Such was the case of a restoration project undertaken last year by DisasterCare Platinum (DCP), a UK-based restoration and remediation company located 50 miles southwest of London. It involves a bedroom fire, an important restoration, and an unlikely visit from a superhero. It is also a good example of how listening to clients and hearing their personal stories can go a long way toward improving customer experience ratings.

The Bedroom Fire

The policyholder contacted DCP after a fire was put out by her local fire department in a bedroom shared by her two sons. The fire crew arrived within just eight minutes and contained the fire to the bedroom, but damage to the room was serious. It was determined the youngest son was one of Batman’s biggest fans and struggled with losing some of his beloved toys. This would play a significant role in the restoration and how this R&R case would be ultimately resolved.

It was apparent within the first minute how badly the policyholder was devastated by the incident. DCP learned more about her family and how the youngest son was impacted by the fire. He was emotionally struggling with the accident and believed he had lost all of his toys in the fire. He grieved over his teddy bear named “Jam”, of which he was unable to sleep without. He was also stressed about the loss of his prized collection of Batman toys. Understanding the importance of this particular restoration and the circumstances, DCP went to work.

The Restoration

Entering the room showed how much damage the fire had caused. DCP gathered as much contents and clothing as possible, including that irreplaceable Teddy and numerous Batman toys. The items were taken back to DCP headquarters.

DCP utilizes standard remediation equipment including new age technology like a state-of-the-art wash system, ESPORTA, that quickly facilitated processing of 33 bags of contents. It also allowed for some items to be fast-tracked, which the claimant requested for her son’s school shoes and some school clothing. These items were delivered polished and clean within days.

In just over a week, DCP was able to restore 298 of the 312 items taken in for processing, with the remaining 14 items too badly burned. That resulted in a 95.5% R&R level and a savings of 60% over replacement value for the insurance carrier. More importantly, the efforts paid off in keeping Batman’s biggest fan from losing some very prized possessions.

Visit from Batman

As this story was told in the offices of DCP, it was suggested how nice it would be if Batman himself could be involved in returning the family’s belongings. A call to a local event planning company discovered that, yes, this was possible. After a call to the policyholder to clear the idea, plans were made for the “big reveal”.

On the day of the reveal, remaining restored clothing and toys were loaded into boxes with the Batman logo stamped on them. New replacement Batman toys were included to replace lost ones. Boxes were loaded into the DCP van and arrangements were made to meet the superhero and take him to policyholder’s new home.

There, with curious neighbors and friends looking on, Batman and the DCP rep knocked on the door. The young boy was overjoyed to see his hero and taken to the van to see the dozens of boxes that were quickly unloaded into the home. The boy and his family excitedly unpacked each box.

The boy was thrilled to see his familiar toys, and the family became understandably emotional when he was presented with his old friend, “Jam” the Teddy Bear, looking and smelling like new. There was another unexpected emotional moment to come, however, as DCP presented the family with passes to Chessington World of Adventures, Britain’s “wildest” amusement park.

After wiping away the tears and making sure there were enough pictures taken, Batman and DCP left the family to restart the next chapter of their lives with meaningful items that had been fully restored. The hectic day’s events had impacted all involved.