Faces of the Inspection Business
Many Faces of the Inspection Business
by Roger Gerber
Most people outside of the flooring industry have little or no knowledge of who a flooring inspector is, much less what he does. The role of the inspector and WHO he is has also changed drastically over the years. I am going to touch on a few of the high points.
Let’s start with who the inspector is or has been over the years. Back in the 60′s when I started, much of the flooring came from Distributors, and their sales representatives would often do a cursory inspection. Then, with more direct sales from the Manufacturers, we saw a lot of “old industry veterans” who knew the processes from top to bottom as Mill Reps. These guys usually knew their stuff. By and large they were fair, knowledgeable, and truly wanted to do their best for the manufacturer as well as the retailer and end-user. As time went on these guys retired and the wave of young, college educated, sales professionals came on the scene. Their game was sales, and it was soon realized that they were more valuable selling than looking at Aunt Mildred’s wrinkled carpet.
A new generation of floor inspectors was born, many of whom were industry veterans looking to slow down a little. Then when it was realized that more were needed, inspector schools were started to train flooring professionals in what was needed and expected of them. Several of these flourished and sent out a lot of well trained men and women. Other individuals saw opportunity here and today we have a large number of competing entities offering overlapping education for what at times seem to be inflated fees.
But the Industry was still changing. Economics for the mills meant that they needed to cut costs and centralize operations and so “Inspection Services” were born. One-call-does-it-all, so to speak. Unfortunately, these services at times were lacking in coverage in some areas and were willing to use less qualified inspectors, the thinking was they would review their work before submitting to the commissioning party. Several of these have flourished and grown, some have folded and disappeared.
As will happen with any industry, there are some who work much harder than others and so they rise above the crowd. The likes of Ray Thompson, Tim Smith, Lew Migliore and others are well known for publishing articles and doing high profile work. Then there are the everyday inspectors who just want to do an honest days work and go home to their family at night. I firmly believe there is a place in the business for both types.
What is somewhat disturbing, however, is a trend in the last few years to see that different training, certifying and promoting organizations have taken on a negative stance that they are the only one that should be recognized by the manufacturers. Rather than fragmenting the industry into smaller and smaller pieces, in these troubled economic times we need to be drawing together to better serve our customers. They are ultimately the folks who have requested our services and are relying on us to help them solve problems. If we keep customers happy, eventually we will see repeat business from them. There is no better time to build a relationship and shine in your customer’s eyes than in the careful process of problem resolution.
So where is your niche? What part of the inspection business appeals to you? If you have chosen one segment, work at getting the training and knowledge that is necessary to be the best you can be. Quality minded manufacturers, retailers and consumers will always appreciate an inspector who is doing his very best.