IWCA
Membership Requirements: A Look at Both Sides
The IWCA -- What Standards??
by
Paul Dutton, Paul's Window Washing, Montrose,
CA
When
I was at the convention in San Antonio, Texas, there seemed
to be one topic that generated the most concern. It kept coming
up over and over --- what standards will the IWCA have? As
Steven Miller from Great Lakes Window Cleaning said in the
"Forum" in last month's issue, "Just what does membership
in the IWCA stand for? What does it mean?" In other words,
what kind of criteria is used to consider a company for IWCA
membership?
To
my knowledge, all you need is a check for $250 and the ability
to fog a mirror. I don't think it is even checked to see whether
or not the company is a window cleaning company. In many cases
the companies are actually maintenance companies that also
do window cleaning. So, are we the International Window Cleaners
or are we the International Cleaners in general? Maybe we
are the International Maintenance Cleaners. I for one, compete
with maintenance companies and, quite frankly despise their
low- ball bidding tactics and their hiring of day workers.
So
I ask you, as many are now asking, where are the standards
by which to judge an IWCA member? I sure don't want that low-ball
bidder saying he's a proud member of the IWCA. Do you? I even
heard at the convention of a company displaying the IWCA logo
in their advertisement despite the fact they weren't even
members. If we're not going to set standards for members,
then we better have some policing amongst the ranks so these
phonies won't make a mockery of the organization and our industry
as a whole!
In
my article "Let's Raise Our Prices" I was not talking about
raising our prices to get more money, I was talking about
our professionalism representing the window cleaning industry
as a whole. Based upon my experience in a highly competitive
market in Los Angeles, I know there are hundreds of companies
that are not really legitimate companies. Meaning that they
do not carry liability insurance or workmen's compensation
insurance and, much less, use subcontractors and day workers.
There always seem to be someone, usually a realtor or a major
property maintenance company, that hires these kinds of people
out. Frank Boutelle from Tri-County Window Cleaning and I
were checking out one of my large commercial estimates in
Glendale when we tumbled upon a window cleaner with a gas
station squeegee cleaning one of the store fronts in this
very exclusive part of town. This person was hired by one
of the biggest real estate firms in Los Angeles.
Now
maybe the IWCA is not the answer to our lifelong quest to
educate these ignorant companies and their pseudo practices
and stop this kind of business, but maybe it could be. Just
maybe the IWCA could stand up for the industry it represents
and take a stand. Just maybe the founders who had great visions
could set standards so that the companies that make it an
organization could represent the hard-working legitimate companies
in this country who believe in the American way.
The
IWCA "Code of Ethics" states clearly in its first premise,
"to promote the professional image and reputation of the window
cleaning industry." It continues with its second, third and
fifth premise all pertaining to maintaining the highest standards
of excellence and professionalism in our industry. The Code
of Ethics is a great document that the IWCA has based its
beliefs on. I believe in it wholeheartedlv. The TWCA
is
a wonderful idea but its code of ethics won't be worth the
paper it's written on if does not develop some standards to
judge its members by. To trust blindly all companies who join
to maintain these code of ethics, is simply not the answer
to maintaining these standards.
Thus
the next hurdle of greatness for the IWCA is to come up with
standards and restrictions for membership in our organization
before a company joins up. It has been argued that most professional
organizations don't have basic standards because it would
be impossible to police everyone. If we policed these companies
when they first joined by setting some restrictions and filling
out a comprehensive application we could eliminate these inferior
companies. After all, do we want to be like every other organization
with its criterion of fogging a mirror and writing a check,
or does the IWCA want to stand for professionalism?
It
is hard enough to convince the general public that we are
not bums and pseudo subcontractors willing to do their job
for half the price. Our professionalism must be even higher
than other industries. We hope that the IWCA can also set
new rigid professional standards for its members. At the very
least the IWCA should formulate and enact an education committee
that can help promote the code of ethics amongst all companies
in the IWCA.
This
article was reprinted with permission from American
Window Cleaner magazine.
