Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128faces onsite. Can you manage the clock effectively? Can you make decisions on the fly while honoring the spec sheet? Can you set aside your discomfort and/or uncertainty and get the job done? The challenge of any install is to find the balance.” Davis has been in the industry since 2007, but even after nine years he still had a few things to learn. “I have forced myself to change some of my install prac- tices,” Davis said. “I was trained in a lot of practices that are con- trary to industry standards, like hard grouting changes of plane and a lot of other things. Using approved methods protects me and the homeowner; there’s liter- ally no reason to stay in a rut other than laziness.” Davis admitted that it can be tough to change your ways when you’ve been installing tile for years. “Sometimes we learn things that are hard to swallow. It’s tough to open a textbook writ- ten by the best, most experienced and learned people in your field and read that you’ve been doing something wrong for years. We can either say, ‘I’ve been doing it this way for so many years...’, or we can learn from the best and move on. Education is the only reasonable means of advancing the industry.” Certified Tile Installer tests are offered throughout the year all over the country. The test consists of a 155-question, open-book, multiple-choice technical profi- ciency exam and a full-day, hands- on portion. Since taking the tests, Davis said, “I cherish the thought that I was up to the task and that I won’t have to do it again, in equal measure.” Certification is one way to validate your skills as an installer. Ultimately, Davis said, “The value of education is that we can stand on the shoulders of giants who led the way and learned the hard lessons at great cost. We can learn the same lessons at the same foolish cost, or we can exercise a bit of humility and begin the race far ahead of a majority of the com- petition.” QUALIFIED LABOR ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– T i l e I n d u s t r y M a r k e t i n g T i p s FREE MARKETING REPORT IN UNDER 30-MINUTES! TILE INDUSTRY AD AGENCY How would you like a to help with everything? What areYOU DOING TO MARKET YOUR COMPANY? REPUTATION MANAGEMENT WEBSITES MOBILE WEBSITES BRANDING VIDEO ON-HOLD MESSAGES 800.789.4619 www.omgnational.com IMAGE IS EVERYTHING, DON’T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING! 101 MARKETING TILE INDUSTRY 48 TileLetter | February 2017