November
2012
In this issue: 1 It ain’t over til it’s over 2 Customer Service First 3 Volume Leader/New Franchise 4 Personal Best/Words of Wisdom 5 Annual Trade Show/Chart Toppers 7 Kudos 8 Trade Shows 9 Smartphone App
SUN
T HE
SERVPRO® of Southern New England and New York
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“It ain’t over til it’s over” ~ Yogi Berra Yogi Berra made this famous baseball analogy famous but it can be applied to the cleanup after Hurricane Sandy. The most devastated areas of the Tri-State area will be cleaning up for quite some time to come and certainly the aftermath may well linger into next year. There will be many challenges dealing with distressed customers, transportation logistics and many losses not covered by insurance. We strongly urge franchisees to ensure each customer end user and insurance carrier - is called back after mitigation and restoration services to ensure that customer’s satisfaction. In the rush to service many potential customers, we sometimes fail to ‘button-up’ the job before moving on to the next one. Too often small things overlooked lead to customer dissatisfaction, which can negatively affect future referrals, especially during slower periods of work when calls are really needed. Follow-up calls are an opening when dealing with commercial customers to ask how they are handling electronic, art, and documentation restoration, this is an excellent opportunity to offer additional services, strengthen your client bond as a reliable source for assistance, and at the same time make a substantial referral commission. When the rush is over ask for referrals, as your satisfied clients may be aware of commercial and residential friends, neighbors, and business contacts who may have microbial (mold) problems. This is a service that keeps a franchise busy for a long time, well after the emergency work has been completed. The commercial client who just experienced a loss is generally very receptive, due to the immediacy and experience of a disruptive loss; therefore, recommend the consideration of the Emergency READY Program in preparation for future events they may experience. Finally, remember that many of your mitigation customers will require reconstruction, opening the door to extended service. To summarize, implementing an effective customer service follow-up program in your franchise can yield additional work, provide opportunities for future work, and establish a more robust customer referral base. In our words, ‘It’s never is over even when you think it’s over’!