Saturday, August 16, 2008

The People Factor

My company recently began sub contracting for a fire damage restoration company. Our first job was given to us a few days back with the instructions that speed was a necessity. The contractor went on to explain to me that his company believed in taking families that have already been through the tragedy of watching their homes burn and doing everything possible to normalize their lives in as short a period of time as possible. He used the term "The People Factor"

We were given a five day deadline at an apartment complex with 4 units that had burned. Last night, after working some rather long hours the last two days, I arrived home thinking about how today we would be wrapping it up, ahead of schedule. Still, "the people factor" was not kicking in for me. I was just trying to turn a profit as fast as possible so I could move onto our next job.

At 9:45 last night I got a call my brothers home was burning and he had been injured. I raced to the scene to find he had cut his hands open busting out windows in an effort to save his dog that was trapped inside. Before the firemen even left the scene, I witnessed "the people factor". The same contractor I had started sub contracting for had his people posting guards on the home to insure nobody would be stealing any of the property inside. At 2:00 a.m. another crew had arrived and began boarding up and securing the home against unlawful entry.

The insurance adjuster is due to arrive Monday...days later, yet here is this company, with no way of validating they will even be paid for the work already performed, taking care of "the people factor" within hours of the fire. I have already been told by the contractor that this job is mine and while I had planned to take Monday off as a present to myself and my crew for making our deadline on this last job, I know that as soon as I get the call that the insurance adjuster has viewed the damage, they will have me taking my crew in to once again restore order to a fire victims life. The people factor....I get it now!

And for those of you wondering, the dog was pulled out unconscious by the firemen who administered cpr for 30 minutes before transporting it by ambulance to the vet. Today the dog could be found playing in the park. Special thanks to the firemen.

4 comments:

pizzatherapy said...

Great story.
wonderful life's lesson. I think we need to incorporate "the people factor" in all of our interactions.
Thanks for this very valuable post. The fact that your borther's house was involved in a tragedy, brings it all closer to home. Glad to hear everything worked out OK.
Sincerely,
Albert Grande
Internet Marketing and Pizza

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing an excellent "people factor story". I'm really glad the dog made it too. :)

Helen Ginger said...

Your telling a personal story made it personal for those of us reading it. It brings home The People Factor for us. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

That's an excellent story, and I'm glad that nobody was seriously injured. Speaking for myself, I know that a company that takes care of me before we have closed any kind of deal is usually the one that gets my business. I know that they will continue to take care of my needs before their own, and that makes oll the difference.