Home Care and Prevention
After a fire, flood, or major structural damage to your business, Michael Griggs, CR, president of Disaster Restoration, Inc. Westminster, CO and the current president of leading industry organization, National Institute of Disaster Restoration (NIDR) in Washington D.C., recommends following these steps to get your home or business fully functional as quickly as possible.
Check your lease. If the property is not accessible for an extended period, are you liable for rent? If so, renegotiate this point at renewal.
Videotape assets before a storm or at regular intervals and take the tape off-site for storage. In case of an extended power failure it should not be in a bank vault.
Check your insurance, the name of the agent, phone, and fax and have this information on disk off-site. Do you know what you are really insured for? The federal government (800-427-4661) sells flood insurance. Rising water and earthquakes are hardly ever covered.
Hard-to-reconstruct and confidential files, financial and medical files, personnel information, client lists, payables and receivables should be backed up on computer disks and stored off-site on a regular basis. For Internet-dependent business, check out the new recovery program by Internet service provider UUNET (800-488-6384) or the IBM Business Recover service (800-599-9950). They are not inexpensive, but are a lifesaver for companies that could close if cut off from the net form more than a few days.
Keep your family and emergency numbers, employee roster and other important contact names current, including fax, e-mail, pager, cell-phone, home phone numbers and emergency contact numbers.
Maintain a list of suppliers to stop deliveries or divert them to a new location.
Maintain a list of family, friends, and customers so they don't feel abandoned when you are temporarily shut down. If you have promised product, service, or delivery, contact them immediately.
Develop a list of disaster restoration agencies and services and the name of a company with a certified restorer on staff, especially if you have documents, arts and antiques, communications and electronic equipment threatened.
Make sure your home or place of business is secured. Board windows and other entrances to your business. Criminals monitor police radio, and may arrive to loot the damaged business.
Find a Certified Restorer. Criminals also pose as restorers to gain access to businesses and steal property. Always ask your insurance adjuster or for references from customers or professional credentials from anyone wanting to restore your property.
Contract with a restoration company that can get you in business quickly-optimally, within 24 to 48 hours for minor damage.
For Businesses: Talk to the police and/or fire department spokesperson for a list of media contacts they spoke with about your business at the time of the disaster. Make a list of these contacts.
Watch all local papers for stories about the disaster affecting your business-make a list of reporters who covered the story about your business.
Contact all media representatives that covered the disaster at your business. Tell them that you are open for business, and ask if they are interested in a human-interest follow-up story. Your customers may assume that you are out of business if they only see the story about the disaster. Try to obtain a follow-up story that will let your customers know that you are still open for business.
Contact community papers or newsletters as well. Have a story idea for them. Don't expect them to do the work and 'promote' you. Contact your suppliers, your customers, and neighborhood groups, such as community centers, churches, or business groups to place notices on bulletin boards about sales and discounts at your business.
Offer "Fire Sale," "Under the Sea," or "Pardon our Dust," discounts to customers.
Print inexpensive coupons or flyers to offer customers, passers-by, or to place on cars in nearby parking lots. Ask nearby businesses if they will keep a supply for their customers to see and pick up.
If more than one business has been affected by the disaster, work together to split costs and maximize the manpower available to let customers know you're still in business.
Michael Griggs is a nationally recognized Certified Restorer, disaster expert, and president of the Disaster Restoration Inc., Colorado's leading sole-focus disaster restoration/reconstruction company. DRI mitigates water, fire and other losses by reducing expense and restoration time for both individuals and business owners and has been selected as a preferred provider by most major insurance companies. Griggs is one of only 300 certified restorers in the world certified by the National Institute of Disaster Restoration (NIDR). Griggs is also an active member of the Water Loss Institute, the leading association representing the water-damage restoration industry. DRI can be reached at (303) 657-1400 or (800) 475-FIRE.
