Not all floor buffers are the same, and distributor salespeople need to know the difference. Most good jan/san distributors have adroit salespeople who can prescribe the right buffer — or “polisher,” if you prefer — for a particular job or building. However, there are still many cleaning professionals who are using the wrong terminology when it comes to this vital floor-maintenance machine, says Deedra Cordial, vice president of operations for Maintenance Mart, a Phoenix-based jan/san distributor.

“When you’re talking about floor buffers, the basic starting point is whether a customer needs a high-speed buffer or a low-speed buffer,” says Cordial. “With about 60 percent of our customers, we know what kind of buffer they’re looking for because we have a good relationship with them and we know their needs. The other 40 percent, however, often don’t know what they’re looking for. They just know they need a floor buffer.”

An average high-speed buffer runs at about 1,500 revolutions per minute (rpms). The speed is much slower for low-speed buffers — closer to 175 rpms. Although both machines are called buffers, in actuality they are two different floor machines with two distinct purposes.

Slow, But Versatile
Despite the significant difference in performance speeds, the thing that sets a low-speed buffer apart from its renowned sibling is the cost, according to customers. End users can save hundreds of dollars by purchasing a low-speed buffer, but it could cost them more in the long run, says Michael Overby, president of Pro-San Maintenance Supply, Durham, N.C.

“We try to explain to our customers that although the up-front cost is much cheaper, a low-speed buffer just won’t give a floor the gloss and polish of a high-speed buffer,” says Overby. “They might pay less initially, but they’ll have to put in more time and effort to get the same results.”

“Unfortunately, price is all some purchasing agents think about,” says Cordial. “Of course, for some customers, a low-speed buffer really is the best solution. We have a lot of mom-and-pop operations that make due with low-speed buffers.”

Not every building needs the high-gloss look of a top-tier facility, adds Overby. “For some of the smaller buildings, a low-speed buffer might be a good fit. Those buildings usually don’t have huge budgets, and an advantage to the low-speed buffer is that it’s a highly durable machine. In my experience, low-speed buffers last a long time.”

In addition to being durable, low-speed buffers are also versatile. Unlike high-speed buffers that can only be used for buffing floors, low-speed versions are gentle enough to also serve as carpet-cleaning machines.

“That’s the feature that really makes a low-speed buffer a different kind of machine,” says Overby. “If you need something to buff floors and also bonnet carpet, then you need to go with a low-speed buffer. Trying to bonnet with a high-speed buffer will damage the carpet, as well as the buffer.”

Shine On
Although the low-speed buffer is more versatile, and does less damage to customers’ budgets, there’s still no substitute for the performance that comes from a high-speed buffer.

High-speed buffers enable cleaners to leave the mark of quality work on every floor they polish, which in turns leaves a good mark on the distributor, says Cordial. “The better the equipment, the better the job they’re able to do,” she says. “If we sell them good equipment and people notice the quality of the cleaning job, it’s great publicity for us.”

Cordial adds that 75 percent of the customers who buy floor buffers from Maintenance Mart are building service contractors (BSCs), so she doesn’t want to sell a cheap machine that will be an impediment to the quality they offer.

“The better the shine on the floor, the more accounts they’re likely to get in the future,” she says. “A distributor has to work with each customer — whether they’re BSCs or not — and know how a product is going to affect the job [customers are] trying to accomplish.”

The weight of a high-speed buffer is also a primary consideration for end users, and therefore for distributors, too. As more and more floor machines are being manufactured with plastic, buffers have lost a considerable amount of weight. Today’s lighter machines make it more difficult for cleaners to get the floor pressure needed to create a high-gloss shine.

“On a standard 20-inch buffer, you don’t want to go any lighter than 85 pounds,” says Cordial. “Of course, speed is critical for attaining a good shine on a floor, but weight is just as important.”

Know Thy Customer
As with any product, the exact way it’s used will vary from customer to customer, depending on the facility type. Floor buffers are no different. In addition to the major difference in buffer models — high-speed vs. low-speed — there are also differences in durability and the machine’s energy source. Not only that, buffer sales tend to run in purchasing cycles, says Overby, so distributors need to be aware of when a new buying cycle is approaching for a customer.

“There are spurts that occur, and that’s when we usually sell a lot of buffers,” he says. “With contractors, it usually happens when they get new accounts, with a school it could happen when they add a building. Every customer is different. We just have to be ready to meet their needs.”

Contractors’ biggest need, aside from getting a machine that produces good results, is getting a buffer that is durable, says Cordial. “I was a janitor for 13 years, so I know the abuse that these buffers can go through, especially for contractors,” she says. “They’re dragging these things from job to job and getting them in and out of trucks every hour — they have to be very tough to stand up to the abuse.”

The decision that has the most impact on labor costs has to do with the buffer’s power source. Although electric buffers are about half the price of propane-powered buffers, the propane models can do eight times as much work in the same amount of time, according to Overby.

“By far, we’re selling more propane buffers than electric because people just don’t want to have to walk back to an outlet and unplug an electric cord every time then move to another room,” he says. “With the propane buffers, it’s like mowing grass. Cleaners can walk freely and buff the floor from room to room.”

Train and Explain
Whether it’s demonstrating the advantages of a propane buffer, explaining the importance of durability or showing how a low-speed buffer can be used to bonnet carpet, distributors need to take the time to train their customers.

Even the basics of how to operate a floor buffer require adequate training. “We usually show our customers how to hold a spray bottle in one hand and the buffer in the other as you walk backward,” says Cordial. “You spray on the floor and then carefully buff the area that was just sprayed.”

Buffing a floor well, like most cleaning procedures, requires time and practice to develop the most effective technique.

“It starts out being kind of hard to do, but if you work with your customers, they’ll get it right,” says Cordial.

 




POSTED ON: 5/1/2004