Three Great Episodes from Straight Talk with Jeff Cross

2/3/2022

Tell me if you've heard this one, Pete Consigli, Cliff Zlotnik, John Downey, Jeff Cross, and Jon Isaacson walk into a bar...

Three episodes of Straight Talk with Jeff Cross include a lineup of:

A "Founding Father" of property restoration
The Global Restoration Watchdog
A Formerly Important Person (FIP)
A handsome podcast host
The Intentional Restorer

These guests, and more, were all in attendance for the amazing AEML Winter Break 2022 - The Florida Mold Conference which addressed the topics of Moisture, Mold, Materials, and Methodologies from from an undisclosed location in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Somehow, during the action packed agenda of all star presentation after all star presentation form some of the greatest minds in these interrelated industries, Jeff Cross was able to coerce these guests to join him for his video podcast, Straight Talk.

History and controversy with Pete Consigli and Cliff Zlotnik
The origins of The DYOJO Podcast with Jon Isaacson
The origins of Cleanfax Magazine and the future of CIRI with John Downey

Controversies Over Water Damage Standards

Cliff Zlotnik and Pete Consigil discussed some of their questions during the development and revisions of the water and mold remediation standards as well as the origins of The Restoration Watchdogs.

From Straight Talk, "Both Pete Consigli and Cliff Zlotnik are dedicated, passionate industry advocates and have spent decades as the industry’s watchdogs. In this segment of Straight Talk!, they discuss how the industry has evolved and the work they have done to help the modern restorer."

The Origins of Cleanfax and the future of CIRI

From Straight Talk, "John Downey calls himself a "formerly important person" but he is far from hanging up his hat and retiring. The founder of Cleanfax is busy with his work as the executive director of CIRI, the Cleaning Industry Research Institute. In this special on-location interview, Downey discusses his work and what he is doing to help promote the value of cleaning."

The Origins of The DYOJO Podcast

From Straight Talk, "Jon Isaacson is the host of The DYOJO Podcast and is known as The Intentional Restorer. In this episode of Straight Talk!, Jon proves to be a challenging guest but an entertaining one at the same time."

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Chasing fires as a restoration contractor

1/12/2022

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What is fire damage chasing?

What is fire chasing? In its broadest application, fire chasing would apply to any contractor showing up to a fire-damaged structure without being invited. In the extreme opposition to chasing a fire damage loss, the detractors would have you believe that the only ethical approach to such a project would be via the invite of the agent, adjuster, and/or the client. This is laughable at best given that so many of these same people likely would lambast preferred vendor or third-party administrator (TPA) work, which is where the majority of these magical invites come from.

Is fire damage chasing good business?

If you turn to the internet for an answer to the question of whether fire damage chasing is ethical or good business practice, you are in for a variety of opinions. Whether you are growing your career or growing your business, you must always remember one key thing – it’s your DANG journey. No one is going to walk it for you. No commenter on social media, no coach, no consultant, no author, and certainly no mediocre podcast host, is going to take the direct hits when you fail or feel the wins as deeply as you do when you succeed.
While it is smart to seek and take in good counsel on any element of business that may be new to you, I think it is important to consider a few universal questions:

Is this legal?
Is this ethical?
Is this the right thing for me?
Do I understand the upsides and downsides of pursuing this strategy?
Do I have the resources to pursue this and/or can I afford not to try (i.e. am I willing to allow someone else to fill the void)?
Who can help me shorten my DANG learning curve on this topic?
If I have sought counsel, does my chosen counsel have real experience with executing on the particular aspect of business that I am considering?

The history of fire damage chasing

It’s comical, and lacks historical perspective, for anyone to label fire chasing as ambulance chasing or any other derogatory term. Modern fire fighting as we know it came out of firefighters literally chasing fires and fighting each other for the right to be paid to fight the fire by the insurance company. Let Smithsonian Magazine paint the picture for you,

In a scene from the film Gangs of New York, set in Civil War-era Manhattan, a crowd gathers in the night as a fire breaks out. A volunteer fire department arrives, and then another. Instead of cooperating to extinguish the blaze, the rival fire companies head straight for each other in an all-out brawl as the building burns.

Providing for your family and growing your business is a battle. No one should look down on another person for trying to do either of these things. In my opinion, fire chasing is not a dirty methodology. Obviously, some people do it in less than reputable ways and it is important for members of the industry to address this. Bad actors are bad for your reputation in a local market and the perception of the industry as a whole.

To be fair, the practice of fire chasing is not looked at in a positive light by everyone.
To be fair, some home and business owners will curse you out and swear that they will tell everyone on Facebook about your shady practices.
To be fair, some fire department personnel and community members will not be receptive to your efforts.

More on the topic of fire damage chasing

This is an excerpt of an article that was published by Cleaning and Restoration (C&R) Magazine, please read the full article for additional information and context.

Additional Resources from The DYOJO

Our article on The Format for Fire Damage Restoration Estimates was the number one read article in Restoration and Remediation (R&R) Magazine
The accompanying video was also the most viewed video on R&R Magazine
Check out our latest book, So, You Want To Be A Project Manager?

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Property Restoration History 1970s-80s

5/13/2021

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The DYOJO Podcast, Ep. 60
The Industry Standards Panel Discussion - Part 1
LIVE Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 9am - 11am

The DYOJO Podcast is THE podcast for intentional restorers, helping you shorten your dang learning curve for personal and professional development. Catch us every Thursday on YouTube.

GUESTS

Co-host, Pete Consigli, "The Industry Watchdog" and now The Old School Intentional Restorer
TDP 54 Ken Larsen, Restorative Drying Services Senior Consultant
TDP 46 John Downey, Executive Director of CIRI
TDP 28 Cliff Zlotnik - Owner IdeaZ, co-host IAQ Radio

SPONSOR
The DYOJO Podcast is sponsored by Advocate Claim Service (ACS), "Where you can find solutions to claims that are causing you anxiety." David Princeton and his team are ready to help you navigate doubtful and disputed insurance claims.

We will revisit some of the relevant discussion brought up on IAQ Radio Ep. 426

Part 1 - the Wild West of Property Restoration

Our distinguished guests had a front row seat to the emergence of the property restoration industry. They share their perspectives on some of the relevant and interesting history leading up to documenting norms and discussions of consensus industry standards in the years from the 1970s through the 1980s. As someone interested in the history of our industry, I anticipated we would steam slowly down the tracks, but I also tried to help keep your fantastic voyage on the rails.

My question for our guests included what would the industry, resources, and standards look like to an intentional restoration professional in this era? I wanted them to share their recollection of key figures, resources, and of course the development of industry standards from era to era. We discussed (briefly) key figures such as:

Lloyd Weaver, who developed the Porta Dryer in response to a catastrophic flood in his home town of Rapid City, South Dakota
Martin "Marty" L. King, an excellent technical writer who helped the industry to think deeper about professionalism. Evolution of associations such as NIRC to AIDS to ASCR coincided with the industry combining technical skills with business acumen. Speaking on the power of collaboration, Marty would regularly say, "No one of the heads knows more than all of the heads."
Ed York, a man of many inventions and ideas, who also was an agitator of sorts. He also played a key role in reversing the tides with the Stainmaster / Stanley Steemer controversy, as well as how the industry would intersect with big business.

Key topics such as:

The excitement of exploring new technology, new concepts, and documenting processes that were working in the development of the property restoration industry. Groups such as local carpet cleaners associations, The Innovators, and The Motivators.
The reality that "consensus" standards do not always reflect best practices but rather the lowest common denominator for industry norms. It is important to distinguish between voluntary (ie S500) and involuntary standards (ie building codes)
Pete wanted us to focus on the time period between 1998-2006, but we didn't reach this time period during our discussion, primarily because I wanted to dig deeper into the historical aspects. Thankfully, our guests have agreed to come together again and as John said, the conversation was "cathartic". Pete helped to wrap up our current conversation, as well as set the stage for our upcoming one, by recapping some of the significant dates and documents.
Ed Cross filmed a video discussing some key considerations for property restoration contractors with regards to industry standards.

The DYOJO Podcast is THE podcast for intentional restorers, helping you shorten your dang learning curve for personal and professional development. Catch us every Thursday on YouTube