Restorers Should Consider Offering Preventive Maintenance

Here’s a term I’d like the industry to consider – prestoration. Like the word proactive, coined by Stephen R. Covey, prestoration means moving the focus to action before the fact rather than after. In other words, working to help clients avoid major events.

I know at first it sounds like taking money out of your own pocket. But restorers already do work of this type. Dryer vent cleaning is a prime example. It helps clients avoid fire damage. It’s a low-dollar service, but it creates the kind of relationship that brings in more money in the long run.

Simple inspections could help clients avoid costly claims and generate work for your firm. Ward Prain of Rainbow International of Greenville, South Carolina, said that it’s usually obvious that a pipe is about to burst. There’s work that technicians perform at a set time rather than having to scramble a larger crew to clean up water damage. This helps with staffing, a constant concern for all employers these days.

There should be fewer burst pipes in the future as smart technology grows more common in buildings. Plumbers and HVAC contractors are looking today at ways to become the preferred providers of this technology. Restoration firms should do the same. Someone is going to “own the home.” It may as well be you.

In addition to improving relationships with property owners, focusing on prestoration can improve relationships with insurance companies. Commercial insurer FM Global recently announced it will provide $300 million in credits to its policyholders to reduce total loss expectancies related to wind, flood and wildfire exposure. As climate change grows as an issue, more insurers may follow suit, creating a financial incentive for restoration contractors to help develop preventive solutions.

At least one restoration contractor is already on board with this idea. Husband and wife Nasutsa Mabwa President of Restoration by Simons, and Sam Simon, the firm’s managing director, recently published “Restore: A Complete Guide to Protecting Your Home as Your Most Valuable Asset from Water and Fire Disasters.”

“By imparting useful information and tips out of habit, and acting as a key resource whenever possible, we are the go-to when it comes to complicated restoration projects,” the couple writes in their book.

You don’t have to call it “prestoration,” but taking a mindset of providing services before a disaster could prove a profitable business model in the long run.