SERVPRO History

4/6/2018 (Permalink)

SERVPRO

History of SERVPRO

From a small beginning as a painting business in Sacramento, CA, in 1967, SERVPRO has become one of the most recognizable names in the restoration industry. Within two years, owners Ted and Doris Isaacson used their expertise in the cleaning and restoration to expand their business offerings. Soon afterwards, they began to offer franchises and grew steadily so that by 1979, SERVPRO had 175 locations.

SERVPRO grew exponentially after relocating its headquarters in 1988 to Gallatin, TN, about 30 miles outside of Nashville. The Isaacsons moved the company there so that its headquarters could be located within 600 miles of half of the population of the United States. Since that time, SERVPRO has nearly tripled its size with over 1,700 locally owned and operated franchises across the United States.

SERVPRO remains a family-owned company, with the Isaacson’s eldest child, Susan Steen, as the company’s chief executive officer. Steen is joined by family members Randall Isaacson and Rick Isaacson as president and executive vice president, respectively.

Staff & Training

As a national company, SERVPRO has resources at its disposal that smaller, local companies may not have. These resources include a national staff that can help local franchisees with support in various aspects of running a business, that include human resources personnel, business analyst, customer service representatives, Quickbooks specialists, national accounts coordinators, marketing data analysts, property claims adjusters and vendor coordinators.

Franchisees receive support and special training from the moment they become part of the company. The first step is a 15-day training program at SERVPRO’s corporate training facility in Tennessee. The basic course covers fire and water restoration, mold mitigation and carpet and upholstery cleaning. Franchise employees can also take the 15-day training course but also have a separate self-paced program for certification in fire and water restoration, carpet and upholstery cleaning and crew training.

What’s more, SERVPRO provides its employees with plenty of ongoing training that includes web-based, self-paced e-learning modules that include video presentations and support materials. The company also offers credit and noncredit courses that cover the latest knowledge and techniques in emergency mitigation. Topics include water and fire damage restoration, restorative drying, mitigation awareness response and mold mitigation and restoration.

In addition, SERVPRO partners with the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) to provide year-round training classes that certifies employees to work in the restoration field. Courses for applied structural drying occur in the company’s purpose-built ASD training facility.