Ever considered the transformative impact of grout restoration on your living space? Elliott Gerstein from the Grout Doctor joins me, Jeremy Wolf, on the Good Neighbor Podcast to share his fascinating shift from marketing to mastering the art of grout rejuvenation. His expertise not only breathes new life into tired tiles but also dispels common myths around the durability of color sealing. As Elliott breaks down the specialized process that promises to extend the life of your floors, you'll learn about the subtle art of maintaining your home's charm without the upheaval of a complete remodel.
Beyond the nitty-gritty of home improvement, the conversation takes an intimate turn towards the threads that connect us. Elliott opens up about the joys and dynamics of running a family franchise, bonded over a shared love for tennis and the collective triumphs of nurturing family ties. We also peek into his unique pastime of trading vintage toys, a hobby rich with nostalgia and the occasional windfall. But perhaps most poignant is Elliott's candid reflection on parenting a child with autism, a narrative that tugs at the heartstrings with its message of patience and shared humanity. Tune in for an episode that artfully blends professional know-how with deeply personal stories, each as enriching as the other.
Ever considered the transformative impact of grout restoration on your living space? Elliott Gerstein from the Grout Doctor joins me, Jeremy Wolf, on the Good Neighbor Podcast to share his fascinating shift from marketing to mastering the art of grout rejuvenation. His expertise not only breathes new life into tired tiles but also dispels common myths around the durability of color sealing. As Elliott breaks down the specialized process that promises to extend the life of your floors, you'll learn about the subtle art of maintaining your home's charm without the upheaval of a complete remodel.
Beyond the nitty-gritty of home improvement, the conversation takes an intimate turn towards the threads that connect us. Elliott opens up about the joys and dynamics of running a family franchise, bonded over a shared love for tennis and the collective triumphs of nurturing family ties. We also peek into his unique pastime of trading vintage toys, a hobby rich with nostalgia and the occasional windfall. But perhaps most poignant is Elliott's candid reflection on parenting a child with autism, a narrative that tugs at the heartstrings with its message of patience and shared humanity. Tune in for an episode that artfully blends professional know-how with deeply personal stories, each as enriching as the other.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Jeremy Wolf.
Speaker 2:
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Jeremy Wolf, and today I am joined by a gentleman who was nominated by a previous guest of the podcast, also a previous feature family in Cooper City Living Magazine, and I must say the doctor is in the house today. We have Elliot Gerstein and he is joining us from the Grout Doctor. How are you doing today?
Speaker 3:
brother, awesome man, awesome. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:
Hey, it's our pleasure, and thanks as always to our listeners for tuning in. So, elliot, tell everybody a little bit about what you guys do over at the Grout Doctor.
Speaker 3:
So the Grout Doctor is a national franchise, been franchising since 1990. And I've been a franchisee for Dayton Broward for 17 years. So, yes, cleaning, grout re-grouting and what we really do is we do restoring and transformations of existing structures. From your floors to your house, your pavers outside, your showers, your countertops re-restore and transform. We also offer cleaning, but there's a lot of companies out there that do that. We really offer more of a restoration of existing structures.
Speaker 2:
So anything with grout, you guys come in and you get in there and clean it up and transform the whole space.
Speaker 3:
And not only with grout. We do grout tile, stone, stone, uh, pavers. So it's not just grout, you know drove it, but we do restoration of anything with grout, tile, stone, pavers, mexican tile, anything like that so how did you land upon this franchise, you said?
Speaker 2:
did you say you've been, you've had the franchise for 17 years, or that's correct? So 17? Let's go back 17 years ago when you I know it's a little bit of a little bit of a ways back, but when you started this business, how, like? First of all, what's your background leading up to this? I'm guessing you didn't go to college and then you know your aspirations of starting a grout cleaning company. What did you do before that? And then, how did you land upon this business and this franchise, did you?
Speaker 3:
do before that. And then, how did you land upon this business and this franchise? Well, I'll tell you, you know, before that I actually worked with my brother's company and I did marketing and helping him with the different, you know, trade shows and themes and ideas for his business as he was building it and I had never probably changed a tire. So I mean, you know, when my family kind of heard that I was going to get involved in this business, everyone was kind of shocked because you know, you know you have to have not a handyman background but you have to want to work with your hands and physical labor and wedding and everything.
Speaker 3:
So a friend of mine was coming back from doing a tour in Afghanistan. He did radio sales. He had decided he didn't want to go back into that and his neighbor his brother-in-law's neighbor, something it's kind of like a weird story, but was a grout doctor and he had said listen, this is something maybe you should consider. He opened it in Brevard County, which is about two hours from here, which is where I grew up, and it was doing well for him. And he said come up, work a few jobs with me, which I did. And then I was like, are you nuts?
Speaker 3:
Like this is, this is this is. I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor and everything else. And you know that was 17 years ago and now really I can't imagine anything different Because even though it's been 17 years, we do a transformation on a floor or a structure or a shower and I'm still blown away with what we're able to achieve in one day and help people save on having to remodel it at a third of the price. So I kind of got into it through a friend of mine and he's no longer in it and I'm still in it, and now I know how to do all that handyman type stuff.
Speaker 2:
Very cool. So how do you typically? I got to imagine that a lot of folks they might have an old floor that needs to be cleaned and they're looking at it and it's not on their mind to get it clean. They're thinking maybe they need to replace it altogether, and I know just what you do can be a complete transformation. Like you said, what are some common things you hear from folks in the industry along those lines, some common myths or misconceptions that people typically have surrounding what you guys do?
Speaker 3:
specifically, Well, a huge part of our business is called color sealing or staining the grout, and what we do is we use a water-based stain after we do a floor cleaning of a tile and grout floor, and what that does is it protects the floor but it lasts longer than, let's say, a clear sealer would be applied to the grout.
Speaker 2:
How long does that typically last for the sealing that you do?
Speaker 3:
It's going to last for between four and eight years. Now if the floor isn't cleaned properly or if they use a thicker type of stain, it will tend to maybe peel up or not last. And so one of the big misconceptions is that people say, oh, but I've heard of that, that doesn't last. Or companies that don't offer the service because they want to get in and get out of just cleaning, will tell customers that it doesn't last, which kind of works against us. And I've got to continually talk to them to make sure that they believe what we're going to do is worth the money and is going to hold up, which it does, which it does. So that is, you know, that's one. It's a huge part of our business, and that's one of the misconceptions is that what we do isn't going to last, and it does, and they realize that after we do it and talk them into it. You know.
Speaker 2:
Right on.
Speaker 3:
So you mentioned earlier that your territory for the franchise is basically Broward and I have exclusivity in Dade County and then I've got two territories in Broward but the next grout doctor isn't until Boca. So typically if there is anyone in that area we will cover that area.
Speaker 2:
So walk us through if you could. I'm sitting in my house. I'm looking at my dirty floors. The grout's all black. At this point I'm saying, man, I need to do something about this. Pick up the phone. We call the good doctor, Say, hey, Dr Gerstein got to clean up my grout. What comes next? What do you do? You come out, you give an estimate. Is this process something that typically takes a day, or do you walk us through?
Speaker 3:
what that looks like. Well, since COVID things have changed a little bit with in-person estimates. We obviously still offer in-person estimates, but we had to kind of pivot during COVID and do a lot more through text message. So a lot of our business we do book through text message where I will contact the customer and they would send me pictures of the structure or of the floor and give me an idea of the square footage. Or I can do an in-person estimate. I book it at their convenience, come out, take a look at everything, measure it up and then give them their options based on what I see.
Speaker 2:
And then when you come in to do the job, it's typically done in one day, I'd imagine.
Speaker 3:
I mean depending on our jobs are done in one day, you know if it, if it's a job that that needs to be, let's say, sealed after the fact like a Mexican tile or something, sometimes we may have to go back the next day, or if it's a very large amount of square footage, but most of our jobs are done in one day.
Speaker 2:
Yes, all right, very cool. So I mentioned earlier that you were referred by a past guest of the podcast. That would be Warren Gerstein, who's a local resident here of Cooper City. So tell us a little bit about your family. You said that you're the youngest brother, right, so tell us a little bit about your family.
Speaker 3:
You said that you're the youngest brother. Right, I am the youngest brother. I live in Hollywood, warren lives in Cooper City. Me and Warren have always been very close. And then I have an older brother, evan, who lives in Dallas, and him and Warren have always been close. They're only about a year apart. And you know, I lived in Miami for a long time and when I wanted to be closer to Warren know, I lived in Miami for a long time and uh, when I, when, when, when I wanted to be closer to Warren cause he had lived in Cooper city, I moved up up to uh, to Hollywood and then eventually got married. And then, you know, I've got, I've got kids, I've got a twin nine-year-olds, ooh, boys or girls, a boy and a girl, a boy and a girl?
Speaker 3:
Okay, yeah, and A boy and a girl, A boy and a girl okay, yeah. And I also wanted to be closer to family. My mom and my stepdad moved from Georgia. When she found out I was having twins, she moved to Davies. So really I've got a lot of close family now Up in Broward and we all live pretty close in proximity.
Speaker 2:
Very cool. So what do you guys like to do for fun when you're not working? In your downtime? What do you like to do family time?
Speaker 3:
Family time Well, we like to do for fun. When you're not working in your downtime. What do you like to do? Family time? Family time uh, well, we love. You know we like to play tennis. My son is a gamer. Uh, he loves to play tennis. I, you know, we're a tennis family. My brother, warren, had played tennis for I don't know 10, 15 years. My mom is still plays and she's 76, she still plays on a team. She's been playing I don't know 40 years. Um also, uh, I buy and sell vintage toys, so I do like toy shows when I have interesting vintage toys.
Speaker 2:
How did you? Is that something that that kind of goes back to ages ago? How did you get into buying and selling vintage, vintage toys, you know?
Speaker 3:
you know, um, I've always collected hot wheels and and that was like an on and off thing. And then I was always a collector. I always, like you know things I've got some GI Joe in the package and things like that from when I was like you know, from when I was like eight, nine years old. My brother, evan, had a record collection and he didn't want to take it with him when he moved and I I I lugged it from every house or apartment that I moved into. So I'm always kind of a collector.
Speaker 3:
And you know, my grandfather, my mom's father on my mom's side, he was a flea market guy. So I've just always, I've always liked the old, or maybe a mix of the old and the new, like a thrift store versus everything new. Because, you know, seeing some of these toys that I come across and seeing the amount of years they've lasted and the condition that they're in, and then to take it to a show and someone's going to buy it, because you know they remember having it as a kid you know there's a lot of it brings me a lot of excitement and happiness versus just collecting it and keeping it. Is really someone else coming to my booth and saying, wow, I'm walking down memory lane. So yeah, I think that I've always kind of been nostalgic and and uh, and like toys and collectibles and and I don't know. It's always had a place in my heart, I guess.
Speaker 2:
What's the biggest ticket item you've had either sold or appraised? As far as vintage toys go, Vintage toys, I would say I'm trying to gauge the market so I can see whether or not I want to get into it.
Speaker 3:
Well, I would say some of the vintage stuff I have. The thing is it all comes down to condition. So some of the pieces I've had, they could be worth anywhere from $600 to $2,000 in the right condition. But I'd say what I've had recently, that I ended up buying like a bin of toys and there were like three 1999 Pokemon packs in there, which I don't know if everyone knows what Pokemon is I'm sure they do and these were original packs in 7-Eleven blister packs and they were worth like a thousand each that I sold them at and I got them in a bin for $40. So you know, it can be all over the place. Sometimes it just comes down to what somebody wants to pay for it. But I'd say those are probably the most expensive I've sold so far, at a thousand each.
Speaker 2:
Very cool, right? One man's junk is another man's treasure, right? $100 for a bin of toys and comes out with a few thousand on the other side. 100% Love to see it, love to see it yeah, good deal. So, sitting here today looking back across your journey, is there something that comes to mind, something you'd like to share with us? A life hardship, a challenge, something that you struggled with along the way? Maybe it's a defining moment or just something that you can kind of look back and draw.
Speaker 3:
Well, I will say that finding out, as you know, finding out that I was having twins was, I think, one of the biggest moments in my life and that I thought, you know, could be a challenge, and I was scared scared of what to expect. I have a boy and a girl. My daughter was born with autism. No-transcript to be normal. They want to be normal kids and, you know, typical kids don't always know how to treat them and act, and so it's always a challenge and how you feel for, uh, your child with a disability. But I would say, you know, overcoming or ongoing challenge I deal with that has definitely made me a different person, giving me more patience and understanding of more of people in general, disabilities, I would say, is my daughter. That's been one of the biggest things that I've dealt with, I'd say, in my life.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, man, thanks for sharing that. That's a that's a stark reminder. I'm taking that for myself because I have two perfectly healthy children and everybody gets frustrated sometimes, especially over their children, that they don't listen. And you said two things that resonated with me patience and understanding. Yeah, yeah, and I try to on the north side of 40, I've tried to implement that in my interactions with not just my children, but every human being that I interact with, no matter what the interaction is, to try to avoid anger and getting upset and just approach everything from a place of empathy, love and understanding, compassion, and just realize that everybody's trying to do their best in this, in this um, what's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker 2:
I froze up there for a second. And this, uh, this life, this journey that we're on, I guess I could say so, it's good stuff, man, it's true, it's true. So, before we wrap this one up, if you had to, if there was one thing you'd like to leave our listeners with, whether it's about your business or just about life in general, what would that be? Pick one thing, elliot.
Speaker 3:
I'm sorry, can you say the question again?
Speaker 2:
I said if there was one thing you could pick to share with our listeners whether it would be about your business or just about life in general a piece of advice, something you'd like to leave us with, what would that be?
Speaker 3:
about life in general, a piece of advice, something you'd like to leave us with. What would that be? Well, you know, I think it would be about the business and I think that it would. It would be about, you know, what we offer as restoring and transformation is not to compare the grout doctor to really any other business out there in the same realm of you know, thinking that we're a cleaning business or, you know, is what we're going to do going to hold up? I mean, we've been doing this 17 years. You know we have a history of happy customers.
Speaker 3:
I do a lot of the work with my guys. I have my guys, I've got guys who have been with me over five or ten years and, you know, just to give us the opportunity to come in and do what we say we're going to do, versus some of these fly-by-night companies which there's a lot of them that really kind of taint the industry. I would say, you know, give us a shot and let us come in and do a transformation or restoration for you. And you know that's really what's most important for me right now, especially with how this economy is and everything else. You know there is a little bit of a downslide, going with the restoration and remodeling, and so anyone that is in need to give us a call and give us a shot. You know.
Speaker 2:
So how can our listeners do that? What's the best way to reach you?
Speaker 3:
Maybe share your website and your contact information Groutdoctorcom. Groutdoctorcom. I'm going to be the only one that's going to pop up for Dayton Broward. Also, you know, I can give the the the business phone number. I don't know, or they can just go to the website Shoot what's the phone number Six, five, two, two, five, four, three, three. Uh, leave all the information on there. It's a voicemail system. I receive it and then I I do the callbacks one more time with the number.
Speaker 2:
I think the first digit or two, cut out for a second. What's the number again?
Perfect, all right, and we'll put a link in the description to all of your contact information. Elliot, thanks so much for joining us, brother, it was a pleasure getting the opportunity to meet you and learn about your business and your story man.
Speaker 3:
So again, thanks for joining us. Thank you so much. It was great. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:
Of course it's what we do and thanks as always to our listeners for tuning in. We'll catch everyone next time on the next episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. We cure sick route. Doctor cures sick route. Love to hear it. Love to hear it. All right, everyone, take care, have a wonderful day, be blessed.
Speaker 1:
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Cooper City. To nominate your favorite local business to be featured on the show, go to GNPCooperCitycom. That's GNPCooperCitycom, or call 954-231-3170.