I recently attended a wedding reception in an upscale Chicago suburb, and eventually found myself talking to some people that i did not know. The inevitable question of "what do you do?" Came up and I explained that I worked for BraxtonBragg and that we sold specialty tools.

That seemed to baffle my new acquaintances so I went on to explain that the tools were used to fabricate granite countertops. At this point, a woman interjected that she "would never have granite in her home." Preparing myself to listen to yet another unfounded fear of the danger of radon, I asked, "Why not?" The answer was unexpected. She said, "Why, you have to seal it!" For a moment, I was speechless. The idea that sealing granite was an impossible challenge had not occurred to me. As I probed a bit with a few more questions, it became clear that she really did not know what sealing granite meant or how it was done; it was just something that she believed disqualified granite as a candidate for countertops in her home.

If this was an isolated event, I would probably forget it, but a few weeks earlier I spoke to a former boss who had just built a new home that should have included granite, but he opted for a synthetic surface instead. I asked him why and he said that he had granite at his Chicago condominium; because it had stained, he was not happy with it, and would not buy it again. While I am a little mystified by his attitude, these two examples point out a general lack of consumer knowledge about how simple it can be to properly care for granite tops. The MIA has done a good job of addressing the radon scare story. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to address other myths that may be hurting our industry. A simple care guide coupled with a sample pack of cleaner could go a long way towards educating consumers and busting myths.

As for our readers who are countertop fabricators and installers, we would be interested to hear if any of you offer a sealing service to your customers. A oncea-year maintenence plan could go a long way towards dispelling rumors of consumer dissatisfaction with granite counters.

Thanks for reading,

Rich Hassert

Email responses to: publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net

")