Follow these safety tips to make sure your Thanksgiving holiday is both merry and safe:
* Stay in the kitchen when cooking on the stove top to keep an eye on the food.
* Keep all wrappers, dish towels and other flammable materials away from stoves and ovens.
* Have a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen. As an alternative, baking soda can be helpful in putting out grease fires.
* Keep kids and pets out of the kitchen where they could be injured from a hot spill or cause tripping hazards.
* Never leave kids alone near lit candles or leave matches or lighters lying around within reach of a child.
* And most importantly, check the batteries in smoke alarms and test them to make sure they are working properly.
In case of a fire damage call the professionals at ServiceMaster DRR – we are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, including Thanksgiving! We respond quickly to help you recover from water, fire or smoke damage and minimize interruptions.
Steve VanDenBerg is the owner of ServiceMaster Disaster Restoration and Recovery. He has over 30 years of experience working within the restoration industry and successfully leading start-ups, turnarounds, acquisitions and mergers, and rapidly growing companies.
Steve earned his BS in Business & Accounting from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI and began working for DSI Holdings as their Chief Financial Officer. When Steve began with DSI Holdings, they were running an underperforming ServiceMaster Restore franchise with one location. Steve implemented new policies and procedures for accounting and finance as well as a professional sales plan that increased profits eightfold over his time as the CFO. He was then promoted to President and CEO and in this time, he expanded the company from two locations with $4M in sales to 12 locations and $45M in sales. DSI Holdings became one of the largest disaster restoration companies in the U.S. and helped with major restoration projects throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Steve purchased ServiceMaster DRR in 2015 when the business was in decline. Drawing on his years of experience in turning around struggling ServiceMaster franchises, Steve overhauled our operations, including finance, sales, and marketing, which led to a quick turnaround. Within Steve’s first 24 months, sales increased by 60 percent. Steve also helped greatly improve our operating margins and established a relationship with California’s largest residential insurance company. Under Steve’s leadership, we have become one of the largest disaster restoration providers in California.
Steve has found great success in turning around struggling and stagnant restoration franchises by changing the business model and strategy, greatly increasing sales and profits. Many of the changes he has implemented have even been adopted by the franchisor into their operating model.