Frequently Asked Questions
I am very much considering traveling to Las Vegas for your Marble and Granite Restoration and Polishing course. I currently offer tile and grout cleaning services but want to expand into natural stone surfaces. However, as an owner of a small business, I want to ensure this investment provides fairly quick returns. I have several questions (Questions in grey/teal, answers in blue):
- My bottom line question is, does the course prepare a novice to confidently begin offering cleaning, polishing, and restoration services for natural stone surfaces? If it doesn't, that won't necessarily keep me from taking the course. But, again, I don't believe there is anyone within my immediate geographic area to whom I could turn to in the event of a serious problem so I am really putting myself out on an island.
- Polishing and restoration - Yes. Cleaning is a whole other issue. Upon request, I will provide the names and numbers of a few former students who will assure you that I never leave them stranded after the course for advice. Also, I know several restoration professionals all over the country in case you run into problems.
- Does this course cover the information and training contained in your course titled Restoring Stone Countertops and Flooring?
- The above mentioned course is provided by the MIA (Marble Institute of America), and is a 75% classroom scenario. The other 25% is me showing the students a few techniques on countertops (as traveling with floor equipment is expensive). It goes deep into theory of how to run a stone restoration business successfully and I highly recommend that this course be taken as a complement to the hands on course. The one in Las Vegas is 80% hands on by the students. I merely direct them on the proper procedures and let them "hone" their skills.
- After the course, will I have access to you for advice and recommendations?
- Of course. My former students will attest to that
- After completing the course, what follow-on training or additional resources are available to assist one in becoming an expert in the trade?
- Of course, it would be naive to think that one will become an expert after 3 days of hands on training. This course will provide you with the confidence and basics to start making money. Our manual will list several resources available for you to increase your knowledge in the business and I always encourage my students to spread their wings and soar into expert status. Trade shows and continuing education opportunities are essential in this end of the business. I continue to educate myself to this day and encourage any in the business to do the same and will share my sources of education.
- Tom, your course is more expensive then many others out there. Why should I pay more to go to yours instead of going to a closer local one? What gives your course value?
- Yes, our course is one of the more expensive ones out there and yes, I realize that you can go elsewhere for training. Ask yourself (or your potential instructors) these questions:
- How long have they been in the "actual" stone restoration business in North America?
- Are they still active in actual stone restoration or are they just teaching?
- Are they trying to sell you anything?
- Is the objective of their training to teach you how to use their product and/or make you feel that you need them because of their "superior knowledge"?
After answering these questions, why choose GNS Training? Because Tom is still active in the actual business and he has been for over 12 years. He not only still runs Great Northern Stone, but he sits on the board of directors of the Marble Institute of America. THE trade organization that sets the standards in the stone industry. He is also very much involved in MIA committees and in the IICRC (
Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification), being a certified trainer.
We all know as well that North American customers are different than European ones. Experience and training in local customer needs help you sell to YOUR customers instead of forcing old world ideals on them.
Our training is not set up to sell you any products, equipment or service. We show you what works for us and will tell you where we actually buy it from. What we sell is knowledge and information - that is all. Both of which are very profitable and once we have given them away, they cannot be taken back. We need to be compensated for not only our time but for the information that we dispense as well. How that information is used after the course could eventually hinder our companies from profiting in the future. Because of this, we need to ensure that we only dispense it to those who are qualified to receive it and who use it in the proper way to further the professionalism of this trade and that we also profit in the mean time.
And the last reason that we charge what we do - because we show you the equipment that we actually use in the field. It costs decent money to ship this equipment and it is not making us money in the field while we are training (remember - we are not hoping to "hook you" on our products and profit down the road). The equipment is essentially out of service for a week before class and a week after class to ensure delivery.
Why not just train in one of our local facilities and avoid the equipment shipping costs? Because #1, we are still in business and while we will train individuals who live near us, we do not want to make it easy for them to compete with us. #2, Of what value would it be to you to see what a machine looks like under perfect conditions - right out of the box? You benefit from seeing modifications made and asking questions based on what you see. You also get to see what type of maintenance a machine in service needs instead of a new one that does not require repairs. And finally #3, no one wants to travel up North (especially in the winter) and into Canada (think passports) to a location that is 2 hours from airports. We chose Las Vegas because it is warm (understatement), an abundance of hotels, entertainment to choose from and convenient service to/from most airports.
- Is there any other information you can provide?
- Aside from all of the details provided on our information page on the website at http://greatnorthernstone.com/restoration-course.html and supplying you with a list of former students for reference, the rest of the information is in getting your feet wet (in this business literally) on the stones in Las Vegas. Although, feel free to ask any question that may not be answered here.
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