When disaster strikes close to home, we depend on the expertise of capable professionals. With medical crises we need emergency room personnel trained to think clearly and know just what to do no matter how distracted or distraught we may be. The same is true when a catastrophe threatens our home or business.
For the Hooker family, responding to the needs of people in distress not only capably but with compassion is all in a day’s work. Since taking ownership of the ServiceMaster of Salisbury franchise over 21 years ago, this area’s first family of emergency restoration cleaning services has adapted to dramatic industry changes. With state-of-the-art precision equipment and a highly trained staff, ServiceMaster truly delivers, “the clean you expect and the service you deserve” to Dorchester, Talbot, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties along with Sussex County, Del.
To meet the needs of its ever growing clientele, this summer the company expanded its Fire Restoration Division into a larger facility just across the street from its Northwood Drive headquarters in Salisbury. Now ServiceMaster can even better accommodate the needs of those who’ve been found they’re facing the fiasco of fire, water or microbial damage, as well as top-of-the-line routine carpet and upholstery cleaning service.
A registered nurse, office manager Linda Hooker is sensitive to her customer’s human needs. “Sometimes we get people calling so upset they seriously do not know where they live at that moment,” she said “Their whole lives have been turned upside down,” Linda said. Describing a “triage of sorts” once calls come in, the ServiceMaster team springs into action, time being of the essence, she added.
Son David, water damage production manager, agreed. “Just about every job we do is somebody’s emergency; very few are scheduled appointments. You have to be on your toes and be ready for anything.”
Like brother David, Lauren learned the ropes in the company’s entry level ranks while still in school. She recalled cleaning carpets together at the Sand Hotel in Ocean City. “I was 17, it was so hot, we had 60 rooms to finish in one day, just the two of us,” she said with her characteristic, unflappable smile. David’s memories included helping to clean the Salisbury Skateland carpet and rink at age 13.
Hard work and dedication to quality and service remain the hallmarks of this dynamic team, remarkable for a pair so relatively young. Clients concur, and are eager to share stories of outstanding service received.
In July 2008 at 10:30 at night Donald and Catherine Plank’s motor home caught fire which eventually engulfed their main home. Lauren arrived shortly thereafter with a van and people to assess the damage, returning the following day with a full crew and worked alongside her team from 9 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., in 98 degree temperature with, “high humidity, no electricity, certainly no air conditioning or fan,” Plank said, relentlessly digging through soggy insulation, salvaging a lot. “They carefully packed out everything and stored it for 10 months until the house was rebuilt,” Plank added.
(Plank and other customers always have ready access to their belongings, thanks to ServiceMaster’s utilization of the Mobile Service Manager, a handheld computer link to the company’s main computer, which barcodes and catalog everything removed from the home.)
Plank was doubly impressed when crew members turned in a large sum of cash and stray jewelry pieces. “We’re retired Air Force and they’ve got to be the most honest workers I’ve seen anywhere,” she said.
Barbara Faculjak of Washington, D.C., likened ServiceMaster’s impeccable customer service to retail gold standard Nordstram’s. “I’ve lived all around the planet and these people were among the best I’ve encountered,” she said.
A long-term leak was discovered at her Shore home which was complex to diagnose and fix. David walked her through the entire problem from start to finish. “I’ve never even met him face to face, but I’d trust him with anything,” she said. “He was available evenings and weekends, not only taking care of and coordinating everything that needed to be done, but also keeping me calm and explaining the situation and my options,” she said.
Chuck Davis of the Hoopers Island (Dorchester County) Volunteer Fire Department, a construction worker by trade, was impressed with the speed and meticulous quality of the ServiceMaster team. Last February an old furnace backed up and deposited soot throughout the firehouse. “They had to clean 20,000 square feet altogether, including the engine bay, dining hall and kitchen, including walk-in cooler,” he said. Despite the extent of the job, the site was ready for the group’s crucial 3rd Annual Fundraising Dinner within three weeks,” Davis added.
Company patriarch Paul Hooker’s knowledge of the restoration business is impressive in its scope and detail. But even more reassuring is Paul’s thought process about his services. Paul shares, “Although we’ve done this hundreds of times, we need to remember that for the homeowner, this is their first experience. We try to assign one technician to review with the homeowner at the initial stages of mitigation, going over step by step what they plan to do in their home. This is part of ‘restoring peace of mind’ in our Master Moments Program.”
