You are correct, I suppose that someone who has no practical knowledge (field experience), could study enough to sit for, and, pass the exam without ever having seen an exhaust system. Similarly, a "professed" service contractor could get certified, sell & schedule work, and, invoice without ever even visiting the site, given the wrong circumstances. Unfortunately, I don't know how to thwart that kind of dishonesty without making the priviledge of IKECA membership/certification cost some huge multiple of what it costs now so that we could support all of the outside "policemen" that we would need to absolutely prove compliance on a case by case basis. Dishonesty is difficult to predict or, to preempt. No matter how much time one puts toward "keeping the crooks at bay", honest people also have others things to do while crooks have all day to work on how they're going to stick it to you.
IKECA, it's members and programs, on the whole, represent a twenty year long collaborative effort toward the improvement and recognition of the Grease Exhaust System Cleaning Industry. While no collection of people is perfect, including us, no other collection of people has done more to move the industry forward as defined by standards, practices, and, public awareness. Though we cannot guarantee the performance or honesty of our members, we can do (and have done) more than any other collection of like minded people to increase public awareness so that those who rely on us for these critical public safety services know the difference between "rag & tag" and complete system cleaning. If the people who are actually paying for the service aren't concerned enough to fulfill their responsibility to inspect their equipment before they separate themselves from their money, it is difficult for us, as an organization, to see why it should be so important for us to do it for them. Otherwise, as is the American way, competitors continue to do a fine job of weeding out the bad actors, one "rag & tag" at a time. In other words, if it weren't for so many crappy providers, the only value statement that we could make would be regarding price. When that day comes, I'll trade my scraper for a mail carrier's bag, they'll be more money in it.
<O
