Not All Restoration Companies Are the Same — here's some things to consider

Unfortunately, we have seen customers taken advantage of by some of the other restoration contractors in our community. These customers are smart and do their research on these contractors and still have issues before we are hired to help them. Renew Restoration has company policies in place for our customers to build a relationship of trust through our assessment, quoting and contracting processes. Based on what our customers have shared with us in the past, here are a few tips to protect yourself when vetting a restoration company:

Google reviews are great, but keep in mind that companies can require employees to post 5-star reviews, purchase 5-star reviews from outside sources and pay Google to remove legitimate 1-star reviews from customers who were unhappy or felt mistreated. Good reviews should have details and preferably pictures that show the customer did use the company’s services. Look for the use of employee or owner names and specific details in the review that make it relatable to the type of work the company performs or that you are looking to hire them for. Really happy customers take the time to leave detailed reviews, relating the quality of work, communication and whether they were “wowed” by the company. Look for reviews that truly give you glimpse into another person’s project and what they experienced and consider that the others may not be from an actual customer.

Restoration companies, including ours, tell you that they are going to make sure you are taken care of during the process of your home’s fire restoration. Sadly, this can sometimes be an empty promise to get a contract signed.  At Renew Restoration, we do not require a signed contract until the end of the estimating/assessment period, and we do not use sales pressure tactics to gain your business. We use separate contracts for emergency board up, mitigation and rebuilding, so you are not stuck signing one for all three phases of your homes fire damage restoration. Renew Restoration does not use sales pressure tactics to get your work. If we earn your business by how we treat you in the earlier phases, we hope you will trust us with the entire project when it comes time to move forward. We know you have a lot going on and want to make sure you can take the time to think things through before contracting. We are truly committed to helping our customers, and if another company is a better fit for you, we are happy you were able to find the help you need. Here’s some signs to beware of with pressure sales tactics during fire restoration:

A company that shows up while your home is still on fire can be a red flag.

People are often vulnerable in these moments and are not thinking clearly. Trying to get a contract signed at that time is not something Renew Restoration is interested in doing. Accepting help for emergency board up or finding a place to stay can be helpful when you are overwhelmed by your homes damage but beware of signing contracts for the entire cleanup without taking the time to review the company that wants your business. Any company with good intentions should be happy to wait until you are ready to commit to working with them and shouldn’t try to pressure you into signing something in the first moments after the disaster has struck your home.

Someone telling you they will handle the entire billing process with your insurance company should give you pause.

Initially this sounds amazing! You don’t have to do anything and can avoid additional stress. But there can be several issues for homeowners with a company who operates like this. You are letting your insurance company and the company that will get paid with your reimbursement money for the work decide everything about your homes repair, including how thorough they are and the quality of the repairs made when they put your home back together. You owe your contractor for the work you agree to have them do, but the insurance companies don’t always agree that they need to reimburse you in full. Sadly, customers that do not take an active role in their home’s restoration may end up being billed for work not completed at all and/or work that insurance companies do not offer coverage for. At Renew Restoration, our company policy requires that we do not have conversations with your insurance company over the phone. All our communication with them is in writing via email and our customers are cc’d- no exceptions. We freely share with you what we know about how the insurance process works and let you decide how it should be handled. We are here to support you in your reimbursement process, but you are in control of how that happens and informed of every detail along the way. As a smaller business not focused on huge sales growth, we can take the time to work with our customers, so they have a matching scope of agreement in writing from their insurance company, before we contract or start our rebuilds. This ensures that customers know what the insurance company has agreed to reimburse them for, before they incur costs.

When you experience smoke or soot damage it’s important to hire a company who will perform onsite surface testing, provide documentation, and a detailed plan on how to restore your home. Beware of any company that just promises to clean your home but does not provide you with a RWP (restoration work plan) or an assessment of the smoke/soot damage itself.

The IICRC S700 (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration) is the relatively new and prevailing standard for correct and comprehensive smoke damage clean-up protocols. Since smoke damage clean-up is unregulated in the State of Wisconsin, be sure you find a contractor who is not only certified by the IICRC in smoke and odor control, but also uses the standards set forth in the S700 to ensure your home is restored correctly. IICRC certifications provide the knowledge, but do not ensure the application of it by the company you hire and there are no other agencies in Wisconsin enforcing these standards. Companies may use them or disregard them with no repercussions. At a minimum you should receive from your smoke restoration contractor:

1. A document showing a description of the damage found, and pictures of the damage/surface tests performed (dry sponge test, wet wipe test, etc.)

2. An assessment of the type of particle residue present (e.g. natural, synthetic, protein), any health concerns they present, and the proper form of cleaning required for that type of particulate.

3. Full restoration assessment documentation with restoration work plan proposal.

4. Documentation or assessment related to odor control (this is sometimes a separate issue from the standard cleaning protocols)

5. A “white glove” walk-through with owner after cleaning, with optional testing for particulate and odor to ensure the home is clean.

Many customers choose to take advantage of the demo’ d state of their homes to incorporate a kitchen or flooring upgrade they were already planning to do. This is a great idea! But how your restoration company chooses to handle it is key to its success as your manage your insurance claim. Some will promise you that it won’t be a problem to combine your upgrade with your restoration, but at the end of the project you are left with an invoice that doesn’t properly separate the two costs. Your restoration company needs to supply you with the correct and matching documentation, separate from the upgraded portion of the work performed, so that you can get reimbursed correctly from your insurance company. If your restoration company refuses to do the work to split the upgrades from the insurance claim work, you may be stuck with an insurance adjuster who will not release additional funds, because it is not clear what your financial damage amount for the insurance claim work really is. At Renew Restoration, we not only quote home upgrades separately from the insurance claim work, we contract and invoice them separately as well. The work upgrade work is still performed seamlessly with the homes restoartion, but this leaves you with all the paperwork you need to easily submit for reimbursement from your insurance company, and a clear understanding of your own costs for the upgrades.

Hiring the right contractor is an important step in your homes restoration process. Be sure you take the time to learn more about the company you are hiring to make sure you don't end up frustrated, financially damaged or feeling taken advantage of once the job is complete.