This year the Gutter-Vac annual conference was held at the Pullman Brisbane King George Square. Every year the franchisees from around Australia board planes or drive cars across country to get to this event, that starts on Thursday and finishes Saturday night.
Thursday night is always a Meet’n’Greet night. It is a chance to catch up with friends and to meet the new kids on the block, new franchisees. You always learn from these social occasions. As you move around the group talking about your experiences and how to’s of running a business, you will pick up something from someone else that gives you a light bulb moment.
Friday starts at 8.45am for a full day of fun and information. Fellow franchisees are asked to be on a panel out the front for questions time. It was our honour to be asked to sit on one of these panels this year.
The afternoon brought on a session of team building. We were lead blind folded, in four groups, into a room where we had to find foam blocks that we had to use to build a construction that we had previously been asked to study.
Holding hands with the person beside me, we went about the room in search of these blocks. It became apparent that a leader was needed to coordinate the building of this structure while the rest of us searched for the blocks. Being blind folded was very disorientating.
We then found out that our four groups represented each of the four components that made up the DISC personality profile. Prior to coming to conference, we each filled out a questionnaire. The results put us into one of these four groups. It was enlightening to know how we present ourselves in business and what we can do to improve ourselves to grow our business.
The day ended with Masterclasses, pressure cleaning and chimney cleaning. There was lots of information and ideas for us to add these two services to Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport. Now we are set up to do pressure cleaning on rooves, foot paths and driveways. If you have an area that you want cleaned, then give us a call and we can see what we can do for you.
We are waiting for chimney cleaning equipment to arrive and then we will be ready for this service too. Imagine, cleaning the chimney and vacuuming the soot and creosote as the brush is lowered. Then vacuum out the firebox and no mess.
Saturday was all about round table discussions. There was a lot of talking and note taking. The morning started with six franchisees offering a helpful tip that they use in their business. One franchisee showed us his way of creating nozzles to fit into the gutters. I was able to offer my process for my jobs register. Obviously, a good system is needed to keep your record keeping in order.
Conference is a great confidence booster and a good way to get motivation to build your business. It draws us all together and builds relationships so we can draw on each other’s experiences to give a better service to our customers. Our number one aim is to provide the best customer service we can offer.
We are looking forward to the 2018 Conference to be held in Adelaide.
