The success of the system is based on the fact management recognizes the value of workers, as well as their abilities to get things accomplished. It succeeds because management empowers workers to DO things other than attend a monthly safety committee meeting. Workers realize that safety, just like production, quality, costs, etc. is also an integral part of their job. Their behavior changes and safety becomes a culture at the work-site. The Rest of the Battle While employee involvement is crucial to the success of a safety program, it is only half the battle. A safety and health program will be as good as management wants it to be, or as poor as management will allow it to be. Managers have to enforce safety and make sure that their employees actually follow the procedures that have been established and talked about in their committee meetings. Employee safety is important to managers. The problem is, we have historically managed safety by assigning responsibilities to an individual as collateral duties, or hiring a safety manager expecting him or her to insure worker safety. We form safety committees to do inspections and come up with ideas, again, expecting them to keep everyone safe. This is not how we manage other issues so why manage safety this way? Why do we not hold department managers, supervisors, and foremen to the same level of responsibility and accountability for insuring safety of workers in their charge as we do assuring good production? Well, in case you haven't figured out where this is going, it goes straight to behavioral expectations. If I expect my department managers to behave like managers then I expect them to take whatever action is defined by company policy to insure his/ her workers are performing at peak performance. I expect them to insure good production, maximum quality and minimum costs. If they do not meet this expectation then their performance and their behavior is inadequate. If their employees are violating procedures (unacceptable behavior) and they permit this, that in turn, makes the manager's behavior unacceptable. If an employee fails to properly lockout equipment or wear required hearing protection, then that employee is not doing the job right. And, if the supervisor is aware of this and fails to respond, then the supervisor is not doing his/her job right. It is not enough to change or attempt to change the behavior of the employee alone. To be successful requires effort on the part of management and labor. It requires everyone doing their jobs right. If employee behavior is substandard then both employee and management behavior must be changed. Because the bottom line is, if you have a safety problem, then you have a management problem. The many plant managers who have experienced success with the Central Safety and Health Committee management method will tell you they were successful because everyone was expected to make safety part of their job, and safety was to be managed just as everything else -- no differently. Safety, like production and quality, crosses all boundaries into every job, so why manage it in a different way? But, if a company has a safety program and people are still getting injured, then something is wrong. The problem is usually a lack of enforcement -- unacceptable management behavior. Management behavior will not change until the ranking manager says so. Until such time as the boss takes control and demands change, it will not happen. Employees will still fail to lock out equipment and supervisors and managers will still permit it because it is faster and speeds production. And people will still get hurt. Employee behavior, just like anything else, begins at the top. If managers expect good safety behavior, they must change their own behavior first. http://www.ctjsafety.com/art_manag_behav.htm

Merry Christmas!!!!!! :lghohoho::lghohoho::lghohoho: Beth

We’ve all heard the stories before, stories about – contractors. Folks are eager to share their experiences with others in vivid detail. Nightmarish stories about contractors leave a bad taste in the mouths of many consumers today. Statements like, I could never reach him, he never returned my calls, didn’t finish the job, used to spit in the azaleas, pee in the bushes, smoke on my property and throw cigarette stubs in my lawn, would drink beer on my property, and the all time classic – you could see his butt crack! It’s easy to see why contractors get a bad rap. But it’s not impossible to get past this negative stereotype; it just takes a bit of work. Creating a negative image is easy; you don’t need to know how to do that, it’s effortless, disgusting and unprofessional. That’s the problem! Creating a positive and professional image, well, that takes a little more effort. If you aren’t up for the challenge of bettering yourself or your company then you have made a decision to remain stereotyped. On the other hand, if you want to succeed and help your business grow you’re going to have to bite the bullet and take the following steps to get you there. Begin with the end in mind. Where do you see yourself and your company next year? It’s important to visualize the image you want to create for the company. Next think about the impression you want to create in the mind of the customer. If you can’t imagine it, you can’t focus on it and it won’t be presented as polished or professional. If you’ve read my other articles you should know how I feel about consistency. If not, go back and read them when we’re done here. Consistency is extremely important, and is critical to the image of your company. All flyers, print ads, and brochures, should all have the same look and feel. Keep your logo, slogan, font, colors, and message consistent throughout. Make sure that your company name is on your truck; regardless of if it’s a magnetic sign or permanent lettering. Why? Because developing name recognition is all about the consumer being able to spot your company name and be comfortable because they have seen it somewhere else. Having the company name on your vehicle also presents a sense of permanence and stability to the consumer. Ok, so you’ve done that. Are you still getting the cold shoulder? Well, what do you wear when you go out to do your estimates? Are you in old dirty torn jeans or nice clean new ones or maybe some khakis? Does your t-shirt have a chili stain on it? Or do you have a nice clean company t-shirt or polo shirt with the logo on it? Clean shoes? Neatly combed hair and brushed teeth? Good. You should. It helps. Alright, so far we have professional literature and a polished looking person coming to the door. But what happens after you ring the doorbell and have to begin speaking to someone? Always introduce yourself, be polite, and shake their hand. It’s important to know what the standard questions are that could be asked of you, and it’s even more important to know how to answer them. You’ll get a feel for that pretty quickly if you’re new. A word of caution here. Don’t make it up as you go, people will be able to tell if you pull the answer out of thin air and are lying, not to mention they may well have spoken to another contractor who knew the answers and took the time to explain them to the customer. If you don’t know, tell them you’ll find out and get back to them. Then do it. Do make sure that you have a polished and professional delivery when you speak. Practice some of your answers if you are uncomfortable speaking in public or to people. It helps with stage fright. Maintain good eye contact and use only proper language. No vulgar language or staring at the ground or off in another direction. It’s annoying and it makes people feel like you are being deceptive. Remember to thank them when you leave. The image you’re creating should be reflected in your employees as well. Make certain to discuss the level of conduct you expect from them, including courtesy and discussions about the job. Be careful to let them know not to try to answer specific questions about the work they are not trained or experienced enough to handle. The customer is going to remember one thing, and one thing only; the employee told me that _________. Fill in the blank. You get my point. Misinformation at the hand of a well-meaning, eager employee can be your downfall. Make sure workers know to tell the customers to either call the office, or that they’ll relay the message. Shift the dialog back to the professional. It’s where it belongs. Employees need to maintain their appearance too. A good place to start might be to have them wear company t-shirts. Additionally, while many customers may not be in when work is performed, it is always best to check and see if someone is there when workers arrive, and also to let them know when they’re leaving. It just seems to sit better with the homeowner if you communicate with them if they’re there. It’s their property after all, and they’ll appreciate the respect for it, as well as the professionalism. Let’s step back and take a look for a minute, shall we? Joe Customer gets two flyers in his front door. One from you, and one from Company X. Yours seems familiar to him since you advertise in other areas like the phone book and maybe a coupon mailer. All your ads are designed to look the same. He likes your flyer. Company X has a flyer that simply says: “PRESSURE WASHING COMPANY X CALL JOHN 555-1212 FREE ESTIMATES” Joe customer calls you both, since he wants more than one quote. Company X shows up in dirty jeans and the t-shirt with chili stains. You show up in a professional looking company outfit. Company X makes up answers as he goes. He’s not polite, doesn’t shake hands, or look at the customer. You shake the customer’s hand, are polite and informative. See how easy that was? You’ll get the job.

WilliamEthen - Please add your signature - house rules. Beth

I love Amazon.com Beth

The last coach handbag I had was made in the USA I think. It was.....well too many years ago. But then, properly cared for a good leather handbag will last half a lifetime or more. Beth