Equipment Recommendations

In a past article I responded to an inquiry regarding my endorsing or recommending chemicals, and I’ve received similar questions regarding equipment lines. I have a policy of NOT endorsing one product over the other since there are many great manufacturers and distributors on the market.

Although I have my preferences based on past experiences with certain brands, I do not believe it would be appropriate to recommend a brand to you. I take the same position on equipment. What I try to do is to recommend systems in a generic way and let you, the reader decide which brand to purchase. Equipment is very important and following are a few suggestions that might help:

1. Do you already have one or two equipment brands that you use? If so, I suggest you evaluate them first before trying something totally new.

2. Is the equipment durable? Equipment that is regularly off line is a money pit that can hurt your bottom line.

3. What do your friends and associates use and why? You may be able to gain some great information from their experiences. For instance, there are vendors that I do not like to use because of their poor support after the sale.

4. How important is productivity to you? For instance, you should be using the right speed burnisher and pads on the right surface (think solids content or other attributes) so that you spend the least amount of time maintaining a floor to fulfill the specifications.

5. How safe and ergonomic are the machines you use? This is very important today since fatigue, carpel tunnel and other issues can have a radical impact on your bottom line.

6. Can the equipment be serviced and maintained by your staff or does everything have to go back to the distributor? If so, consider a maintenance plan with loaner equipment included in the mix.

I am certain that you can research and select the best equipment for your particular needs.

Your comments and feedback are always appreciated. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.