February
2012
In this issue: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Ready to Go Volume Leaders Personal Best Customer Service First Chart Toppers, Audit Tips Continuing Education Regional Meeting, Training Benefect® Advertising Resource S.M.A.R.T. Goals
SUN
T HE
SERVPRO® of Southern New England and New York
Words of Wisdom You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.
READY to GO “Ready for whatever happens”
~Eleanor Roosevelt
Always do whatever’s next. ~George Carlin
Whatever happens, take responsibility.
Are you ready to produce a Large Loss? What will you do when the phone rings and the caller wants you to perform emergency service for a 50,000 square foot commercial space affected by fire and water?
~Tony Robbins
Whatever the universal nature assigns to any man at any time is for the good of that man at that time. ~Marcus Aurelius
Arrange whatever pieces come your way. ~Virginia Woolf
Whatever man does he must do first in his mind. ~Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
If you see the President, tell him from me that whatever happens there will be no turning back. ~Ulysses S. Grant
Whatever you have, you must either use or lose. ~Henry Ford You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare. ~Georgia O’Keeffe
Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring. ~Henry Miller
Will you respond alone? Will you respond with Project Manager? Will you respond with Project Manager and a full work crew ready to perform services? What sort of work force will you need to produce the job? Will you need to bring in temporary labor? Do you have relationships established with enough sub-contract and/or labor companies that arranging for 25-50 technicians on short notice will be feasible? What sort of equipment will you need? Does your current inventory allow you to perform Large Losses? Do you have a rental contract in place with Servpro approved vendors? Do you have the means to transport large quantities of equipment? Will you need to rent a box truck? Do you have a relationship established so that you can rent a box truck on short notice? Do you have the personnel to run your regular business while you are dedicated to the Large Loss? Regular residential losses will hopefully continue while you are engaged with the Large Loss. Does your Large Loss plan account for the added strain on Administrative resources for scheduling, file uploads, daily office work? Does your Production Staff have training in dealing with Large Loss scenarios? Sometimes a Large Loss can depart from the concepts associated with residential production; a 50,000 square foot loss is not the same as twenty-five (25) 2,000 square foot losses. What measures will you and your Production Team take to insure that the Large Loss is produced effectively and efficiently? Large Losses have their own set of issues Continued on page 2
2 - SERVPRO速 SUN
Top Ten Volume Leaders Gross Volume Leaders December 2011 Lou & Michelle, Sepe
Per License Average Volume Leaders December 2011 Lou & Michelle, Sepe
1
& Justin, Danielle, Sepe & Nicole Travis
$1,280,862
& Justin, Danielle, Sepe & Nicole Travis
$426,954
2
Frank Mattos
928,139
Anthony & Danielle Palumbo
354,549
3
Steve & Brenda Young
893,280
Mitch Kaikow & Stu Cleary
306,267
4
David Kluger
722,912
Steve & Brenda Young
297,760
5
Rob Citrangola, Risa Kluger, Tom Fox
578,399
Greg & Allison Geaski
273,188
6
John Maughan
521,859
Gil & Sheryl Morrissey
259,847
7
Gil & Sheryl Morrissey
519,695
Jennifer Harvey
250,108
8
Anthony & Danielle Palumbo
354,549
Thom & Lyn Braun
242,621
9
Mitch Kaikow & Stu Cleary
306,267
Frank & Daria Solano
191,058
10
Greg & Allison Geaski
273,188
John Maughan
173,953
Continued from page 1
and roadblocks; have you considered what these might be? Time requirements, on-site Facilities Managers, displaced industrial equipment and large inventories are all potential issues to work around during production. Have you established relationships with other Servpro Franchises in your area who could provide advice or assistance with largescale production or could also accept overflow work if your in-house production resources are stretched too thin? Do you have the financial resources to float the account receivable for the Large Loss? This account receivable may stay on your books for 90-120 days. Can you afford it? Do you have the cash reserves? Do you have a line of credit? Will your sub-contractors be willing to wait 90-120 days, or will they want payment according to the sub-contract agreement? What measures has your organization taken to establish your Servpro Franchise as the restoration company that will get the call for the 50,000 square foot loss? What trade organizations are you a part of? What facility management companies has your Marketing Team targeted? Where are the large facilities in your area and who is the decision-maker there in the event of a fire or water situation? Does the idea of Large Loss Production seem overwhelming? Have you considered establishing a referral relationship with a Large Loss Provider so that your office can be involved in the loss from a planning and execution standpoint and receive a fair referral fee without the expenses and risks of responsibility for production?
February 2012 - 3
Personal Best Lou & Michelle, Sepe & Justin, Danielle, Sepe & Nicole Travis Frank Mattos Gil & Sheryl Morrissey Anthony & Danielle Palumbo Mitch Kaikow & Stu Cleary Dan Violante Thomas & Lyn Braun
November 2011 SERVPRO® of Binghamton West
$1,280,862.37
SERVPRO® of Metro Rhode Island
928,139.02
SERVPRO® of Western Dutchess County
519,695.71
SERVPRO® of Paramus
354,549.62
SERVPRO® of Garden City/Hempstead
306,267.09
SERVPRO® of The Farmington Valley
271,219.74
SERVPRO® of The Southtowns
242,261.40
Customer Serv ice First Excerpt from a letter from Randy Isaacson to Tom Balcom, Owner of Servpro of The Mid and Outer Cape
January 10, 2012 Attached is a letter of thanks we received from your customers Mark and Ann. I want to especially thank Mike Lyons, your Production Manager. You made a very positive impression on this customer with the outstanding service your provided. It is service like this that will keep our Brand in the number one position in the market place.
Dear Mr. Isaacson, At our summer home in Massachusetts, we suffered a serious home heating oil leak….this major disruption to our lifestyle resulted in frequent disappointments in which we were unable to stay or visit our house for extensive periods. The smell from the oil was extensive and we were extremely upset and worried that the smell would never go away. We contacted Servpro® of the Mid and Outer Cape to help us in this huge endeavor. Through Mike Lyons’ incredible dedication, patience, and consistent hard work, he and his crew were successful in removing the heating oil smell from our house. We are forever appreciative and grateful for Mike and his crew who knew exactly what to do and more importantly reassured us that he would “do whatever it take” to get our house back to normal. We were extremely impressed by Mike’s professionalism and honesty as well. Again, many thanks to Mike and the workers from Servpro of the Mid and Outer Cape who have made our house livable for us and our family. We will highly recommend Servpro to our friends and neighbors when disasters strike!!! Mark and Ann
4 - SERVPRO® SUN
Congratulations and Best Wishes TO
Michael Reilly SERVPRO® of Toms River SERVPRO’s CEO Award Winner for October 2011
Chart Toppers
July 2011
Associated Revenue Cleaning Commercial
~ RC Willis
Cleaning Residential Duct Residential
MATTOS
Duct Commercial Fire Commercial Fire Residential
PELLI
In-house Construction
YOUNG
Mold Commercial Mold Residential Rookie
Audit Tips
JAMESON
Subcontract Water Commercial Water Residential
MATTOS
Total Volume
D. KLUGER
1. The e-mail addresses of adjusters: It is important that these be entered in the right place – inside or field – depending on which insurance company. An easy way to avoid any errors is to enter the e-mail address of the contact in both places. 2. Pictures: It is important to take pictures of each affected room before and after, and to label these pictures appropriately. This will save time for adjusters and auditors, and allow the associate franchise to easily access pictures should there be an issue with the customer. 3. Monitoring Reports: If you miss a day, remember to write down why in the job summary, job notes or the drying workbook summary page. 4. State Farm Jobs: Remember not to use the adjuster’s name and never say “approved” stick with “adjuster notified” to avoid rejections.
February 2012 - 5
2012 Continuing Education ‘Blocked’ dates by Zone The following are available spring 2012 ROBKAT, Inc. Continuing Education dates for State-Accredited Insurance, Real Estate, and Home Inspector Continuing Education Classes and large-scale Adjuster/Trades Seminars. The ‘blocked’ weeks allow us to maximize travel efficiency. Class dates are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, if you desire to host a class, contact Larry Hackney ASAP to reserve a date and topic. Additional dates may become available if: no one from a particular ‘zone’ schedules a class and there is a special marketing opportunity, such as an Insurance or Trade Association, or the request is for a Mold CE Class that does not involve Robert Tedone. Most of the available dates are filled. The only dates open are listed below.
Month
Dates
Zone
April
18
New Jersey
24-26
Rhode Island/Massachusetts
01 & 03
Lower, New York/Connecticut
09
Upstate New York
22-24
Connecticut/Lower New York/New Jersey
05 & 07
Connecticut/Rhode Island/Massachusetts
14
Lower New York/New Jersey
May
June
“What’s New”
W eb i nars
~ Michelle Broggy I am putting together a list of possible lunchtime webinars for this year. I plan to include both QuickBooks and Xactimate. Since both software companies will be issuing new versions this year, “What’s New” webinars should prove to be informative. A schedule for these webinars will be forthcoming soon. A partial list of QuickBooks topics includes: Job Costing, Creating and Using Budgets, and Effective Use of Reports. A sample of Xactimate topics will include; Macros, Templates, and User Preference Setting. These webinars will be short and designed to help you work more effectively and efficiently.
Work smarter, not harder! Any questions or suggestions for topics to be included in the webinars can be emailed to Michelle at michelle@robkat.com
6 - SERVPRO® SUN
Great Learning and Networking Opportunities Attend the Mandatory Regional Meeting • February 29, 2012 Franchise Employee Requirement:
The 2012 Regional Meeting Calendar is set and preparations are in order for valuable networking opportunities, sharing of best practices, and learning the most current information on the issues that most affect the success of our franchise community.
Pre-Registration Information: • Pre-register a minimum of 14 days in advance of the meeting you wish to attend to ensure sufficient handout materials are available for all attendees at each location. • All meetings will begin at 8:00 a.m. and conclude by 4:00 p.m. • Morning coffee will be provided; however, no meals will be served. • No fee is required for Franchise Owners attending. • You may bring your key employees to this excellent training opportunity.
• Employees must be accompanied by their employer. • Employee attendance is subject to $90 course fee paid at the time of registration. • Signed non-compete agreements are required for all employees attending. • Employees must be pre-registered, have required paperwork on file, and be approved by the Training Department prior to the date of the meeting. • Submit all employee fees and non-compete agreements to: Brittany Gibson, Training Assistant Servpro Industries, Inc. P.O. Box 1978 Gallatin, TN 37066 (615) 451-0200 ext.1420 (615) 675-2312 FAX bgibson@servpronet.com
Coming Soon to a City Near You: Regionals 2012! Baltimore - February 17th Boston - February 27th Norwalk - February 29th Philadelphia - March 2nd Ontario - March 12th
SERVPRO Training ®
SERVPRO® of
Crew Training
Cape May County
Ashley McGuigan
Cape May County
Joe Camp
Cumberland County Northern Sussex County
Water Certification
Fire Certification
Joe Camp
Jacqueline Jones Ivan Postigo
Southern Saratoga County
John Smith
South-East Monroe County
Harry Quinones
Upper Cape Cod & The Islands
John Seymore
Upper Cape Cod & The Islands
Jason Lesure
John Smith
Jason Lesure
We extend congratulations and best wishes to those receiving their SERVPRO® TRAINING CERTIFICATES
February 2012 - 7
The beguiling back-story of
Benefect
“It’s About Thyme”
The world’s need for sensible disinfection products was starkly realized when our first son, Conor, was born with only 10% of his immune system functioning. My wife & I searched for products to make our home safer for him, without using dangerous chemicals. Unfortunately, we came up with no viable options since, at that time, the only way to kill disease- spreading organisms was with poisonous, synthetic chemicals that could not be safely touched, inhaled or exposed to food surfaces. So we asked my Mother, an aromacologist, if she could formulate an alternative that could kill germs but not be a poison itself. We sent the initial formula to a lab for testing & were astounded when the results came back. At this point, we knew we were onto something so we founded Sensible Life Products and after 3 years of testing, learning, re-formulating & re-testing, we received the first government drug approval for Benefect®, the first & only Botanical Disinfectant in North America. It is just as effective at killing bacteria as traditional disinfectants but is less toxic than vinegar! The reception of Benefect® was so overwhelming, we could not have imagined the attention it would receive. Over the years, Benefect® has received widespread recognition & awards for proving that disinfectants don’t need to be poisonous to be effective. The explosive growth and substantial industry, public & media attention clearly show that Benefect® is changing the way the world controls germs, from large-scale contamination site remediation to the home & child care centre. The ramifications are staggering, and Conor certainly is happy we did it. Thanks for taking the time to learn about Benefect®. People need to know there is a sensible alternative. S. Samuel DeAth Founder & CEO
OFFICE PROCEDURES MANUAL In 2012, make all your files clean, complete, and accessible.
CHAPTER 4 OFFICE FILE SYSTEM Office Files or Job Files
Each SERVPRO® office should have an efficient and organized filing system. The purpose of any filing system is to expedite retrieval when the item is needed. Often different people in the organization need access to the files, so when the files are maintained according to a system it facilitates access. A file plan, listing all files and their location within the office, is one way to ensure an organized system. A sample file plan is located at the end of this chapter. There are four main categories for your filing system: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Confidential/Secured Files Desk Working Files Work In Progress Files File Cabinet Files
8 - SERVPRO® SUN
Advertising Resource Guide Please read the current Advertising Resource Guide The 2012 Advertising Resource Guide is your reference to advertising policies, graphic design standards, and sample advertisement. This ARG, replacing the 2011 ARG, is only available online in PDF format. The 2012 ARG provides SERVPRO’s most current policies and procedures for advertising. In addition, the 2012 ARG webpage provides Associates with pre-approved advertising templates running parallel with the National Advertising Campaign.
Associates must comply with 2012 Advertising Resource Guide guidelines by January 31, 2012.
W H O D O I C O N TA C T D I R E C T LY I N M A R K E T I N G S E RV I C E S F O R H E L P ? TOM WARREN Graphic Designer (Ext. 1543) twarren@servpronet.com • Local Advertising/Signage • Branding • Image Requests
KIM KRAMER Communications Coordinator (Ext. 1602) kkramer@servpronet.com • Newslines • Press Releases
JESSICA VAUGHN Senior Marketing & Communications Coordinator (Ext. 1644) jvaughn@servpronet.com • Marketing Ideas • Sales Leadership Council • Centers of Influence • Newslines • Press Releases
KATHY FARLEY National Advertising & Marketing Coordinator (Ext. 1507) kfarley@servpronet.com • National/Regional Advertising Funds
P ol i c i es for A ll A dvert i s i ng This 2012 Advertising Resource Guide replaces the 2011 Advertising Resource Guide. Refer to this new Advertising Resource Guide when planning any type of Franchise advertising, letterhead, business cards, envelopes and/or any other form of advertising media, including, but not limited to, vehicle decals, building lettering, electronic and Web-based advertising. Please take a moment to review your current advertising and verify all forms of advertisements have been submitted to and approved by the SERVPRO® Legal Department and your Trainer. The Legal Department urges you to review all of your advertising and correct any noncompliant advertising at this time. Make the necessary changes and corrections to your advertising and follow the Advertising Approval Procedures set forth in previous pages.
A dvert i s i ng D ef i ned Advertising is defined as any form of communication between the Franchise and any customer, potential customer or the general public through any means to include but not limited to: • • • • • • • • •
Telephone Calls Directories of any kind (i.e. Yellow Pages, Claim Pages, etc.) Memberships in Clubs, Associations, or Organizations Newspaper or other printed media Radio or Television Mailings of any kind Trade Shows Events such as golf tournaments, classes, or courses Flyers or Brochures
• • • • • • • • •
Facsimiles transmitted via telephone or data lines E-mails, e-mail addresses, Web pages or Websites Vehicle Decals, Building Decals, or Lettering Signs and Billboards Apparel or Uniforms Letterhead, Envelopes, and Business Cards Invoices or Forms Fax Cover Sheets Checks
February 2012 - 9
Goal setting is vital for success
Check your SMART goals (see Planning for Success in 2012, by Elizabeth Evans, SERVPRO Newsline~ December 2011) to ensure you have missed these seven pitfalls.
S.M.A.R.T goals are: Specific – they include the what, why, and how? Measurable – they include how progress will be measured Attainable – they are stretchy and achievable Realistic – they are not “easy”, but do-able with effort Timed – they have an established time limit, which creates a target and urgency
SEVEN Common Traps to avoid Trap 1: Goals that are too vague and wishy-washy. Only YOU can judge what goals you want to pursue, and how specific to make them, but beware the trap of wishy-washy, it will undermine your control, motivation and success. Trap 2: Goals that are wish lists. In goal setting, write your goals as if already achieved (rather than wished for). Your unconscious mind will work to achieve this “success decision.” Trap 3: Goals that are open-ended. It has also been said that a “goal is a dream with a deadline.” Trap 4: Goals that lack proof. It makes a big difference to your motivation and success if you answer the question, “ok, but how will you KNOW that you have achieved your goals?” Trap 5: Goals that ignore support needs. Most of the time, we need help and support from others. Trap 6: Goals that ignore consequences. Your goals, if achieved, are likely to change things. When goal setting, think it through - if I achieve my goals, what effects will that create for me, for others, for the situation etc.? Trap 7: Goals that don’t connect. Ask yourself, “WHY is this goal important for me to achieve?” If need be, use the 5 WHYs to really challenge yourself and your goal setting.
of Southern New England & New York
CORE VALUES
CORPORATE PURPOSE
MISSION STATEMENT
Believe In A Dream Grow Relationships Share The SERVPRO® Story Be Financially Frugal Follow The System
To Help Entrepreneurs Succeed
To develop a team of quality people who focus on excellent service, fairness, and mutual respect.
VISION To be the premier cleaning and restoration company in the world
Frozen A guaranteed partner in any emergency.
HELP IS READY AND WAITING WITH JUST A CALL. Under extreme conditions immediate response is critical—we’re here to help. Sunbelt Rentals is a national, full-service rental company operating a large network of locations in 34 states and D.C. As a business partner, whenever you need equipment, service, or straight-talk advice. That’s how we do business. And we guarantee it.
800-508-4760 24/7 0OWER 'ENERATION $ISTRIBUTION s (EAVY %QUIPMENT s 4EMPERATURE #ONTROL s !IR -OVERS s $ESICCCANTS THE “NO SWEAT”
visit www.sunbeltrentals.com/equipment for a complete catalog of resources
GUARANTEE. Satisfaction . Delivery . Service . Availability . After-Hours Response The “No Sweat” Guarantee is a service mark of Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. ©2012
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Water Damage
Pack-Out Systems
Fire/Smoke Damage
Freeze Drying Chamber
DFD Offers the Following Full-Service and Complete Document Reclamation Services: • Mitigation - Capture and Assess Damage • Drying - Chamber and Freeze Drying • Restoration - Cleaning and Treatments • Duplication/Reproduction - File Copying and Re-Building
File Re-Building
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National Hot Line: 888-217-3418
Use your smart phone to scan this code or go to www.documentfreezedrying.com
24/7/365 Emergency Response
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