Welcome To 2010

Ahh, the beginning of a new decade, the prospect of starting over, getting it right, advancing to the next level.

I have been giving deep thought to the new decade. I wish that I had a crystal ball and could look into the future to see how the next 10 years will impact our environment and how we will need to react to those situations.

I wonder what influences will effect our living, working, and playing environments? After all, our focus at the beginning of the new millennium was not H1N1, Green Cleaning, the down sizing of business in the world or any of the obstacles before us now. We all were wondering if every computer would stop at the stroke of midnight 2000 or if the computer viruses that we heard about would wreck havoc on our national defense, banking, and investment systems.

So, how do we prepare for the new decade. At PerfectVacs.com we are reviewing every single integral component of our business to insure we are utilizing every imaginable tool to be efficient...in our manufacturing practices, design of new products, distribution, and packaging. We are striving to achieve "best practice" in each area to insure that we are offering the very best product at the very best price...when you want it and how you want it.

We want to hear from you with any suggestions that you might have. Feel free to call, write, fax, email or whip up a smoke signal if you have any suggestions that will help us help you.

All of us at PerfectVacs.com wish you the very best, healthiest, and prosperous New Year and coming decade.

Successfully Repackaging Your Business

Click the 'PLAY' button to listen while you read.

 

 

Recently while watching television one evening (something that I do to empty my mind and just veg out) the OnStar commercial caught my attention.

OnStar, formed in 1995, was a collaboration between GM, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and Hughes Electronics Corporation, each bringing expertise to the enterprise to integrate phone, email, turn by turn directions, remote automobile diagnosis, and emergency service to GM equipped automobiles.

In 1996 GM began equipping certain models with OnStar, offering a free service period then requiring monthly fee based service.

While millions of automobiles have been equipped with OnStar over the past 13 years, as of December of 2007 OnStar only had 500,000 or so subscribers.

Why so few? The answer in my opinion has to do with marketing, not technology.

Almost every human driving an automobile has some type of mobile communicating device. Mobile Phone, Smart Phone, iPhone; all equipped with GPS technology, mobile communication capabilities, mapping.

Most people must have thought as I did (I have a vehicle with OnStar that I have never used) "why pay for something that I already have"?

What caught my eye and almost knocked me over while watching the ad on TV was how GM has re-introduced OnStar as the ultimate driving safety device. Instead of trying to compete with other mobile communicators, GM has positioned OnStar as the ONLY device that will not become airborne in an accident, will not become lodged under or between the seats at that moment when assistance is critical, and does not require the driver to take hands off the steering wheel or eyes off the road to use.

What a stroke of genius. Taking 13 year old technology and repackaging it to better the competition at their own game. Just think, everyone can relate to trying to find their phone in the car when they make a quick turn or stop suddenly, can you imagine trying to find your phone after an accident when you are shaken up, injured, or worse?

When thinking about how to best market your company doesn't it make sense to take a step back and think about what you really provide in the way of services or products? Janitorial Company or Environmental Management Company, Janitor Supply or Environmental Tool Management System? Computer Nerd or Data and System Technical Services?

OnStar could teach us all a lesson in marketing and communication to our current and prospective customer.

HELP ME HELP YOU!

Click the 'PLAY' button to listen while you read.

 

 

Ouch! The current economic climate has made the cost of doing business outrageous. Every day, and in every way, new challenges face you.

You need to become the most efficient, tightest, most cost controlled competitor in your market. To transform into a better, faster, more responsive, and more cost efficient operation than your competitors - and to keep your current business as well as secure more business - you can benefit enormously from consulting with others in the industry. I am offering you whatever assistance that I can give.

DEFEND WHAT'S YOURS...TAKE WHAT'S NOT

There are several areas where you can benefit from my experience

• Labor Cost Controls
• Equipment Evaluation and Costing
• Practices That Cut Costs
• Cutting Consumable Costs
• Measuring Customer Satisfaction

I recently heard a very smart man, Mr. Roy Williams of The Wizard Academy make a very profound statement. "Traditional Wisdom typically is more tradition than wisdom". Following that logic I interpret Mr. Williams message to mean, If you continue doing business in this outrageous business environment in the same way without questioning whether your past practices are suitable to today's environment, you are betting more on tradition than wisdom.

With over 40 years experience in every aspect of the cleaning business from swabbing the decks with a mop to manufacturing vacuum cleaners, I have a wealth of knowledge and a network of business contacts that can be of value to you.

HELP ME HELP YOU! Feel free to email (harold@perfectvacs.com) call (800-338-1739), fax (877-638-6121) write (3808 Turkey Creek Drive, Building 100, Austin, TX 78730-3713) or whip up a smoke signal (please be careful, Austin, TX is suffering from the worst drought in over 50 years) if you have any questions or want free advice or just want to vent to someone about how tough it is right now.

Harold Mindlin

When $$$'s Are Tight, Search For The Best Prices!

Ever wonder why the replacement parts and accessories for your backpack vacuums cost so much? Ever wonder why the OEM parts for your car cost so much too? The answer is really quite simple… Manufacturers don't want the public to buy their parts and build a product for less money than a new one costs.

At PerfectVacs.com, we feel that in these trying economic times you deserve, and should get, the very BEST PRICE POSSIBLE for all replacement parts, motors, switches, harnesses, filter bags, wands, etc. Whatever you need to keep your tools in tip-top running condition and ready for action.

Whether you own a Pro-Team Super Coach, Quarter-Vac, MegaVac; Oreck XLPro 6 or 10 Quart, Windsor VacPak 6 or 10 quart, or Sandia Raven, Super Rave, Hipster; or any other type of backpack vacuum; we have the parts you need - in stock, at the BEST PRICE, and available for immediate delivery.

In today's unprecedented economic environment every penny you spend reduces your bottom line. For that reason, at PerfectVacs.com there are NO FREIGHT CHARGES, that's right, FREE FREIGHT on all orders $50 and over and for any new vacuum ordered. We want to do our part to assist you in keeping your costs down by our own American Economic Stimulus Package. When you place your order don't forget to use coupon code, ESP to get FREE FREIGHT.

We are looking forward to serving you in any way we can. Our goal is to provide you with the ultimate shopping experience. So, if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hello, call, fax, email, or whip up a smoke signal.


We will promptly respond to your needs.

Grand Re-Opening of PerfectVacs.com

Grand Re-Opening of http://www.perfectvacs.com/!

We are celebrating the GRAND RE-OPENING of our website, http://www.perfectvacs.com/, to better serve our customers. We wanted to make our site, faster, more secure, and easier to use.

Our goal is to keep our prices as low as possible. We know that you are facing unprecedented challenges in today’s economic environment. Your customers are asking you to keep their prices low, cut costs wherever possible.

We have instituted our "BEST PRICE PROMISE" to insure that you know we are doing everything humanly possible to keep prices low. We have challenged every department in our company - engineering, manufacturing, advertising, and shipping -- to search for any way to reduce costs that we can pass on to you.

We have also decided to include FREE SHIPPING on all parts, accessories, and filter bag orders over $50.00 and on any equipment order to any location in the contiguous 48 US State.


Finally, we want to hear from you. If you need anything from us, or just
want to say "what up" feel free call, email, write a letter, send a
telegram, or whip up a smoke signal.

Where Does "Green"Cleaning Really Start

I find it interesting that there is such ado over Green Cleaning today.  Everywhere you turn, someone is touting their "green" initatives.  Wal-Mart, Target, major shopping centers, even new construction.  It is all in the news today.

My question is, "Where Does Green Cleaning Really Start"?  Is it the chemical we use for cleaning, the materials we use for wiping, the disposal of those products or how much electricity the equipment we use for daily consumes?

I believe that "green cleaning" starts with energy consumption.  While we don't see it, smell it, touch it, electricity is a very large part of the cleaning process.  

Whether vacuuming for 4-5 hours per day in an office building or running a floor machine for 5 hours a night in school, the energy that is consumed has a direct effect on our environment.  

Heat released by burning fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas, etc. is used to generate high pressure steam. This high pressure steam is used to drive turbines which in turn produce electricity. This is the most common method today; but it releases large quantities of carbon dioxide in atmosphere which is detrimental, in short term as well as long terms, for the society.

Water, Wind, Nuclear Fuel, and Bio-Waste are all alternate forms of energy production.  While they have less or no impact on the environment, these types of energy production are relatively low compared to fossil fuel.

So, why do I feel that "green cleaning" begins with cleaning equipment.  Because if we can save 10% of the energy consumed by cleaning equipment the end result is a VERY big impact on both the environment and the cost of energy.  

We at Perfect Vacs are committed to developing and offering the latest in energy equipment. Our 6 and 10 Quart BackPack Vacuums consume a minimum of 10% less energy than our competitors as well as operate at approximately 40 degrees cooler.  

US Green Building Council

I had an interesting call the other day from one of my customers asking if our vacuums were LEED Certified.

Since I had never heard of "LEED" Certification I did a little investigative work (aka google LEED Certification) to find out what my customer was refering to. It turns out that the U.S. Green Building Council has developed a rating system , "The Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System". The LEED System is a third-party certification program and self professed nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED provides building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their building performance.

As it turns out, USGBC does not evaluate, approve or disapprove, or recommend any cleaning tools. The only information about LEED approved products has to do with cleaning chemicals. You can go to USGBC's web site http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19 then click on LEED Resources to see what Chemical Manufacturers and which of their chemicals are approved.

There is no doubt that standards need to be set to improve the quality and integrity of cleaning professionals. Again, there is no doubt that some national standard should be in place for all of us to use a the litmus test by which we clean. What is so darn frustrating to me and my contemporaries in the cleaning equipment business is the misconceptions and misinformation that our customers and potential customers need to wade through to find out the truth.

So, just to be certain that all of you understand, the Perfect P103 & P104 HEPA Upright Vacuum Cleaners and the Perfect PB1001 and PB1006 are all Carpet & Rug Institute Green Seal Certified for use in Green Cleaning designated building including federal and government buildings.

Hope this clears the air some.