Convention Question: Are We On The Same Wavelength?

In early August, I had the opportunity to get to know a group of about 30 building service contractors and residential housekeepers, many of whom were owner/operators, still working in the buildings themselves, at a “cleaners-only” gathering in Illinois. I always appreciate the chance to meet directly with BSCs, whether at big shows like the Building Service Contractors Association International or International Sanitary Supply Association meetings, or smaller independent conventions such as this one. It gives me the opportunity to really find out what makes contractors tick, and what they’d like to see in the pages of this magazine.

That’s always a sticky point for me, here in my “ivory tower” (OK, beige office), removed from the field. I’m on the receiving end of dozens of press releases and new-product announcements a week, but those tell me what suppliers want to sell, and not necessarily what BSCs want to buy and how they want to run their companies. Talking to cleaning contractors in person helps bridge that gap.

I left the gathering with dozens of new contacts, several story ideas that you’ll see in the pages of Contracting Profits in the next few months, and a better sense of where the average BSC is coming from. But it’s always an ongoing process; if you’ve got an idea, or just want to vent, please let us know. We’d like to know that we’re on the right track.

Stacie H. Whitacre, Editor