Twitter came out with a nice little goody today that I thought you guys may be interested in. They now have a local “news” adjustment. You can choose your closest area and see what the trends are.
This is a nice feature if you have Twitter followers and a blog or something that keeps your customers up-to-date. Below is a short video showing the feature. Check it out:
If you don’t have a Twitter account, let me know and I’ll do a video on how to set one up. It’s easy and it’s free!
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This letter was emailed to
Attn: Secretary, Standards Council NFPA
1 Batterymarch Park
P.O. BOX 9101
Quincy, MA 02269-9101
By Ed From Hood Pros in Massachusetts. I thought it was a very
good idea because aluminum hood filters are dangerous for restaurants.
They need to be removed from under the hood.
I have been in the grease exhaust system cleaning business
in Massachusetts for 22 years. This year the MA Dept of Fire Services
mandated that hood cleaners be licensed by the state. This licensing
brought on more open lines of communication between hood cleaners and
the Fire Marshals than ever before. We came upon an issue which it was
recommended by the Fire Marshals, that it be brought to the NFPA’s
attention.
Regarding filters. It
seems that most hood cleaners on various forums are in agreement that
aluminum baffle filters do not meet the codes. They only meet one,
they are ul listed. UL standards require that the filter be able to
condense airborne grease and run it off. No testing for strength or
resistance to a fire! As for being made of an equivalent material to
steel, no. As to holding up to the rough treatment common in the
industry. no. Additionally each time we clean the filters they
degrade, actually very quickly. If the restaurant runs them thru the
dishwasher where the chemical strength is very high they fall apart
even quicker. With the combination of being a weak metal at the start
and constant degradation from cleaning they become much to thin to
offer much resistance to a fire. In conjunction the filter is usually
held together with aluminum rivets which are weakened even more
quickly than the filter itself.
After doing some research I found that filter companys will
offer the fact that galvanized filters can stand up to 450 degrees and
stainless steel 900. Aluminum……. not a word. The
temperature at which aluminum breaks down in conspicuously omitted.
Everywhere, not a word. Could it be the temperature is lower than the
average fire? Imagine the reduction in effectiveness after several
cleanings. Baffles much thinner than when they were initially
purchased.
Another concern I thought you might consider is, say a fire
breaks out in a hood. All the personnel evacuate and the firemen come
in. The aluminum filters, when they break down and burn emit toxic
fumes that can kill. The only people exposed to these fumes will be
the firefighters. Not a good thing. Their job is dangerous enough
without this oversight.
Hopefully you will take this into consideration during the next
NFPA 96 codes meeting.
I’m reprinting this post with his permission. If you feel the
same way, follow this link and email the NFPA, yourself.
This is one of the first voice-over type videos that I ever tried. I made a mistake at the very end, but it hasn’t seemed to effect the coversion rate too much. I get a few calls every now and then from this video.
Question: Do you prefer music or voice-over videos in your own advertisements?
Restaurant grease fire detroys a lot of restaurants every year. Be sure to have your kitchen exhaust system serviced by a professional. Then make sure they do their job correctly by requesting pictures of the ducts and exhaust fans on every cleaning. http://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwestcoast911.com%2Fwp%2F2010%2F01%2F15%2Flong-beach-towne-centers-lucilles-catches-fire%2F
———– Sent via Blackberry’s embeded brain chip ————
Posted via email from Anthony
I just received a HUGE booklet in the mail of the motion that Flying J filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In a way, I’m glad I lost them about a year ago; they owed me no money. This booklet has to be at least 100 pages of vendors they owed money. It’s crazy.
It brings up an interesting point that we face as commercial service providers. I’ve always enjoyed the personal relationships that mom and pops offer and never really focused on chain accounts and big corporate accounts. Dealing with small businesses has it’s own set of headaches, but at least if one of them files for bankruptcy or goes under, you don’t lose your business too.
What is a good percentage of corporate vs. mom&pop accounts to have when running a hood cleaning or pressure washing business? I’ve always heard that no more than 30% of your business should come from any one source.
Lesson learned from this:
Get rid of debt, before it gets rid of you! Flying J made gajillions of dollars, yet debt ate them alive unto the point they have now filed for bankruptcy. So, when you are thinking about that new fancy pressure washer or that new handy dandy trailer, make sure you have the cash to pay for it.
Envirospec has a great sale going this month with FREE Shipping and some of the best prices I’ve seen in a long time on pressure washing equipment. It is only for this month so if you need something, now is the time to get it.
