Should pressure washing companies be licensed???

[Henry Bockman 14]

I'd like to run a poll and get as many people as possible to vote.

Think about it for a minute, we work with pretty extreme pressure, temperatures, and some pretty nasty chemicals to do our jobs.

Take into consideration that some deck strippers are rated at 13 on the Ph scale.

Some of the acids we use are rated at 1 or 2 on the Ph scale.

Think about the amount of damage that 4,000 PSI can cause in inexperienced hands to wood, siding and concrete.

Should'nt there be some type of protection for consumers against these extremes?

I honestly believe that pressure washing should have it's own government codes (Cage ect) We have those now!

We should have our own insurance codes. We have those now I heard!

Wouldn't the next logical step to make pressure washing a recognized industry be some type of licensing requirements? This will also help to seperate us from companies that are working for extra cash on weekends, and to help raise the bar and protect consumers.

I vote yes, pressure washing companies should be licensed.

[mattleo1 14]

I believe it should've been done long time back. But its not late it should be corrected now.

[John.Harper 14]

im pretty conservative when it comes to government but its not a bad idea but how would it be approached, it would be a great marketing tool, and for commercial it would be a must, pwna would have to do some serious work for this to be a reality. It could also turn into a huge cluster**** on the other hand and make it harder on everyone just like big government does .. it would have to be approached the right way and the people who are making the rules and requirements for licensing would have to be people from the industry which sounds like a no-brainer and would probably start out that way but the way government intrudes on everything it could quickly turn sour

[tonyshelton 112]

John, you just started a paragraph saying it wouldn't be a bad idea, then spent the rest of the paragraph proving it is a bad idea.

Didn't know if you realized that.

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[John.Harper 14]

im well aware of that .. thats kinda just how its gonna go, but overall i think its a good idea

[Jim Gamble 20]

I think anything to get the low ballers out of a terroity is always good.

In 1989 low ballers was dropping the prices down to 1.5 cents a foot or less here in N. California. In some states, people boast that they get these large contracts, but lately, only to find out that they are only making a 10% profit or less due to these low ballers.

Why can't our industry make what we are all worth? Most Janitors make more cleaning toilets with an investment of a toilet brush and some cleaner than what I see what our industry is making on some of the boards.

[tonyshelton 112]

I don't know what planet you are on, but we charge along the same lines as the HVAC companies.

We had a dry clean delivery business with 8 trucks on the road and maxed out at $48/hr.

Shelly's DMV business made about the same.

I don't know if they have some kind of janitor owner's union in San Francisco, or if they get paid extra just to venture into a same-*** bathroom there, but a good friend of ours owns a very large janitorial business. We have bid jobs TOGETHER and he is Happy to get in the mid 20's!

My son, doing flatwork more than doubles all of those on a regular basis hourly.

The only lowballing I've seen is your buddy advertising $25 per hour work in Arizona on Craigslist. Most of the guys, even in Florida make much more than janitorial services do.

The result of your much awaited licensing will be more difficult entry into the business. That will mean the "gene" pool will be stuck with the good and crappy contractors that are already here. The good will not do any better and the crappy will hide behind the fact that they are licensed, so they must be good.

Like these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymktBlfcXpM&feature=related

[Chappy 138]

Tony, your right about that. The licencing system here is designed to make money to cover the licensing board and protect the grandfathered companies. Fines are sent out for advertising since unless someone reports an unlicensed contractor they dont have the staff to go out and catch them. The licencing of PWers would serve to keep out new contractors, while allowing old ones a free run no matter how good or bad at their work they are. The tests are fairly easy and open book, and you can retake them several times.

half the residential customers I deal with could care less about licensing or workers comp or any of that, and the other half who care rarely check to see if the license and certificates are valid.

[tonyshelton 112]

The market corrects itself. Government involvement of any kind in private business skews the market from good dedicated entrepreneurs to those who are willing to jump through hoops and "play ball".

It happens everytime the government gets involved.

The answer to shoddy work is word of mouth. If a contractor causes real damage THEN is the time for the government to step in and execute justice and make him repay for the damages. A few times of that and the bad contractors will fade away anyway.

Like the hvac companies in that video. They should have been required to return thousands to their former customers after being caught lying like that.

That is the proper place of the government.

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[Doug Rucker 31]

Tony, your right about that. The licencing system here is designed to make money to cover the licensing board and protect the grandfathered companies. Fines are sent out for advertising since unless someone reports an unlicensed contractor they dont have the staff to go out and catch them. The licencing of PWers would serve to keep out new contractors, while allowing old ones a free run no matter how good or bad at their work they are. The tests are fairly easy and open book, and you can retake them several times.

half the residential customers I deal with could care less about licensing or workers comp or any of that, and the other half who care rarely check to see if the license and certificates are valid.

Jon exactly right, everytime I hear someone speaking of "licensing" I think of that goof ole boy club the PCCLB. (pinellas county contsruction licensing board) Is ole Bill Owen still around??????

[tonyshelton 112]

Someone doing outstanding work at an above average price just got turned in by a competitor in Florida for not being "licensed" to do the work.

See, this has nothing to do with protecting the customers. That's a big line of BS.

It has everything to do with protecting the contractors who want to do shoddy work at a high price and don't want anybody else figuring out a more economical or better way to do it and dig into their profits.

Everyone here knows it.

In the future can we at least stop pretending that this has anything to do with protecting the poor customer (because it does zero to protect the customer anyway) and at least be honest.

Here, I'll start a licensing argument for the side that wants licensing that's based on honesty:

We, in the pressure washing community need licensing and/or regulations.

We need it because we, who have been in business for a while are grandfathered in and will be able to get a license without really proving that we know anything.

Further, because we've been around a long time we can get in with the local government and participate in making up all the requirements for the new, incoming guys to make it really hard for them to start a pressure washing business at all. (EPA - here we come with our self-imposed rules - IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!!!)

Most potential new contractors will just give up.

That way we can keep our prices high because we are the only option out there for the customer. We don't even have to do a good job anymore because the customer has FEW choices!

BRING ON THE LICENSING - We don't want to have to improve our methods and services. We like keeping our industry right where it is.

It worked for the HVAC companies! Prices high as h#ll and sometimes you have to wait over a week to get you an appointment, But HEY, they are making BANK!!! Right?

It worked for the Auto Mechanics! Everybody knows that since they all have to be licensed now we can all rest assured that every thing they do is on the up and up. RIGHT?

LOL.

There aren't too many things in this world that are so obviously wrong. Asking for more licensing or regulations is a no brainer. It's just bad news all the way around.

I'm wasting my breath. The ones who need to hear this are the very one's who won't.

[Chappy 138]

Someone doing outstanding work at an above average price just got turned in by a competitor in Florida for not being "licensed" to do the work.

See, this has nothing to do with protecting the customers. That's a big line of BS.

It has everything to do with protecting the contractors who want to do shoddy work at a high price and don't want anybody else figuring out a more economical or better way to do it and dig into their profits.

Everyone here knows it.

In the future can we at least stop pretending that this has anything to do with protecting the poor customer (because it does zero to protect the customer anyway) and at least be honest.

Here, I'll start a licensing argument for the side that wants licensing that's based on honesty:

We, in the pressure washing community need licensing and/or regulations.

We need it because we, who have been in business for a while are grandfathered in and will be able to get a license without really proving that we know anything.

Further, because we've been around a long time we can get in with the local government and participate in making up all the requirements for the new, incoming guys to make it really hard for them to start a pressure washing business at all. (EPA - here we come with our self-imposed rules - IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!!!)

Most potential new contractors will just give up.

That way we can keep our prices high because we are the only option out there for the customer. We don't even have to do a good job anymore because the customer has FEW choices!

BRING ON THE LICENSING - We don't want to have to improve our methods and services. We like keeping our industry right where it is.

It worked for the HVAC companies! Prices high as h#ll and sometimes you have to wait over a week to get you an appointment, But HEY, they are making BANK!!! Right?

It worked for the Auto Mechanics! Everybody knows that since they all have to be licensed now we can all rest assured that every thing they do is on the up and up. RIGHT?

LOL.

There aren't too many things in this world that are so obviously wrong. Asking for more licensing or regulations is a no brainer. It's just bad news all the way around.

I'm wasting my breath. The ones who need to hear this are the very one's who won't.

It is a big line of BS. Like doug said, its a good old boy network here. protect your own turf so to speak. but that being said, the licensed companies have to pay the fee every year, take 14 hours of continuing ed, prove GL and WC or at least have an exemption on file. Their is a cost associated with it, albeit minimal, but its a cost. ( I carry a painters license cause the painters on the contractors board decided decks and paver sealing is 'waterproofing' which comes under painters license. protect their turf!) Every licensed contractor knows its a joke and most customers do too. But, and its a big but, if a contractor screws a customer, the licensing board can fine, suspend and revoke licenses.

So what does the average contractor do after that happens? uses someone elses license, or just goes unlicensed. So is the consumer being protected? hell no. Go on angies list or just look up names of so called licensed contractors and see how some of these companies screw the consumer. Its a joke. The consumer has many other ways to weed out the bone head companies.

I do use my license as a selling tool, but I use my 5 star service magic rating, my Super Service award from angies list, my A rating from BBB (hell no Im not a member) and finally Ask The Seal as selling tools to put me over the competion. Customers care what other consumers think a lot more than what some joke of a government agency thinks. Licensing for PWers is a stupid idea. Youve got it exactly right Tony.

Doug, I stay away from there at all costs, I have no idea who is in charge. I just try to be nice to the office girls.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Chappy

[tonyshelton 112]

We need to all get together with the government to gouge our customers like the Taxi companies have.

Wecome to Amerika:

[Chappy 138]

That is just bizarre. Guess the limo companies didn't put enough money in the right pockets and the taxi companies did