JUNE 2015
In this issue:
8 Working with Charities
1 Do Things Right
9 BE THE BRAND
2 SERVPRO Annual Convention
10 Marketing Theme Calendar
3 SBA News Release
11 Red Cross Ready Rating
4 Words of Wisdom
12 Avoiding Audit Pitfalls
5 Top Ten Volume Leaders & Phone Greeting Change
13 Commencement Excerpt
7 Chart Toppers & KUDOS
15. Brand Identity Guide
14 E-mail Signatures
SUN
THE
SERVPRO® of Southern New England and New York
Doing Things Right What is the end goal for you…your business? From our discussions with Franchise Owners, end goals include everything from income, financial security, legacy, investment protection, to controlling their own destiny
• • • • •
To achieve a successful end-goal – whatever you determine it is – person or business related- it is critical to do things right, for the right reason, all the time. Although at first this seems daunting and impossible, these fundamentals are necessary and imperative to ensure revenue growth, organizational stability, business development, and personal progress.
• • •
Customer Service Effective Marketing Employee Training Fair Pricing License, NAPA/CAPA, and Territorial Policy Compliance Perfect Job File Uploads Quality Production Timely Billing
Strong external and internal pressures including demands on time, energy, and resources often drive the mitigation and restoration business and our personal lives. Inherent in the oftentimesturbulent environment is the tendency to focus on short-term urgencies potentially involving less-than-best and foolish work practices, rather than focusing on the long-range effects of those actions and doing thing right. There is a real domino effect in our business, which means that all functions in the business are interconnected and directly affect each other, both positively and negatively. Consider some of the franchise business requirements: • • •
Accurate Estimates Communication – Internal and External Complaint Resolution
Consequences of not being consistent with protocols and of Not Doing Things Right 1. Someone prepares a hurried, inaccurate estimate. The inaccurate estimate not only creates extra work for Administrative Staff but also may result in rejected Job
File Uploads, potential delays and billing disputes, leading to payment delays, and cash flow squeeze, among other consequences. 2. Some franchises will use protocol expediency for local jobs versus the use of National Account Guidelines on all work. Our distributorship office is responsible for compliance and client disputes. We have documented instances when estimates were called into question for lack of adequate drying documentation, which have included lack of pictures, drying records, and customer correspondence records thus leading to fair pricing disputes, nonpayment for services, and raising company liability concerns. RRRG has declined water and mold liability claims because of lack of adequate drying or remediation documentation and unapproved product use, creating a financial burden for those businesses involved. Not Doing Things Right 3. Lack of production safety training and or documentation as lead to Workman’s Comp claims and judgments, state labor board and OSHA scrutiny, and hefty fines However, the biggest casualty and the ‘right reason for safety training, all the time’ is the potential loss of valuable employees to personal injury. Best practice habits (Doing Things Right) are proactive rather than reactive. Cornercutting and mistakes lead to poor work practices, which are costly! Moreover, having inconsistent protocols, unclear communication, and even incompetence, continued on page 2
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continued from page 1
Do Things Right leads to employee confusion regarding standards of performance vs. expediency. This is often manifest with newer hires who have a tendency to take the path of least resistance in performing their assigned tasks. Therefore, it becomes imperative to ‘do things right, for the right reason, all the time and is a priority for everyone in the organization, be it owners, managers, or any other employees by ensuring roles and responsibilities are fully implemented and those responsible held accountable. Although the above stresses the potential negative consequences, the positives of always doing the right things for the right reasons, have shown to improve employee morale; reduced owner and employee stress; engender trust, loyalty, and performance by the personnel; leading to satisfied customers, and increased business referrals from Centers of Influence and end users. All of this means that the SERVPRO Brand is enhanced and franchise business valuation increases! Do the right things for the right reasons, every time!
Chicago Here We Come!
The 2015 SERVPRO® Annual Convention will be held
July 6 – 10, 2015 at the
Hyatt Regency Chicago “Service is the rent we pay to be living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.” Marian Wright Edelman
The deadline is Friday, June 12, 2015 to make reservations at the SERVPRO® rate
MAY 2015 - 3
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Words of Wisdom Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity. W. Clement Stone With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt. Zig Ziglar Initiative is doing the right thing without being told. Victor Hugo Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing. John D. Rockefeller
The eternal difference between right and wrong does not fluctuate, it is immutable. Patrick Henry In the simple moral maxim the Marine Corps teaches — do the right thing, for the right reason — no exception exists that says: unless there’s criticism or risk. Damn the consequences. Josh Rushing Let people know what you stand for and what you won’t stand for. H. Jackson Brown Jr. The right path and easy path are usually two different things, and when it’s time to choose, always choose the right path over the easy. Deatri King-Bey While public opinion might sway back and forth, right and wrong do not. Andy Andrews Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want. Freedom is the strength of character to do what is good, true, noble, and right Matthew Kelly Be good. See good. Choose good. It’s a no-brainer. Richelle E. Goodrich
The value of a man ... should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive. Albert Einstein
MAY 2015 - 5
Top Ten Volume Leaders PER LICENSE AVERAGE VOLUME LEADERS April 2015
GROSS VOLUME LEADERS April 2015 1
David Kluger
1,645,474 1
Lisa & Doug Jameson
477,262
2
John & Shayna Luciani
916,017 2
John & Shayna Luciani
458,008
3
Allen & Susan Randolph
779,810 3
Robert Citrangola
354,065
4
Robert Citrangola
708,130 4
John & Madeline Beck
349,159
5
Michael Keating
632,878 5
John Majeski
321,151
6
Dion & Lynn Luzzi
618,149 6
James Gibbs
316,752
7
John Maughan
549,726 7
Dion & Lynn Luzzi
309,074
8
Lou & Michelle Sepe, D. & J. Sepe & N. Travis
505,709 8
Scott & Lisa Smith
300,372
9
Lisa & Doug Jameson
477,262 9
Ralph & Noemi DiCristofaro
282,693
10
Franck Mattos
467,187 10
David Kluger
274,245
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PERSONAL
BEST
Personal Best Volume Month April 2015
Phone Greeting Change It is still a great day at SERVPRO® but in the effort of maintaining consistency with our “Here to Help” initiative, the SERVPRO® National Call Center greets customers as follows: “Thank you for choosing SERVPRO®; we are always here to help. This is (your name); how may I assist you?” We encourage you to consider changing the way your office answers the phone and incorporate this greeting for your customers. Customers pay attention to the details and your phone greeting sets the stage for their customer service experience. Insurance companies, commercial clients, and consumers have a choice when selecting a cleaning and restoration company.
This phone greeting allows us to highlight our focus on customer service while also thanking them for making the right choice to call SERVPRO®. Lastly, when an insurance company representative or consumer contacts the Call Center, we end the call, again, by thanking them for choosing SERVPRO®. The right words really do make a difference! Please refer to Episode 20 of SERVPRO® TV for more details about our phone greeting change and phone menu options. Jessica Carmack Workforce Planning Manager
MAY 2015 - 7
Chart Toppers February 2015 Cleaning Commercial Vingoe Cleaning Residential D. Kluger Mold Commercial
“Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.” Victor Hugo The following is a perfect example of initiative and superb customer Service. John and Shayna Luciani, SERVPRO® of Meriden, and Brian Mazzone, their Operations Manager have shared with us their employees Victor Ortiz and Israel “JuJu” Castillo are this story’s SERVPRO® Heroes!!!
R. Citrangola
A Waterbury mother got a gift she’ll never forget just a few days before Mother’s Day.
Mold Residential
Eight months ago, a fire ripped through her Midfield Drive home, destroying much of her belongings.
Maughan Braun Resale Rookie Keating Water Residential Luciani Mattos Total Volume D. Kluger
“We got left with barely anything. Whatever we could pick up at the time,” said Jannette Santiago. Most of her photos were on her phone and camera, but were lost inside of the apartment building after a fire last September. However, thanks to a Good Samaritan, she will have those photos for a long time to come. “It was the best thing ever. An early mother’s day gift,” Santiago said. She and her two children had temporarily moved to another home while they waited on their apartment to be rebuilt. “Losing everything I worked for in a few seconds, it was devastating,” she said. Her children’s baby pictures, photos of her great grandparents, were all gone - or so she thought. Her old apartment complex hired a company called SERVPRO to clean up the mess, and one of its employees stumbled onto Santiago’s old phone and camera.
“He was working at the site and dumping everything out and he saw these two items and he thought he could save them,” Santiago said. He sent Santiago a Facebook message, but she never received it. After spending eight months trying to locate the mother of two, he took a photo of the phone, which had Santiago’s picture on the main screen, and uploaded it to Facebook and Craigslist asking for help. “He had gone through the same thing when he was younger, so he knew the feeling,” Santiago said. A few hours later, one of her former coworkers saw the post and told her that her phone and camera, with over 1,500 of her most cherished photos, had been found. Little did the SERVPRO employee know his good deed helped to preserve family memories that could never be replaced. “There’s still good people out there and when you do good, good comes back to you,” Santiago said. She was reunited with her phone on Wednesday and said the Servpro employee didn’t want a reward, just a thank you. From WATERBURY, CT (WFSB) –cherished-photosreunited-with-fire-victim-after-8-months
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Why Your Franchise Should be Working with a Charity By Lori Villardi If there’s one thing everyone knows, it’s that “what goes around comes around”. You do “good” for others, good will come to you. Moreover, while we should not do good things with the intent of getting good back; it doesn’t hurt to enjoy the benefits. I call this “Charitable Marketing” (also known as “cause marketing”), companies reach clientele by reaching out to their community. Not only does it actually help those in need, but it also helps build your franchise image in the eyes of your centers of influence (COIs). A few tips about working with a charity… Keep It Local. • Find a local homeless shelter and work with insurance agents in starting a clothing donation for the shelter; then, take pictures of your business and employees donating clothing there. Generosity, good will, and concern for your local community produces an impression of philanthropy to which your clients will favorably relate and want to share. Keep It Involved. • If your franchise spends a bunch of money on a charity and does not tell anyone, did it even happen? Well, yes, you helped people, but did your clients hear about it? Did you ask them to help? If there’s one thing I know about good karma, it’s that everyone wants a piece of it. Ask your COIs if they would like to donate clothes, aid in prepping meals for volunteers, etc.! What a GREAT way to network, right? (yes, I’m right… that was a rhetorical question) Keep it Coming. • The best advice in marketing is to keep marketing. Marketing isn’t a one-and-done type deal and that goes for Charitable and Cause marketing as well. If you are helping at a food pantry, kitchen, or shelter, please, do so every month! Your efforts will demonstrate commitment and dedication to your chosen cause or charity and reinforce your care and concern is in more than just your bottom line. Keep it Marketed. • Obviously, I’m all for marketing. Find your cause and make it known. Blog, Facebook, Newsletter, Mailers, etc. Spread it far and wide. Use pictures taken from an event. The more your COIs see, the more they will remember you and SERVPRO! Some of My Favorite Charities ~ United Way ~ Salvation Army ~ American Red Cross ~ Food for the Poor ~ The Humane Society ~ American Cancer Society ~ St Jude Children’s Research Hospital ~ Boys and Girls Club ~ Habitat for Humanity ~ American Heart Association ~ Nature Conservancy ~ Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ~Marine Toys for Tots ~ Alzheimer’s Association ~ Make A Wish Foundation ~ Homeless Shelters ~ Battered Women’s Shelter ~ Wounded Warrior “Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.” Ludwig Borne
MAY 2015 - 9
Use your Proper Brand Name SERVPRO® of Your Legal Franchise Name That’s right: all-caps with the registration mark.
Being Brand-compliant and using the Brand name correctly shows consumers that we are the real SERVPRO®. Be Brand-compliant. Be the Brand.
Promotional Products Your resource for SERVPRO® co-branded and logoed items for use as SMR resources, trades show and event giveaways, and incentives or recognition. The co-branded items include American Red Cross and PGA Tour promotional items. SERVPRO® also offers a selection of SERVPRO® branded promotional product.
American Red Cross
PGA Tour
SERVPRO® Branded
Co-Branded Products
Co-Branded Products
Promotional Products
Learn More >
Learn More >
Learn More >
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JUNE
JULY
Home Safety Month/National Safety Month. This awareness focuses on heightening safety education to help the public become better informed and better equipped to prevent injuries, specifically in the home. During National Safety Month, the National Safety Council (NSC) helps people understand where the greatest number of preventable injuries and deaths occur, who is at risk and what actions need to be taken to stay safe. Visit the National Safety Council’s website for more information. In addition, safekids.org provides multiple safety tips to keep kids of any age safe from preventable injuries. This website can serve as your primary source for child safety information as you promote this event in your community.
Independence Day is July 4. As family, friends, neighbors, customers and community members make Fourth of July plans for backyard barbecues, get‐togethers and firework displays, help ensure a happy and safe celebration by sharing fire safety information. The U.S. Fire Administration offers summer fire safety tips on their website you can promote. In addition, check out the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website for a case study they conducted on firework incidents during holiday festivities and ways you can promote the prevention of firework incidents from happening in your area. If your town hosts a community fireworks show, research ways to get involved to gain Brand exposure. You should also consider color‐coordinating your monthly giveaways in a red, white and blue theme. A “Wishing you a Great Independence Day” downloadable electronic greeting card is available here.
S ERVPRO’s Home Emergency Kit, item # 46011 is a clear plastic zip folder with an insert card for your Franchise information to be added to. It comes with a Home Emergency Booklet and an Emergency Tips brochure for homeowners as well. Check out this weekly e‐Zine article for an example of a community event you may consider hosting at your Franchise. F lag Day is June 14. This day commemorates the adoption of the American flag of the United States. Recognize this holiday by passing out mini flags to your clients. One Franchise purchased red, white and blue Gummy Bears and put a handful in clear bags for each of their clients. Also, consider using the red Twizzler candy as a giveaway option too. Many candies are red, white and/or blue! S ummer Themes. The first day of summer is June 21. Some Franchises host golf tournaments for their insurance clients in the summertime. One Franchise hosted a golf tournament and provided complimentary lunch for the players where they served “Golf Clubwiches” (club sandwiches with a golf tee stuck in the middle.) Some Franchises choose to donate a portion of the proceeds raised at their golf tournament to a local charity. To learn more about how to host a golf tournament. L ightning Safety Week is June 22-26. The American Red Cross helps to promote this initiative by educating people about the dangers associated with lightning and what you can do to stay safe when it occurs. For lightning safety tips and ways you can bring lightning awareness to your community.
S ummer Safety Month. Consider hosting a summer safety celebration for your community! Involve the local fire department by inviting them to bring their fire engines and give a presentation on summer fire safety tips. In addition, invite the local police department and the local American Red Cross chapter to present summer safety information tips, demonstrate CPR training, etc. A nother way to build a local relationship with the fire department is to donate smoke detectors to be installed in homes around the community. Check out this weekly e-Zine article for more information on how to execute this relationship building strategy. For more information on how to build relationships with firefighters in general. School Supply Collection. Some Franchises host a charitable “back to school” supply drive where they collect necessary school supplies for children less fortunate in their community. Consider leaving drop off bins at local client offices, as well as at local businesses in your area that wish to participate in the drive. School supplies may include paper, pencils, glue, scissors, highlighters, crayons, book bags, etc. Ask local schools what items their students may need, or ask if you can get a class list of school supply items required to ensure you are collecting usable items. Host the drive for the entire month, picking up supplies from the collection bins on a weekly basis. Donate the supplies to the school at the end of the month. This is a great way to show community support! One Franchise created collection boxes to look like SERVPRO® box trucks for their event. This weekly e‐Zine article features their collection boxes built out of plywood and painted to look like SERVPRO® vehicles. Consider making the school supply collection drive a friendly competition among your clients by offering a prize to the office or business that collects the most items.
MAY 2015 - 11
Make and follow through with your shortrange plans for Emergency Preparation for hurricane season About the Partnership SERVPRO is a lead sponsor of the American Red Cross and their Ready Rating™ program. Ready Rating is a free, web-based program developed to help businesses; schools and organizations plan and prepare for disasters and emergencies. In addition to employee and public-facing fundraising initiatives, franchises will be trained to serve as advocates for the Ready Rating program within their community. All franchises are encouraged to become Ready Rating members and take the self-assessment. Both steps are free!. Contact Information: email: ARC@servpronet.com
What’s New • Flight Plan (See Resources Area Below)
• American Red Cross Disaster Relief (PDF)
• Co-Branded Items Available (PDF)
• Are you prepared? Red Cross Tornado App
• Local Chapter Intro Letter (Docx)
• Newsletter for Ready Rating Members
• American Red Cross Hurricane Mobile App
• Are you more prepared than Dorothy?
Resources Talking Points • Franchise Engagement Toolkit Templates • Red Cross Apps Flyer - English | Spanish • Local Chapter Franchise Intro Letter (Doc) • Brochure / Flyer • Web Banners • Facebook and Twitter (PDF) Logo/Brand Standards • Brand Standards • ARC Approved Logos Ways to Get Involved • Five ways to engage with the American Red Cross
• Sponsorship Resource Guide • American Red Cross Sponsorship Resource Guide (PDF) • Holidays • Holiday Fire Fact Sheet (PDF) • Plan and Prepare • How to plan and prepare for a disaster Flight Plan-Navigating Safely Through Disasters Flight Plan Booklet: • RR-Flight Plan Booklet (5x9) • RR-Flight Plan Booklet (5x9) Printer PowerPoint Presentation: • Flight Plan V3.0 • Flight Plan V4.0A • Flight Plan V4.0 B
Web Banners: • Flight Plan Web Ad 90 x 278 • Flight Plan Web Ad 250 x 300 • Banner Flyers: • Flight Plan Items Email: • Announcement • Seminar Email Success Stories • SERVPRO® of North and East Onondaga County and Os¬wego County (PDF) Find Your Local Chapter • Your Local Chapter
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AVOID AUDIT PITFALLS
Review of the Most Common State Farm Audit Rejections by Brittany Carter Quality Assurance Team Lead The four most common rejections for Allstate are Missing Walls, Photos, Estimate, and Equipment Placement. The following details each rejection reason and provides helpful tips to use in your business. Missing Walls • Missing walls not deducted: Please account for any and all windows and doors to show any amount of missing space from the room. • Reference blocks must be used: Reference blocks should be entered for any cabinets, vanities, tubs, or other items that take away space from walls and floors. Note: Instructions for adding missing walls and reference blocks can be found on the Audit Help tab. Photos • Labels: Photos must be labeled appropriately. • Source: A photo of the source of damage must be uploaded. • Photos justifying Category 3 charges: Please upload photos to validate charges when the loss is Category 3 or if PPE is in use. • Pre- and Post- photos: Allstate requires pre and post-mitigation photos with an overview of equipment and contents. They also require post-mitigation photos after the equipment has been removed. Estimate • Monitoring: Allstate has provided a chart advising the amount a Franchise may charge for monitoring based on equipment placed. This chart must be followed. • After-hours monitoring: After-hours monitoring can only be charged when monitoring is performed on a Saturday or Sunday. • Heavy clean line items: There must be notes of inside technician approval when charging for heavy cleaning. Also, photos are helpful when showing why the heavy cleaning was necessary. • In-Place Drying: Allstate does not allow charges for In-Place Drying; this includes weighted extraction charges. Allstate’s policy dictates the carpet must be disengaged, and pad removed and disposed. Equipment Placement • Dehu charges: Dehu charges must be validated. Furthermore, the size of the dehumidifiers identified in the “Notes” section of the Calculation Sheet in DryBook™ must match the size of dehumidifiers in the estimate. • Run-time: All equipment charges must be in the actual run-time collected from the dehu hourly readings. • Decontamination: Allstate will only allow decontamination charges for parts of equipment that specifically came into contact with contaminated water. They do not permit these charges for all equipment at the loss site. • Air mover: The air mover count must match the air mover calculation sheets. Please remember to use the “Most Rejected Questions Report” in the audit system to show rejections as they pertain to your Franchise(s). These common rejections are companywide; therefore, your own rejections may vary. As always, we are here to help you succeed and hope this tool will help simplify the audit process.
MAY 2015 - 13
COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY Excerpt
On May 9, 2015, Oscar-award-winning actor Denzel Washington spoke at the Dillard University commencement ceremony. He began with the usual thank yous and congratulations. Then he moved into some powerful advice for the young men and women. He gave the graduates three “stories” which were life tips that worked well for him. The first was about how just as he didn’t make it on his own, the graduates haven’t either. He summed it up with three words:
Put. God. First. Washington explained further: Put God first in everything you do. Everything that you think you see in me, everything that I’ve accomplished, everything that you think I have, and I have a few things, everything that I have is by the grace of God. The second “story” was “fail big”: You only live once, so do what you feel passionate about, passionate about. Take chances, professionally. Don’t be afraid to fail. There’s an old I.Q. test with nine dots and you had to draw five lines with a pencil within these five dots without lifting the pencil. The only way to do it was to go outside the box. So don’t be afraid to go outside the box. The final “story” was about not focusing on “stuff”: You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. I don’t care how much money you make, you can’t take it with you. The Egyptians tried it. They got robbed. It’s not how much you have. It’s what you do with what you have
14 - SERVPRO® SUN
Email Signatures To keep the SERVPRO® Brand consistent across all media platforms, it is highly suggested that Franchise owners and employees use the recommended e-mail signature layout for all e-mails.
Social Media Icons The use of the social media icons at the end of the e-mail signature is encouraged. These icons will link to your profile pages. For directions on adding these icons the correct way, please visit http://bit.ly/1tFUAH8. If you add these images any other way, they will appear as attachments each time you send an e-mail, which can be confusing for the recipient. E-mail Signature Images It is recommended that signatures do not include images, as there are often display issues between different e-mail clients and platforms. If you do choose to use images, there are approved images for download on ServproNET®. These images should go above the signature. E-mail Signature Fonts & Color Please use a font from the Garamond Family, as it is an approved font and it is installed on all platforms. If you use a font that the computer opening the e-mail does not have, the text will be converted to Times New Roman or an alternative standard font. Do not use Comic Sans. Please use black for your e-mail signature. E-mail Signature Tips • Do not include your e-mail address in the signature. If people are e-mailing you, they already have your e-mail. • If you have the option, use a shorter signature on replies and forwards without a logo or image. • Link your website to the Franchise name to shorten your signature. The shorter the signature, the better. • Use the SERVPRO® phone number format: 555-555-5555 (no parentheses) • Be sure to identify the different type of phone numbers (i.e. Cell: 555-555-5555 Office: 555-555-5555 © Servpro Industries, Inc. 2015 | 801 Industrial Blvd., Gallatin, TN 37066 | Phone: 615.451.0200
MAY 2015 - 15
Beginning in 2015, the Advertising Resource Guide – ARG will become the Brand Identity Guide – BIG
The new
Brand Identity Guide (BIG) will contain the same material as the ARG, as well as additional information that will help guide you through Brand compliancy at many levels, from print and web advertising to social media to vehicle decals and wraps, and much more. Look for a SERVPRO® Bulletin in early 2015 with directions to download, save, and print the new Brand Identity Guide from ServproNET®.