SERVPRO Franchise Complaints

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• I hate that all these people have had a negative experience with Servpro. My husband and I started a new Servpro outside the Chicago area and we have been going for a little over a year and are doing great! They offer tons of help and if you need it pretty much hold your hand getting started. In fact we are in the works of buying another. To all the people that have had bad experiences please know that all Servpros are owned by different people. You can't be mad at the whole company for the way one person choices to run their individual business. I promise 99% of us are good guys just trying to help but there are a few idiots out there as with any business.

• Justin, I am looking for a franchise to buy and this is one of them.. I would like to chat with you a little to get your experience with this business.

  My email [redacted]

  Thank you

• Ted Ng should send me an e-mail and I can fill him in.

• I am thinking of buying a servpro franchise. What are expected returns in the first year? How hard was it to establish a client base. Thanks for any advice you can give.

• I am also interested in a serve pro franchise, can any serve pro owners please email or call me I would like to get some extra info.

• Mold is Gold

  Serve-Pro gave me an estimate for $20,000 for 'mold remediation' under my three year old house. The estimate included a page that should not have been there, their estimated profit of $15,000, plus $4950 for taxes on their services. Termite guy had already told me about the mold, sprayed for it, said put some gutters on the house and it will resolve the issue.

  From research I learned there are millions of mold spores in your home. You let in hundreds of thousands every time you open the door. Mulch has billions of mold spores in it, it just isn't a problem. Unless you are Serve-Pro or another 'mold remediation' company, or a lawyer looking to sue an insurance company or building contractor.

• I had unfortunate incadent at my house. I made the mistake of calling the Servpro Office of MissouriCity/Stafford. Words that come to mind are unethical, unprofessional, sloppy and disrespectful. I have no idea how this office is in business. I've used Serpro for other areas of Houston and I've never had a problem. The Missouri City/Stafford office was a terrible experiance.

  There is an individual that works there and his name is Jason - I believe he is the owner. He is absolutly lazy with no work ethic. Theft was part of the problem. I will be calling the local authorities. I will also be filing a complaint directly with Servpro.

• In the heat of the moment when tensions are high and emotions are ruling our thoughts and words all we want is for someone to fix IT. Whatever IT is; fire, water smoke, mold... We just want it gone and to be able to get on with our lives. The huge pile of IT that we have to deal with is overwhelming. The interruption to our routine and privacy is very personal and we have to turn over our homes, belongings to companies. Some better than others.

  While making the decision on which team I wanted to join I did extensive research on Servpro as well as with others on whether my goals could be met while maintaining personal integrity. After meeting with franchise owners it was clear to me Servpro was the company I would pursue.

  With regards to the previous postings, my thought is no company is perfect. As with anything else you will find unscrupulous operators / owners & even employees in any industry. I can tell you the one thing that stands out to me is simply this; These are franchises, Independently owned & operated.

  Training is another issue. I can tell you the owners & service technicians doing the work have access to a VERY comprehensive training program. The quality of the work done is a decision each franchise owner has to make, answer for and train into their service technicians. Let's face it, some people do not make good choices and some owners may not be good or effective trainers or mentors. But I will also tell you from what I have seen so far, at the corporate level this company firmly believes reputation is everything. Maybe some franchisees do not measure up but most are out there doing the right thing every day. Maybe it's not fair to group them all as criminal. That is not what is being taught from the corporate level.

  As for pricing, restoration vs. replacement saves everyone involved time & dollars. It is common on a residential job where replacement cost would be $50,000 and up to 3-4 weeks to be completed, displacing homeowners to hotels or other accommodations waiting for this work to be completed. Restoration might be say $20,000 and only 1-2 weeks. The key being getting restoration services started immediately.

  Answer this, If mitigation/restoration was so overpriced why did so many contractors turn to offering these services when the economy was in the tank? Simple, they aren't idiots, they saw value in restoration and insurance companies much prefer restoration to keep claims costs down and their insured happy.

  Let's keep this in perspective. While I agree in the philosophy of taking care of the customer, shoddy work is done by individuals who either own or work for a franchise which may not have very effective management or training and should not be made to cast a negative light on all franchises.

  Remember "independently owned & operated", Most of us are working hard to do it right for you "Like IT never even happened".

• Destroyed my house even more than it was. Items were piled in every room. VERY unorganized. Servpro told me my home would be "move back in condition". After all my walls were removed and my home completely taken apart they said "OOOPS! It was a misunderstanding." They only remove walls. So myself and 5 other people were mistaken. My $13,000.00 was than reduced to $6000. Items that can not be replaced were damaged. My tile flooring was damaged. The crew I had at my house created such a disaster far worse than the flooding. They sent a crew from out of state and a group of professional liars. Stay away. Do yourself a BIG favor and STAY AWAY!

• To the previous disgruntled with ServPro book author above... this isn't the forum... and ServPro isn't responsible. Like others have said... they are franchisees... and how they handle business is just that. Their business. If they are crooked, it isn't ServPro's fault. I have a friend who now owns 6 franchises. I am also now thinking of buying one.