Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

Special Contributor

Photos provided by Bob Murrell

Above: This etched marble countertop needs honing and polishing. Customer education here can possibly prevent this type of damage from happening again.

Above: A good example of poorly maintained and badly eroded serpentine tiles. This is one of those no-win situations where you should just decline. There will always be some projects that a savvy contractor will want to avoid. Some projects are just not feasible or profitable.

Above: This was a test polish area on terrazzo, where the previous floor care program just used a chemical floor finish, and build-up occurred. A test area can accomplish many things like confirming the procedure, results, and potential costs. You can also provide several options based on addressing the repair or restoration.

Above: Polished granite surrounded by flamed:  a tough, expensive job.

Above: Gloss meter reading of a marble floor section, before restoration and polishing. Providing tangible, measured results before and after a test procedure is a great way to educate the customer, and manage expectation about the level of service you can provide.

Above: Gloss meter after a test polish, to show the customer  measurable results from your methods.

One of the hardest issues to manage for restoration contractors, whether new to the industry or an experienced veteran, is customer expectations. Some new contractors can be easily bullied by the customer and some old crusty salts can be a little too pushy regarding the suggested course of action.

There is an art regarding educating a customer while guiding them in the right direction to best achieve the desired or “perceived” desired results. 

If a polished marble floor has become dull from foot traffic wear, the obvious solution would be to simply re-polish it. That is an easy enough fix, right? What if it is black marble? What if it has some deep etches or scratches? Polishing may highlight these types of problems. The customer would probably not expect to see some scratches they never really noticed before because the floor was so dull. But believe me when I tell you, they will notice after the floor has been polished.

So when it comes to providing a solution to a stone surface that a customer wants repaired, there may be many aspects to this course of action. There can be many contributing factors to the problems beyond normal wear such as lippage, inappropriate coatings like wax, poor maintenance procedures, spillage of acidic materials, sanded grout, and list goes on.  

Lippage can trap and hide abrasive grit that was walked in and never appropriately removed. When foot traffic walks across the floor some of this grit can be extracted, spread, and ground into the stone causing premature and excessive wear. Severe lippage can also interfere with the re-polishing process by tearing up polishing pads and also contributing to the probably already existing picture framing appearance. 

Instead of hiring a professional, many customers had a wax or coating applied when they noticed their surface becoming dull. Of course any coatings would necessarily have to be removed before polishing or honing could take place. Waxes and coatings tend to fill in and hide scratches and other issues in the stone.  

Poor maintenance practices can cause premature wear and other issues. Dust mopping or vacuuming should be accomplished as often as necessary to remove tracked in grit and soiling. Entrance mats or similar dirt trapping systems should be installed to also help reduce wear from exterior grit sources. Spills should be cleaned up as soon as possible to reduce etching and staining.

A quality stone specific neutral cleaner or stone soap should be used as part of a comprehensive maintenance program.  I always advise the contractor to leave behind or at least provide the client with the right products and instruction on how to properly maintain their hard surfaces.

Sanded grout can certainly cause premature wear of polished surfaces and possibly inhibit the polishing and restoration practices too.

All of the above issues can be contributing factors to your diagnosis and prognosis. To fix or rectify the customer’s complaint, you must first realize the cause. You may also find the need to educate the customer regarding their installation’s problems. 

What about customer misconceptions? I have seen many customers who had a commercial limestone floor that was much too soft to attain and/or sustain a polished surface. Yet in their minds they wanted a highly reflective surface. So after tiring of having the stone polished on a frequently and costly basis what had they done? Applied a wax or coating of course! This opens a whole other can of worms such as increasing the maintenance because of buffing, stripping, discoloring, scuffing, etc., etc.

There is also the customer’s individual character to consider in occasional situations. For instance, I have heard of horror stories from contractors who ended up working for an attorney (not that there is anything wrong with attorneys in general) that basically wanted their marble work done for free. Once the project was complete, the customer said it was not what they expected and refused to pay. What are you going to do against an attorney? Hopefully these types of situations are extremely minimal. I have personally never run into this situation but I am also not out there every day working with the end customer like most contractors must do. I have met my share of difficult to work with or please people though.   

One of the best ways to help manage the customer’s expectations is to provide a test area when possible. This can accomplish many things like confirming the procedure, results, and potential costs. You can also provide several options. 

For example, you could present a simple option 1 (polishing only) for X number of $/sq. ft. or option 2 (honing and polishing) for X number at $$/sq. ft. . Of course, there are many options and possibilities that may need to be addressed based on the needs of the particular project.

Another good practice is the use of a gloss meter to provide positive before and after readings. Showing the customer this data can reassure them that there is proof positive of a significant improvement.

Looking professional and using professional methods in your day-to-day business practice also helps. The use of contracts, providing proof of insurance, dressing to impress, decent looking vehicles, and, of course, using plain and simple business courtesies should be SOP when working with people.   

There will always be some projects that a savvy contractor will want to avoid. Some projects are just not feasible or profitable. There are some poorly designed installations with combinations of incompatible stones, stone finishes, other materials like wood or carpet, and customers who simply do not have a sufficient enough budget to make a significant improvement. Successful contractors should know when to walk away and even let your competition take on these projects. Better them than you!

As always, I suggest that you consult with a reputable distributor and solicit their input for specific products to help with managing your customer’s expectations on their restoration or maintenance project. You can utilize their experience in supporting and dealing with other restoration pros who have successfully dealt with many of these encountered issues.      

Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and is well known for his expertise in the restoration and maintenance of natural stone, terrazzo, ceramic tile, and decorative concretes. He helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the industry. Bob started one of the largest and most successful training seminars in the industry with thousands of contractors having attended his school over a 25 year period. He has written technical articles for many industry publications and is currently the National Sales Manager for M3 Technologies based out of Cohasset, Massachusetts.