He was shocked! He had never heard of such a thing in 98 years, and he was fully prepared to buy a new roof out of pocket. He got us his policy, we went through the policy, and it was definitely covered. We filed the claim, the insurance adjusters came out, they agreed with us, and he got his actual cash value check. He called us up to come and get the deposit so we could order the materials and get everything started.
So we got the first check and we were ready to schedule to work. We tried to contact him to schedule the work, and he was nowhere to be found. At 98 years old, we were very concerned. We kept trying to get a hold of him, and after a period of time, his daughters came in town to handle things for him.
It turns out he had slipped and fallen in the kitchen, and wound up in a rehab facility for some time. We wound up working with his daughters who had also never heard of this type of damage and process. We were able to get his house fully completed and all the work done, both interior and exterior because there was interior damage as well.
By the time he got out of rehab and came home, his whole house was put back together and he was extremely happy and satisfied. We’re still in contact with him today and we check on him from time to time to see if he needs anything. We also talk to his grandson once in a while.
That was probably one of the more satisfying claims we were on, because we were able to help an elderly person out who has been taking care of himself for years and still very independent, and it was really cool to work with him.
Markus: I can imagine. That’s a fantastic story, and you made a difference in that person’s life, in that family’s life. That’s wonderful. So it’s not just about the roofs and about the insurance and claims and all that stuff. It’s really about taking care of your clients and being there for them as an advocate 110%.
Steve: Yeah. It really is, because just to elaborate really quick, we really find that by the time we’re done with this process – because when everything works well and it works the right way, we’re deeply involved with our clients for three to four weeks – we truly do feel like we become friends on some level, and we have contact with a lot of our clients, long after we complete their work, because the majority of our business comes from recommendations once people realize that this is a real thing, it’s legitimate and we take great pride in our work.
And I just want to touch on really quick, as a thank you to our clients for using us, because say they have an old three-tabbed type of shingle on the roof, usually, we’ll upgrade them to an architectural shingle and we’ll upgrade their underlayment. We’ll do whatever we can to put them in a much better position than they were before, not just indemnify them. And that really turns out to be a friendly relationship and becomes a long-term relationship, because there’s always a recommendation coming in from them as time goes on.
Markus: That’s real customer service, and which is what it’s all about. I wish we heard that more in this day and age. It’s fantastic that you’re doing it the right way. So, what inspired you to become a construction contractor, and more specifically, an insurance restoration specialist?
Steve: Well, my partner and I have been close friends since high school, and through the years, we both had our own businesses, we’ve both been entrepreneurs, and we’ve been involved since the beginning in construction, whether working on our own home or families’ homes, the build-outs of our businesses, and new builds for friends and family.
We saw that these storm chasers started to pop up everywhere, and we were kind of watching the industry for a while. We just decided that being really old-school guys who were raised by really old-school parents – his parents were not born here. My mom wasn’t born here, my dad was first generation. We really have old-school values that we truly believe in a handshake deal and do what you say you’re going to do, and do it to the best of your ability.
We just watched what was happening, with a lot of the trade industries in the last many years, just preaching education, we saw this industry lose a lot of craftsmanship and a lot of good old solid values. There was just such a need for it that we couldn’t sit back. We had to get involved and we truly want to make a difference.
Markus: That’s fantastic. I appreciate you sharing that. Can you share a lesson you learned early on that still impacts how you do business today?
Steve: Absolutely. My first company, believe it or not, was a towing company. My partner and I, Marty, we laughed a lot because we had a lot of experiences with our dads especially. We’re lucky both our mom and dads are still together and still alive. And you think back to when I had my towing business and I was only 16 years old. I was riding around and my dad was riding with me. He used to tell me, really instill that “you reap what you sow, the truth is the best way to go because the dark will always come out into the light. Do what you say you’re going to do, and if you’re going to do it, do it right.” He used to preach that in my head all the time.
