Restoration Today

In restoration, there is no opening time - or closing time. It is a 24/7 business that relies on taking calls after hours, on holidays and weekends, and being ready the moment the phone rings. No matter the company size, having someone ready to answer the phone at all hours can be tricky. Finding a call center or answering service with knowledgable, compassionate staff is also difficult. In this e...

Communication between restorers and adjusters has been breaking down for years and that’s created a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. It’s something we see every day: restorers assume pushback is inevitable; adjusters don’t feel the documentation supports the invoice; policyholders expect to get screwed over. This industry is ripe with mistrust, creating a losing situation for everyon...

Kinyon and Natalie Martin from Restore Rite in Blackfoot, Idaho, serve a unique area that includes the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and a city with a wide span of incomes and properties. In this episode, Kinyon and Natalie share their techniques and outside-the-box ways to attract and retain talent, and how they work with their team to serve the people in surrounding communities. Plus, a little ch...

The Experience is back in Las Vegas Sept. 7-9, at the all-new, state-of-the-art Caesars Forum! In this episode of the Restoration Today podcast, Larry and Michelle chat about what makes The Experience special - the industry awards and parties, hands-on training including a flood house right on the show floor, multiple tracks on various topics, and more. For a sneak peek at what's coming this Septe...

When business owners and leaders look to accelerate their business growth, there are often two types of people: those who will lean into their industry peers, especially those outside their markets, and the others who won't discuss business with peers at all. The latter often believes all other restorers and cleaners are competition, or "trade secrets" could get back around to competitors. Yet som...

Meet the 2022 Unsung Heroes Award Office Hero of the Year: Tyler Wright Project Coordinator ATI Restoration, Auburn, WA.   Tyler rises to the occasion, no matter how tough things get.  In her five years in the industry, all with ATI, Tyler has proved her mettle and not sat still. She started by working the front desk, then rose to program coordinator. From there, she became a restoration...

Meet the 2022 Unsung Hero Award Winner Field Hero of the Year: Kurt Smith Environmental, Flood, & Mitigation Dept. Manager Dalworth Restoration, Euless, TX.   One word rings through in speaking to Kurt, and in his nomination: positivity.  Kurt has been in the restoration industry for 18 years and counting. He joined at 21, and admits he never looked back, saying “this was the career...

This week, we welcome ATI's Chief Marketing Officer Kenneth Schweighofer to the podcast! ATI is known for utilizing data to grow its marketshare, increase customer base, and acquire companies. The marketing department is no different. Kenneth and Michelle discuss effective marketing techniques for restoration companies, setting yourself apart from the competition, the advantages of organic marketi...

In this week's episode, Michelle catches up with fellow podcasters, Brandon Reece and Chris Nordyke from the Head Heart and Boots podcast, and columns in C&R . This conversation covers everything from personality types and tests and learning to embrace, hone in, and grow in who you are. There are also discussions on tough topics like anger and regret, and managing expectations. Plus, the impor...

Are you ready to take your company to the next level? Want to drive profitability upward? What about getting paid for the job you should do? Reets Drying Academy is revving up for their Next Level event , happening Aug. 10-12 in Peachtree City, GA! Next Level is a hands-on, interactive learning experience involving some of the cleaning and restoration industry's top instructors. In this quick conv...

O.P. Almaraz and Tim Bauer of Allied Restoration Services join Restoration Today to discuss building trends and how restorers can help create and restore homes and businesses to be more insurable, and less disaster-prone.   In a recent C&R article , Tim wrote about the Great Californian Insurance Crisis, but the lessons apply everywhere. As natural disasters increase, our role as restorer...

Elan Pasmanick is the equipment guru behind Born to Repair, a company specializing in restoration equipment repair. Have a broken dehu? Elan can fix it. Need some tips on deep-cleaning difficult equipment? Also, Elan. In this video, check out our conversation with him on equipment repair tips and tricks, how he found himself in restoration, the art of effectively cleaning equipment of all kinds, a...

Gary Findley, chairman of the board for Stellar Brands, has had quite a year. First, he released his new book, fondly titled "The Redneck CEO", then he appeared on ABC's Undercover Boss. Gary joins Restoration Today to talk about the growth of Stellar Brands, which is parent company to Restoration 1 , his knack and passion for franchising, what he's learned from some mistakes - and wins over the y...

In an industry with many events, every planner and coordinator has to be up to the challenge to find ways to innovate and draw in attendees and vendors. From education to networking to expo hours, there are a lot of variables that can make or break an event, and impact future attendance for better or worse. Plus, there are key details like location, hotel, and accessibility to consider. Now going...

Katie Smith, CR, CEO of PHC Restoration and President of RIA 's Board of Directors, proudly calls herself an "everyday restorer" - and embodies servant leadership. Through thick and thin in business and in life, Katie remains true to herself, her beliefs, and her ethics, while giving her all to everything in which she is involved. Her clear calling to serve others has made Katie a highly-sought-af...

Getting paid is a common pain point for restoration contractors. There are a number of reasons for this – communication, working with adjusters, coverage issues, multi-party checks involving lenders, etc. In this episode, Michelle is joined by Mark Whatley (founder) and Sean Duffy (VP) of sureti - a new app is paving the way for better customer service and faster payment times for property insuran...

Colorado State University hurricane researchers have increased their forecast and now call for a well above-average Atlantic hurricane season in 2022.  Research Scientist Phil Klotzbach returns to Restoration Today to give an update on his team's latest forecast, reasons behind the increase, and resources for restoration companies wanted to stay on top of what is happening in the tropics. Vie...

This quick bonus episode of Restoration Today takes us to the show floor at The Experience! Michelle and two special guests discuss the ongoing need to expose customers, especially those with chemical sensitivities, to fewer chemicals during remediation projects. Roger Berry, CEO, and Brian Lester, product specialist, talk about the 30+ years of science, testing, and more recently real-world use o...

Scott Whitaker, owner of Restoration 1 of Spokane, leans heavily into our industry's most popular standard to get paid: the ANSI/IICRC S500. Whitaker is a big believer in training and education, and makes sure his team understands the scope, purpose, and application of the Standard. This includes knowing which section(s) of the S500 they should be using to bring in experts like IEPs, backing up wo...

SERVPRO Team Wall has seen massive growth in a few short years. In business since 2009, things got “real” in 2019 just before the pandemic. Today, SERVPRO Team Wall has three physical locations, 12 licenses, and more than 155 employees. Owners Jim and Trish Wall have leaned into organizational structure and putting the right people in the right seats to grow in a healthy, sustainable way. They are...

Kustom US is in its third generation of leadership, and part of the group of larger restoration companies looking to grow through purposeful mergers and acquisitions. In this episode, Kustom US CEO Andy Zavodney discusses mergers and acquisitions, what sets Kustom apart from other industry players, what they're finding sellers want in a buyer, attracting future generations into the trades, the val...

Doug Schaedler and Brandon Donatelli from HOMEE join Restoration Today to talk about the evolution of InsurTech. We discuss using Net Promoter Scores to streamline the claims process, the shift in customer expectations and communication, creating a platform to to handle smaller, less complex claims efficiently, effectively and getting contractors paid quickly, and more.

Reese Darlington is a project manager for Venturi Restoration (formerly Response Team 1) in Southern California, and joins this episode of Restoration Today right from a job site! Reese shares how he juggles 40+ projects at a time, establishes good rapport with clients, finds and maintains good relationships with his subcontractors, and avoids the burnout that comes with long hours in a 24/7 indus...

David Hart grew up a tinkerer. Never caring much for school, he preferred to take things apart and reassemble them, learning how the world around him worked. A series of twists and turns in life sent Hart on an interesting journey that may or may not involve an entire set of flatware, military intelligence, the U.S. Army, hanging out in an ozone chamber, and more. Join us for a great conversation...

The energy and excitement at this year's International Restoration Convention & Industry Expo was palpable. Using experience and feedback as their guide, it was clear everyone involved in the planning of this year's event wanted it to be valuable and memorable, and they succeeded.   In this episode of the Restoration Today Podcast, we are joined by RIA leadership:   Kristy Cohen, RIA...