Joel Libava
Seeing a SERVPRO van, or a van/truck from any one of the hundreds of other restoration companies on your street is never a good sign. That’s especially true for the homeowner or business owner that the vehicle is parked in front of. Why?
Because it means something out of the ordinary just happened, and it needs a professional cleanup and restoration fix.
Keep reading for examples of what I mean, and why seeing a SERVPRO van in your neighborhood isn’t necessarily bad for everyone.
(Note: SERVPRO® isn’t paying me to write about their franchise brand. If they were paying me to help them market their franchise, I would let you know. As a matter of fact, corporate has no idea I’m writing about their disaster cleanup and restoration brand.)
Common Reasons For A SERVPRO Van To Be In Your Neighborhood
The SERVPRO truck you see is on the scene for one of the following things:
- Fire/smoke damage
- Water heater leaks
- Black mold removal
- Odor removal
- Crime scene cleanup
Of course SERVPRO isn’t the only game in town. Other cleanup and restoration companies-including franchise businesses do exist. Like:
- Paul Davis Restoration
- 1-800-Water-Damage
- AdvantaClean
- Rainbow International
- ServiceMaster Restore
That said, franchises in the disaster cleanup and restoration business generally perform the same duties. It’s their cleanup/restoring methods that vary.
Restoration Companies Are Part Of A Highly Specialized, Recession-Proof Sector of Franchising
Disaster cleanup and restoration is a highly specialized field.
Specific solvents and equipment are used to properly cleanup and repair damage to homes and businesses. It takes time for technicians (which franchisees hire) to learn how to handle these sometimes-dangerous products and provide the services needed to make sure things look undamaged and normal again.
That being the case, franchisors in this category do provide the specialized training needed to do this type of work. It’s part of how franchises work and what you get when you buy one. But why is it recession-proof?
Because of how franchisees get customers.
Plus the fact that stuff like what I’m about to describe happens on a continuous basis 24/7, no matter what our economy is doing.
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When You Cook Your Brisket A Little Too Long
Every single day, all over the country, briskets, casseroles, and other items that need to be baked in an oven get cooked too much. Translation: they catch fire. And sometimes the oven and the wall does too. It sucks.
But it’s only after the fire department leaves that the real damage is realized. I’m talking about smoke and water damage. So now what?
After the shock of what just happened starts diminishing, you make a call. This next part is important.
People who this has happened to generally don’t go online to try to find a company to come over and do a cleanup.
Furthermore, even if they did, they wouldn’t contact 3-4 companies for estimates. There’s no time for that BS. And definitely no time to price-shop. That usually translates into high profit margins for the providers.
What they do instead is call their insurance company and/or insurance agent. And for franchisees in the cleanup/restoration business, that’s where the magic happens.
SERVPRO Is A Referral Business
Check this out.
Right after you call your insurance person, she arranges for an estimator to come out and survey the fire damage.
Once that’s done, your agent contacts the SERVPRO franchisee she has a relationship with and directs the company to come over (with their green SERVPRO van) and do the necessary cleanup and restoration work.
A week or so later, your kitchen looks like new.
It’s good stuff.
And it’s great stuff for the local franchisee.
With Restoration Companies, It’s All About Relationships
That kitchen cleanup job didn’t go to the local SERVPRO franchisee by accident.
That’s because, the franchisee, in his business development role, started and continually nurtured a relationship with the insurance agent. And it just paid off (as it probably has many times before x many insurance agents along with several other referral sources).
But kitchen fires are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what cleanup and restoration companies do. Unfortunately, there are lots of other damaging things that happen to homes and businesses every day. Things you may not hear about but do happen.
That said, the trick as a franchisee is to be aware of every disaster, big or small, that happens in your area, and make sure your company is the one being called to handle the cleanup and restoration.
Speaking of which, you should know that I’ve been able to help several of my clients learn about and buy franchises in this space. And they tell me that the work is there. Lots of it!
Finally, now that you know a bit more about why a SERVPRO van or truck may be parked in your neighborhood, and the business potential the cleanup and restoration sector offers, maybe you should look into becoming a franchise owner of one of the restoration companies mentioned here.
So you can be your own boss.
