Do You Want Fries With That?

April 3, 2009

Last month I brought out the logic behind don’t buy everything being sold, especially with the general negativity about the “R” word. But, staying on the subject of being cautious about every sales pitch out there, it brings me to a hot topic at most (if not all) of my customer locations as well as any of my training.
During the most-recent training course on restoration I held in Las Vegas, I was asked repeatedly why I didn’t seal everything we ground, honed and polished. Now, before I get into an analogy and rant here, let me please clarify – sealers definitely have a place and need within our industry! All non-epoxy grouts need to be sealed. And while I do not believe scientifically that travertine needs to be sealed, the fill used in the voids absolutely needs it as well. Finally, many – but not all – stones need to be sealed, but far, far less than what you might be told.
Just think about how many times you’ve heard and read that granite needs to be sealed. But does it really, I ask? If you were to research absorption rates of the most-popular granites being sold today, you will find that approximately 10 percent have a porosity of a sponge and that the vast majority have an absorption rate equal to or better than porcelain.
Now, for those in the know, porcelain (yes, the stuff of your toilets and urinals) does not absorb liquid – hence its popularity in the liquid and solid-waste business. There’s plenty of granite out there with the same non-absorption properties as porcelain – so why seal it?
“Now wait a minute there, Tom,” I’ve often heard. “I’ve been to seminars and seen granite soak up water and oil like a paper towel.” Well, I’ve seen it as well. And you have to take into account what kind of granite that’s soaking up the liquids.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people can use the most-porous materials available to prove their point. Using varieties from the 10 percent of granites that soak up liquids – light, open mineral stones that will absorb everything like the national debt – can make it seem like all granite needs to be sealed.
Ever see a water-and-oil pour on unsealed Black Galaxy, Blue Pearl or Nero Absoluto? These are so dense and tight you could mistake them for Donald Trump’s hair and nothing could penetrate them.
Why don’t I recommend sealers? I use them (when needed), but I don’t sell them. It’s a philosophy I can best explain with, well, French fries.
Say that I’m selling French fries at the local fair. All I care about is producing nicely done fried potatoes. On the side of my chip wagon, I have a salt shaker, a vinegar bottle, ketchup and, if I’m selling my fries in Europe, mayonnaise.
I make money selling potatoes; the condiments are extras (or add-ons, if you will). Now I could care less in what and how my customers season or complement their order with after I have been paid for my service and product.
If I sold ketchup as well, however, I’d tell you that no French fry is complete unless it has some fine tomato product added to it. If I were part of the Vinegar Guild, I would want to do everything in my power to try to convince you that a potato that is deep fried needs vinegar and salt to make you satisfied. The same goes for salt, mayonnaise or whatever you want on your fried potatoes.
Are those selling those condiments wrong? I don’t think so. After all, sometimes I like a little ketchup with my fries; other times, I add the salt and vinegar. But sometimes, fries are just great with no adornment whatsoever.
Do French fries need ketchup to make them complete? Of course not. But it can benefit them and/or add some flavor, if that’s what you like.
So, let’s take that to stone. Does stone need to be sealed? It depends. And how do you know what stones will need the sealer and which stones do not? The stone itself will tell you whether it needs the complementary product or not – if it goes dark if you wet it.
That’s simple, I know, but it’s much like how we know what we want when we eat. If we feel thirsty, our body tells us to drink. The stone tells us.
Of course, there’s another problem in overselling sealers. And, for that, let’s go back to my fry stand at the fair.
So you walk around to the side of the trailer, and there are a bunch of guys all telling you to put their ketchup on your fries? What if the guy selling pizza across the midway kept yelling, “You don’t need ketchup if you buy my pizza instead?” Unless you have your heart set on fries, maybe you’ll duck out and find that nice corn-dog vendor in the opposite corner.
If we make a big deal about the need for sealer on every stone when not all require it, our competitors keep using that as a negative against stone. Joe and Judy Consumer will just get fed up with all of the drama and go buy steel, laminate or something else touting “maintenance-free” surfaces.
And, after a while, we won’t be playing in the analogy world of selling potatoes at the fair … and you’ll be asking, “Do you want fries with that?” For real.
Until next month, keep your stick on the ice.
Tom McNall is founder and owner of Great Northern Stone Care, a Huron Park, Ontario-based stone-cleaning and -restoration company servicing all of southern Ontario. Tom offers corporate and private consultations, serves as a trainer for the Marble Institute of America, and is also on the organization’s board of directors. He can be reached at stone_rx@earthlink.net.