hausdok Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Kenmore, WA/Feb 1, 2012 by Mike O'Handley Mike Holmes has added yet another twist to his vision of what a model home inspection firm should look like; he's now offering air miles to reward new home inspection clients for hiring his firm, Mike Holmes Inspections, and he's also rewarding clients with additional miles for each successful customer referral. One wouldn't expect that with all of Holmes' star power that the inspectors performing inspections under the umbrella of Mike Holmes Inspections would need to resort to marketing gimmicks in order to lure in new business; but, according to a press release today from CNW (Canada Newswire) that is apparently exactly what's happening. The CNW press release contains a quote from Holmes: "Mike Holmes Inspections is a premium service. Clients who book an inspection with us are homeowners who are willing to invest in the value of their home. It just made sense to increase that value by giving them a first-class bonus for the trust they have in our service." It's kind of ironic that Holmes, whose trashing of the home inspection profession was legendary among home inspectors, even before he opened his own home inspection firm several years ago, would resort to marketing gimmicks - the profession has wrestled for years to clean up an image tarnished by dozens of such schemes often used by less-than-competent inspectors to lure in new business. One would expect that God's gift to the home inspection profession wouldn't need to resort to such methods and would give them a wide berth. Let's see if it plays out any differently than the hundreds of other situations where inspectors used gimmickry instead of their skills to lure in new business. **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 It's not surprising at all; it's at the core of the Holmes experience, i.e., maximizing revenue for Holmes industries. Thing is, anyone that cares about miles has a credit card with reward miles, or Amazon points, or whatever reward someone is looking for. One would get more miles using their card than he can afford to give away. It's fluff marketing, made to make it sound "premium". I still don't take his entry into our profession seriously. It's not a good deal for his vendors. If a deal isn't good for 1/2 of the team, it's not a viable business model. He'll get a few flakes, they'll hang around for a while, then figure out they're doing the work and Holmes is reaping the value. Someone tell me how long they think that will last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 4.3 more years. 7 June 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Luring with airline miles isn't as effective TMobile's approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Holmes is simply chasing the dollars like so many inspectors do. 'Dollars above all else'. Watch him jump ship some day soon when a casting call comes for some flashy new reality program like 'Holmes at Home'. That will be his exit. I won't be watching him then either. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I'm waiting for his new reality show, "Holmes at Home," in which he rips up his kids' homework, tears into his wife's cooking, and tells the dog that he's fetching the wrong way. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspectorjoe Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think that project is dead. They shot the pilot, but it bombed in front of test audiences. [utube] " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lamb Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think that project is dead. They shot the pilot, but it bombed in front of test audiences. [utube] " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"> Sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 That is hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Tom Cruise plays Big Mike. Looking old, ain't he? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allisonables Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 You would think a home inspection by itself would be enough to lure customers in. I hate gimmicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyCan Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Well I don't see a point in all of these bashing games to be honest...ok, so yes there is always going to be politics in every job, but why don't we talk about being rational instead of bashing everyone. It's no different then getting your hair cut by different hair stylists, they all may cut the same style, but we all have different ways of cutting it. What inspector in there right mind is going to walk in anyone's home and start bashing others down. If anything I think Mike is being nothing but un professional and not helping the industry that most of us believe there is a real need for. This industry certainly needs marketing, but what we don't need, is to try to fit into the very shoes that is trying to destroy all of us. It's not personal, its just professional...something he is clearly lacking... So let me clarify something here, What Mike does, is great on many levels, he is a great contractor, and yes a great inspector. I just think he is going about it wrong... I was taught to be professional in my business, I have been called to re inspect another home that another man did, but that most defiantly doesn't give me the right to bad mouth the prior. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelroswall Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Im new to the business, but isn't that inducement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoward Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have seen Mike Holmes' show and i never thought that Inspectors as a whole do a bad job. Some inspectors make mistakes but people make mistakes in every profession. i'm not a home inspector but when i've seen his show the thought that goes through my head is. "Boy, i really gotta make sure i do what i can to make this inspectors job as easy as possible because I don't wanna go through the crap these people are going through". Maybe i should take notes of things i've seen happen in the home. It encourages me to engage my brain and not rely on a home inspection. I mean we all have to face facts. Mike holmes can't inspect everyone's home. It's just a show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moucon Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'm new here - I moderate a technology forum over on JLCOnline.... but whenever I see "Mike Holmes" my blood boils a little so i have to check it out. I don't know him - but there is a good % of what he says/does on his various reality shows that I would consider laughable - and absolutely terrible advice to homeowners. I know it's just TV... but it seems like every time Big Mike shows up to look at a $50 problem, they wind up tearing out the basement slab, re-plumbing and re-wiring the entire home, re-framing entire sections of wall and in general escalating the scope of work exponentially. And what's with the drywall screws to fasten framing together? All that said - he has raised awareness by miles, and that's a very good thing for everyone. At least people are thinking about building science issues. JLS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'm new here - I moderate a technology forum over on JLCOnline.... but whenever I see "Mike Holmes" my blood boils a little so i have to check it out. I don't know him - but there is a good % of what he says/does on his various reality shows that I would consider laughable - and absolutely terrible advice to homeowners. I know it's just TV... but it seems like every time Big Mike shows up to look at a $50 problem, they wind up tearing out the basement slab, re-plumbing and re-wiring the entire home, re-framing entire sections of wall and in general escalating the scope of work exponentially. And what's with the drywall screws to fasten framing together? All that said - he has raised awareness by miles, and that's a very good thing for everyone. At least people are thinking about building science issues. JLS In my opinion, the elevation in awareness isn't justified by the horrible advice and the absurd approach to problem solving. I see your point, but I don't believe that the good outweighs the bad. The show needs a strong technical advisor to bring a touch of reality to the episodes. Of course, that would make it considerably more boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Think money...and you can explain Holmes. Think home inspection...and you can't. The show is intended for the amusement of the public at our expense. It's not intended to enrich us. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 I watched a couple of shows two nights ago. One was Holmes on Homes and the other was Holmes Inspections. To tell you the truth, I didn't see much difference in either show so I don't know why he calls it Holmes "Inspections." They went through a house that had been inspected. The inspector missed a couple of rinky dink things but the more serious stuff they eventuallyuncovered was completely concealed from view and couldn't have been discovered by any inspector, including Holmes, unless/until they started tearing into stuff. They had a house built in the 60's is my guess with a large Edison Fuse box. The Inspector had told the owner to upgrade but they didn't do it. When Holmes brought in his electrician to upgrade the panel, he declared that all of the wiring was screwed up and had to be replaced. His basis for that condemnation was a sloppy main panel. I didn't buy it. I've seen lots of sloppy main panels and found the rest of the wiring was OK. Anyway, that was Holmes' cue to tear out the walls and ceilings of that basement and redo it all. What does the viewer take away from that? Oh, look at that, Holmes found bad wiring and now because the other inspector screwed up they have to have a whole new basement built. What a crock! Anyway, I felt it was way over the top. The lady customer has noted a hollow sound at a concrete stoop covered with tile and the inspector had apparently told her it wasn't anything to worry about. Well, the tile was not a good choice for outside, I'll agree with that, but when told to look at what was under the tile on the stoop the guy went clear through the hollow concrete stoop with a bore hammer revealing the typical cavity beneath. Holmes declared it screwed up and they brought in a landscaper who demolished the front stoop, excavated down to the base of the foundation, put in Delta Drainj, backfilled and then the put another stoop in place, this one covered with field stone. So, inappropriate tile becomes a major demolition, excavation, rebuild with an upgrade and viewers are left thinking that the hapless inspector was a whole lot more negligent than simply not telling them they should use a different surface on the front porch - they're left thinking that he should have know, or been able to reveal, what was going on beneath the front porch. They later installed a new 200 amp panel and then placed it inside of a cabinet with wood doors (Hello, working space rule, Holmes, you big idiot.). Then they "fixed" the "backdrafting" flue on a water heater that was being vented into a masonry chimneystack but absolutely nothing was said about the fact that that gas water heater was confined in a small space without any outside air in the same room as a clothes dryer! How f*****g stupid are you, Holmes? As Bugs Bunny would say, "What a maroon." ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike "You can't fix stupid." - Ron White Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul N Frey Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 The clip was hilarious! As said before, Holems usually finds something "major" after they tear the hell out of the interior. What would you bet that if you bored a hole in his new front porch in about 1-2 years you woulf find the same air space. Showmanship - 95%, Reality - 10%! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 I watched a program the other night(Homes Inspection), actually just the first 15 minutes as that is all about his "inspection". Anyway, he made a huge deal about vermiculite in the attic that was covered by other insulation. He also made a huge deal about the tiles in the basement that "may" contain asbestos. I could have sworn that I read somewhere that as far as the vermiculite goes, that is exactly how to handle it... Blowhard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 So, let's take advantage of this mutt and use him as the Ronald MacDonald of home inspectors. He can do all of the super hero TV crap, we'll do the reality part. As long as the public learns they need to have a home inspection. Leave this short timer alone. We can use him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibsonguy Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I see he is already moving on, with a casting call for a new series, one in which he is fixing homes after disasters (hurricanes etc...). Is this the beginning of the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosier inspector Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Using tragedy for self promotion. Can you think of a better fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.