Hidden Dangers of Freezing Temperatures

1/16/2024 (Permalink)

As winter descends upon us, the picturesque scenes of snow-covered landscapes and cozy moments by the fireplace bring a sense of warmth and comfort. However, amidst the beauty of winter, there lurk hidden dangers that can wreak havoc on homes and businesses. In this blog post, we explore the often-overlooked risks associated with freezing temperatures from the unique perspective of SERVPRO of Levittown, shedding light on the potential threats that can arise during the coldest months of the year.

1. Burst Pipes and Water Damage:

One of the most common and destructive consequences of freezing temperatures is the risk of burst pipes. When water freezes inside pipes, it expands, creating immense pressure that can lead to cracks or ruptures. The aftermath of a burst pipe can result in extensive water damage to walls, ceilings, and floors. SERVPRO of Levittown understands the urgency of addressing water damage promptly to prevent further complications and mold growth.

2. Fire Hazards from Heating Appliances:

As the mercury drops, the use of heating appliances increases. While these devices provide warmth, they also pose fire hazards if not properly maintained. SERVPRO of Levittown recommends regular inspection and maintenance of heating systems, including furnaces, space heaters, and fireplaces, to ensure they function safely throughout the winter months.

3. Ice Dams and Roof Damage:

Freezing temperatures can lead to the formation of ice dams on roofs, especially in regions with heavy snowfall. These dams prevent melting snow from draining properly, causing water to seep into the roof and damage the structure. SERVPRO of Levittown emphasizes the importance of keeping gutters clear and addressing ice dams promptly to prevent costly roof repairs.

4. Frozen Pipes in Commercial Properties:

Businesses are not immune to the risks posed by freezing temperatures. Commercial properties may have extensive plumbing systems that are susceptible to freezing. SERVPRO of Levittown recognizes the unique challenges faced by businesses and offers tailored solutions to mitigate the impact of frozen pipes, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

5. Protecting Your Home or Business:

In the face of these hidden dangers, SERVPRO of Levittown provides valuable tips to protect homes and businesses during winter:

   - Insulate pipes to prevent freezing.

   - Maintain heating systems regularly.

   - Clear gutters and address ice dams promptly.

   - Keep interiors adequately heated to prevent frozen pipes.

   - Have an emergency plan in place for water damage restoration.

Winter's freezing temperatures bring not only a chill to the air but also hidden dangers that can compromise the safety and integrity of homes and businesses. SERVPRO of Levittown stands ready to tackle the aftermath of these challenges, offering expertise and solutions to restore properties affected by the winter's icy grip. By understanding and addressing the risks associated with freezing temperatures, we can ensure a safer and more secure environment for our homes and businesses during the coldest months of the year.

Prepare Your Home and Family for Winter Weather

12/20/2022 (Permalink)

This home experienced a fire loss that began in their chimney. SERVPRO of Levittown was called in to clean up the damage!

Protect your family, home and business from this Winter's harsh weather with the below tips!

• Plan ahead! Create a communication and disaster plan for your family before Winter weather is expected to hit your area. 
• Repair roof leaks and cut away tree branches that could fall on your home or other structure during a storm.
• Have your chimney or flue inspected every year to avoid fires!
• Install a smoke detector and a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector in your home and office.
• Create an emergency car kit with essential items like phone chargers, booster cables, flashlights, windshield scrapers and items to stay warm.
• Keep emergency food and water supplies stocked!
• Save SERVPRO of Levittown's phone number in case our emergency water or fire services are needed! Office #: 215-785-1777

Check your homeowners insurance policy for these potential gaps today.

6/28/2022 (Permalink)

Disasters can happen at any time, and they are never convenient. If you are a homeowner, it is important to make sure that your homeowners insurance policy covers all of the potential disasters that could occur in your area. SERVPRO is here to help you with disaster restoration services, but it is important to know what your policy covers before you need it. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most common gaps in homeowners insurance policies. Make sure to check your policy today to see if you are protected!

One of the most common gaps in homeowners insurance policies is flood coverage. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, it is important to make sure that your policy covers this type of damage. SERVPRO can help you with flood restoration services, but you will need to make sure that your policy covers the cost of these services.

Another common gap in homeowners insurance policies is mold coverage. We live in an area that is prone to mold growth, so it is important to make sure that your policy covers this type of damage. SERVPRO can help you with mold remediation services, but you will need to make sure that your policy covers the cost of these services.

Finally, it is important to make sure your coverage is adequate for your replacement value.  If your home is destroyed, you will need to have enough coverage to rebuild it. Make sure to check your policy today and make sure you are adequately covered!

If you have any questions about your homeowners insurance policy, or if you need help with disaster restoration services, SERVPRO of Levittown is here to help. Give us a call today at 215-785-1777.

Spring Cleaning: Tidying Up Your Restoration Business

3/9/2017 (Permalink)

Whatever your needs, SERVPRO has the team to clean your home or office this Spring!

March 9, 2017
Tom Cline

We’re almost a quarter of the way through 2017. Some of you have experienced weather events that have boosted revenue and contributed to a strong start for the year. Others may be behind your revenue and profit forecast (business plan) for any number of reasons. Whatever your situation, now is the time to take specific actions to improve your likelihood of success in 2017 and beyond.

We’ve all read articles that outline how to be better leaders and improve business results. I’m going to take a closer look and provide guidance on a focused “spring cleaning” list of management activities that will have an immediate and lasting impact on your organization.

Know Where to Focus

The first box to check on your list is confirming your key people understand where they need to focus. Identify the three most important people in your organization, other than yourself. Then sit down with each of them, one-on-one, and go through the following:

The main business objectives you are focused on achieving in 2017. There should be no more than four or five. This will confirm for them what is most important.

Which objectives each of your people are expected to achieve. Having measurable targets takes your expectations from subjective to objective. One of your business objectives, for example, may be to improve gross profits from 45% to 48% of revenue. Translate that larger objective into more specific targets that your operations or production manager can control, track, and manage. You may agree to targets for reducing the time it takes to complete jobs or making sure that change orders are completed and signed by the customer 100% of the time when there is a scope change.

Translate the monthly revenue targets identified in your business plan into the number of jobs that need to be completed and invoiced each month, based on your average job size. Discuss with your sales or business development people how many referral sources will be needed to produce the target number of jobs and how much call activity is required. Translate your business objectives into clear expectations for each person’s activities and results.

Provide Meaningful Feedback in Real Time

Effective communication is fundamental to sound management and leadership. Providing consistent feedback, both positive and negative, to your people is a core skill. As you have one-on-one discussions with your key people, include the following:

Establish a firm time when you will meet with them each week. This ensures that you will devote time specifically to them and the expectations you have of them (and vice versa). It also assures them that they will have the opportunity to discuss any issues they want to cover with you or need help with.

Tell them about three situations where they have been successful, or that they have handled particularly well, since the start of 2017. These must be specific, objective observations of their strong performance. Most managers do a great job of pointing out to their people when they do something wrong, hoping to eliminate mistakes and improve productivity. People don’t thrive in an environment of constant criticism. Great managers and great motivators understand what Tom Hopkins said: “Keep your eyes open and try to catch people in your company doing something right, then praise them for it.”

Talk about three areas that are not going well or not being handled as you expect. Again, give details; specifics of situations they should have handled differently or results that need to be improved.

Discuss how you will work together to improve in the areas that need improvement and how to continue or expand on the positive results. Create a specific action plan that includes follow-ups that will take place during your weekly meetings. Remember to let each person lead the discussion on what steps should be taken. The actions should include commitments for both of you, not just your employee.

Lead Instead of Dictate

Just because you are the boss doesn’t mean that your people will do what you say. If they don’t respect your authority they will perform at what they believe is the minimal level needed to protect their job. Help your managers connect with the objectives and use their own experiences and resources to achieve them. This is especially true with younger employees, i.e. millennials, who want to be given the authority to make decisions and to be included in solving the problems of the organization.

Identify the one or two most pressing issues in each person’s range of responsibility. These could be driven by the problem areas that you outlined in the feedback you provided. Give them the responsibility and freedom to solve the problems or issues in their own way, while letting them know you are there to support and assist them as needed.

Make sure your direction doesn’t shut down their thinking process. Listen more than you talk in these situations. Let them explore the problems and find their own solutions. Otherwise, you run the risk of your team thinking less for themselves and becoming dependent on your knowledge and answers. Listen to make sure they don’t get too far off track, and use your regular one-on-one sessions to get updates on their progress.

Deal with Conflict Directly and Fairly

The workplace is a fertile breeding ground for conflict, as there is no shortage of emotionally charged issues among team members. Employees are keen observers of who takes action when needed and who doesn’t. They respect managers who confront difficult situations, just as they lose respect for those who typically avoid them.

Identify one or two areas of conflict among your people that you have been avoiding. Be honest with yourself and think about the interpersonal issues that are most damaging to your team and your business.

Get input individually from those who are involved in the conflict. As a mediator, you need to understand everyone’s perspectives and the situation from all viewpoints. Your goal is to understand the source of the conflict. It is important to get beyond a single incident that may have led to the visible evidence of a conflict. Probing questions like “When do you think the problem between you first arose?” will help to uncover the real issues.

Request solutions from all parties. Question them to solicit their ideas by asking “How can you make things better between you?” Then just listen. At this point you want to move the discussion away from finger pointing and toward ways of resolving the conflict.

Bring the parties together. Express the importance of working together as a team and having trust in one another. Communicate what you have learned from each of them regarding their perspective on the situation. Present ideas and possible solutions that come out of your discussions with the parties involved. Get the people to shake hands and agree to one or more of the solutions you discuss.

Reduce the potential for future conflicts. Ask each of the parties what actions they will take to prevent conflicts from arising in the future.

Management and leadership are multifaceted endeavors requiring a complex set of skills. Mastery of the fundamentals provides a foundation on which to build a more effective and successful organization. Those you are developing as managers will learn from your examples and become more effective. Use the opportunity of “spring cleaning” to sharpen your leadership skills, help to develop the key managers in your organization, and get your business moving in the right direction to successfully achieve your 2017 objectives.

SERVPRO: Industry Wide Accolades for an Industry Leading Team

2/17/2017 (Permalink)

Philadelphia's Top Restoration Service Providers

February 17, 2017
Brendan Kelly

            Anyone in the restoration industry knows time is critical to all aspects of our job. From the moment our phone rings with a potential water loss or fire job we know that response time is crucial in reducing the amount of secondary damages that occurs the longer the property goes untouched. Most homeowners, however, do not know the proper course of action and usually do not have a continuance plan in place in the event of water, fire, mold, or storm damage. SERVPRO has the system in place to efficiently deal with the very worst of your problems, ultimately reducing your costs, stress, and time we spend in your property.

            SERVPRO works closely with many of the top insurance providers in the nation and we have been doing such a good job for them over the years that, for many, we are considered preferred service providers. This is because we decrease the cost associated with an insurance claim. This is not to say we do not completely handle the total job to its full scope. We employ the industry’s highest trained technicians who use state-of-the-art equipment and processes to handle any issue within our customer’s homes by using a proven process so that we do not need to run up a bill. We offer concrete science behind our drying which is comforting when you consider the cost of what’s at stake, which is why we’re preferred by people everywhere.

            Whether you live in New York or California there is a SERVPRO that is fully capable of handling your problems with the utmost customer service. We operate like one big family, utilizing the same business system across the US and even Canada. By doing this we reduce the stress that is put on our customers caused by the water or fire damage. The customer is more likely to respond in a positive manner when we address their stress points first while properly mitigating an insurance claim. This is just another reason we are industry leading claims professionals.

            The overall benefit of using SERVPRO over any other restoration company is crystal clear. You can’t go wrong with the industry leader because we’ve earned this title over years of hard work and dedication to our craft. We are also committed to performing to this standard and we take pride in our interactions with our customers on a daily basis so take comfort in choosing only the best for your needs, and the best is SERVPRO.

Customer Shows Appreciation for a Flooded Kitchen Restoration

6/2/2016 (Permalink)

Follow the link to view Mr. Ravkin's Personal Testimony About His Experience

When Evan Ravkin came home to a flooded kitchen, he knew just who to call.

Mr. Ravkin feared that his water damaged kitchen was nearly destroyed by a broken pipe in the restroom above it, on the second floor of his home in Levittown. However,  SERVPRO of Levittown's highly trained professionals employ proven techniques and equipment to water damage restoration.  They have performed hundreds of water damage restoration jobs throughout the Levittown area.  So when SERVPRO was able to restore Mr. Ravkin's kitchen to a level that exceeded his expectations, and he was kind enough to send us this video testimonial about his experience.

Thank you, Evan, for the opportunity to serve you, and for your words of appreciation.  We hope that you never suffer another water damage, but if you do, you know we can make it "Like it never even happened."