Pond Pulse

Volume 2, Issue 4, April, 2008

In This Issue

Message From The President

Special Days

Meaningful Messages
What Are The IPPCA Top Guns
Value
InfoTanza 08
Mentoring Program Unveiled
IPPCA Adds CEU Hours to Certification Program

Industry Standards Committee Launched
IPPCA Goes To College

Ponditat For Humanity 2008
New Membership Dues

Members of The Month

 

Calendar of Event

June 26-29, 2008
27th Annual AKCA Seminar
Jacksonville, Florida
http://www.nfkc.info  
July 10-12, 2008
Ponditat For Humanity
Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.ponditatforhumanity.com

October 2, 3 & 4, 2008

InfoTanza™ 2008

http://www.infotanza.com

Message From The President

              In an earlier Message from the President I referenced the movie NETWORK for the marketing and rating dilemmas of mass media.
             There are some in this business that have held out to the masses the "Mr. Goodwrench" comparison as to why you should be involved with their organization(s), so here from Wikipedia is a brief history of “Mr. Goodwrench.”
             GM Goodwrench is an auto repair service for General Motors.
             “Mr. Goodwrench” took to the national air waves in 1977 as a way to market General Motors franchised dealers' service departments, replacing a patchwork of separate GM-divisional offerings.
             The “Mr. Goodwrench” program, as originally conceived, required each dealer to adhere to a set of service delivery standards: requiring high levels of factory training, parts on hand, and service department amenities.
The program was backed with a national advertising campaign which featured the iconic “Mr. Goodwrench”, as the helpful “mechanic that could fix anything”.
             Beginning in 1996, the brand was changed to become GM Goodwrench Service Plus, dropping the "Mr." and any human representations.  
             As an advertising foot note, the ad agency that pitched the "Mr. Goodwrench" program had a good concept and they went looking for a persona for the ad campaign.  An Iconic person that would be recognizable.  A person like your neighborhood mechanic. (Remember this was 30 something years ago when there were still neighborhood garages and they checked your oil and cleaned your windshield.)  The man that fit the image they were looking for was found in the slums of Detroit, alcohol dependent, living on the streets and sleeping in a homeless shelter.
             I start with the "Mr. Goodwrench" analogy because it has been the first defense of some manufacturers of pond products on the market.  Frankly it wearies me. Gentle Men and Noble women, please, the IPPCA is not an evil empire, nor was the Automotive Service Excellence program as was initially portrayed by some in 1972.   However, to continue with the automotive analogies, let me counter with a comparison from the Automotive Service Excellence program profile taken from the Automotive Service Excellence web site.
             Until the early 1970s, consumers had no way to distinguish between incompetent and competent mechanics. In response to this need, the independent non-profit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) was established in 1972.
             ASE's mission is to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service through testing and certification of repair and service professionals.
             At present, about 400,000 professionals hold current certifications. They work in every segment of the auto service industry: car and truck dealerships, independent garages, fleet, service stations, franchises, and more.  

 

 

             Briefly, here's how ASE certification works: Prospective candidates register for and take one or more of ASE's 40 plus exams. The tests are grouped together into specialties for automobile, medium/heavy truck, truck equipment, school buses, and collision repair technicians as well as engine machinists, alternate fuels technicians, parts specialists, auto service consultants, and collision damage estimators.
             Motorists benefit from ASE certification; It is a valuable yardstick by which to measure the knowledge and skills of individual technicians as well as the commitment to quality of the repair facility employing ASE-Certified professionals.

             The Automotive Service Excellence program has been so successful and broadly accepted by both the industry and the consumer that they have forgotten the events before ASEs formation, like this example: I know of one such event were I once worked. A mechanic would replace a starter coil by removing the "old starter coil" and spray paint it black, so it would appear new and then re install the "new" starter coil.  The Automotive Service Excellence (like IPPCA) came into being not because of good mechanics, but because of bad and/or unscrupulous mechanics. In the late 50's and early 60's there were many exposes’ about mechanic rip-offs.
             The major auto manufacturers knew that “there might be some mechanics that would do something like that but" . . . and the industry was taking heat clear up to the federal level because people were outraged. We in the pond and water garden arena are in the same position: we know " there are some pond builders that don't know H20 but". . ., you very seldom see auto rip-off exposes' these days, but will pond rip-offs replace them?
             Nowhere on either the IPPCA web site or the ASE web site does it say use only one brand. Both IPPCA and ASE, not the manufacturer, certify the individual that earns their certificates.  Both IPPCA and ASE certify the individual installer/mechanic on their knowledge of a specific area of expertise. For example, if you are certified as an ASE brake specialist, you can also be certified by a specific manufacturer as well, such as GM, Ford or Dodge. Both organizations’ certifications are designed to complement and augment the authenticity of a single manufacturer’s specific certification, not compete or dilute it. Without the ASE being in existence and getting the industry stabilized after 5 years of implementation, The “Mr. Goodwrench”, and other manufacturer specific certification would not have had the success that it enjoyed. Note: All mechanic applicants for the “Mr. Goodwrench” training program were encouraged to be ASE certified at the same time, there were payee incentives offered to become ASE qualified. There were two reason for this; one) it was marketable to be ASE certified; and two) was the one, two punch for the dealer to say, “our mechanics are qualified by ASE and our manufacturer.” The other reason was that the ASE is the national standard setter for competence in the automotive industry

             With the "Market Share" mentality, the pond product manufacturers are causing their own stresses in the industry. The "My Way or the Highway" mottos of some are ham-stringing the business of pond and waterscape installations across the table.  It won't matter if you are "Big on the world market" or a "one trick pony", incompetent installers are under-mining and eroding your income.
             That brings me to a third point, “manufacturer run pond organizations”.  It brings to mind the clown car at the circus.  It's a little bitty car and up to 24 clowns jump out, half of the kids in the crowd are scared to death of the clowns and the other half get a laugh out of it, (clowns' faces are “registered trade marks” and they are “individual” to each clown). I make light of this, but the big three auto makers knew that the ASE was and is the best option for the automotive industry, and the IPPCA is the best option for the pond and waterscape industry. One manufacturer can not save this industry, but working together to strengthen the knowledge base of the industry will.

             When a correction to a specific procedure or product is made by a manufacturer; it first goes to the manufacturer’s dealers and then to ASE. The auto industry knows it is the fastest way to notify mechanics to get

everyone "up to speed" on your product changes and/or errors.
             If you are a serious pond installer, get the IPPCA rating first and then all the manufacturer

ratings you can use for your business. Take what you do seriously, be IPPCA.

 

Rocke’ Huntington

President IPPCA

Special Days In May

May  Birthday’s               May Anniversary’s

                 Gary & Cathy Sackett (6th)

 

Do we have your birthday and/or anniversary?

 

Send in your dates to info@ippca.com and we will add you to the calendar.

Contractor Of The Month

Jay Bearfield
Carlisle, Massachusetts

             Liquid Landscape Designs, Inc. is a New England-based company that specializes in the residential and commercial aquatic-landscape (aquascape) industry. With ties in the national water garden market, LLD provides the best possible services through the use of only top quality products with out the marriage to one specific product manufacturing company.

             Jay Bearfield is the founder and lead designer of Liquid Landscape Designs. An avid outdoorsman, Jay is constantly looking to incorporate natural water aspects, as found in his nature excursions, into all of his created water designs.

             A former United States Marine, he has learned acute attention to detail, leadership, discipline and a strong work ethic. It was through that experience that first exposed him to the world of water gardening, seeing the work of the masters throughout Japan while stationed there for the period of a year. Touring the various city gardens and imperial palaces was what gave him the itch, an itch which he has fostered into what he now affectionately refers to as an addiction.

             Since leaving the service in 1999, Jay has been consistently involved in various aspects of the gardening/aquascape industry. Spending the first years as foreman for a landscape construction outfit based in Sudbury, MA, he first began to perfect his pond construction techniques. From 2001- 2006, he was Regional Water Garden Manager for Mahoney’s Garden Centers, MA, handling all buying, new product selection and overseeing all aquatic sales for 5 locations. He was also instrumental in the creation of Mahoney’s aquatic plant propagation program located at one of the satellite locations. He has attended many seminars and discussions pertaining to water gardening and received formal training through UMASS on pesticides and plant pathology.

             Jay is a member of the International Professional Pond Contractors Association (IPPCA), Associated Koi Clubs Of America (AKCA), Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA),

and the Ecological Landscape Association (ELA). He actively teaches seminars on

varying topics, to include organics and various water feature design topics, and has

been a featured guest on Paul Parents syndicated garden radio program as well as

on WRKO/Boston with Jim Zoppo. In addition, he recently has become an online

forum moderator and resident expert for a professional service organization, called

The Underground, which provides a source for sound information to landscape and

design professionals within the green industry throughout the New England area.

 

 

 

 

Associate Member of The Month

Shemin’s Nursery
Danbury, Connecticut

 

An East Coast Pond, Irrigation, Lighting and Landscape supplier.

 

 

Cut out coupon for special drawing at InfoTanza™

For special drawing.

Must be present to WIN!

Brain Teaser

 

 

 

 

Answer to last month’s Brain Teaser:  July = 68. Each letter is replaced by the number of its position in the English alphabet. Then the numbers are added together.

Answers to Do You Know  (March)

Across:                                                      
2.  InfoTanza                                           
3.  Check Valve                                      
7.  Skimmer                                            

8.  Koi Club                                            
9.  Koi Herpes Virus           
10.  Low Voltage                  
11.  Horse Power