Article featured in Franchising Magazine USA
If you’ve ever felt like major storms and other catastrophic weather events have become more common, you’re not wrong. According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), there averaged somewhere around 100 natural disasters per year during the 1970s. Over the past two decades, that number has climbed to 400, accelerated by the broader forces of climate change.
As the frequency of savage storms increases, so does the need for responsive recovery and relief efforts, including services that work alongside insurance adjusters to help homeowners—and entire communities—get back on their feet.
Packout services are a prime example. Following a serious weather event, packout companies come into the home, take a careful inventory of all affected assets, and remove them to an off-site facility where they can be cleaned and restored. Packouts are a service that can feel truly invaluable to homeowners in a time of crisis, taking items—clothing, electronics, family heirlooms and photo albums—that seem damaged beyond repair, and then making them seem just like new again.
For aspiring entrepreneurs who want to be helping hands within their local community, buying a packout franchise can provide an easy entry point. But it’s important to keep in mind that success in this field involves more than just business savvy or technical expertise. It also requires a deep reserve of compassion, and the ability to convey sympathy and understanding to neighbors experiencing crisis. The franchising model can provide the practical resources needed to channel these qualities most effectively.
How franchising facilitates compassion and care
Customers are undoubtedly beset by ongoing anxieties about the state of their property, the chances that their assets can ever be fully recovered, and the various costs and inconveniences involved with having their home temporarily uninhabitable.
Packout services can make this entire experience a little bit easier to bear, simply by demonstrating a real awareness of—and sympathy for—the homeowner’s difficult situation.
Packout franchises provide unique opportunities for owners to demonstrate compassion and care. For example:
Franchising equips owners and their teams with comprehensive training. Working with customers who are overwhelmed and vulnerable can require an extra dose of patience—and plenty of emotional sensitivity. Those qualities don’t always come easily, but training can go a long way. Franchise-level training resources equip packout owners and employees to offer a calming presence, and ample emotional support, when homeowners really need it. Franchises provide the necessary tools for clear, consistent communication. When packout companies communicate well, it helps homeowners to feel seen, heard and valued.
Franchise systems can provide owners with the communication tools and technologies they need, along with proven cadences for follow-ups and check-ins—ultimately helping homeowners feel like they are in the loop throughout the restoration process. The upside for local owners is a much higher level of client satisfaction, which can help establish them as the regional packout service of choice.
Franchise systems help local owners anticipate customer needs. It’s perfectly reasonable, in the wake of a crisis or disaster, for homeowners to feel a bit dazed. They may not be thinking clearly about short-term needs, like having sufficient clothing to wear while the rest of their assets are being restored. Packout companies can help anticipate these needs and advise homeowners on making the necessary arrangements. Again, franchise-level training and support can help to hone these anticipatory powers, drawing from proven track records supporting homeowners weathering crises.
Franchise systems support careful documentation. Franchise owners can communicate empathy for their customers simply by making it clear that they are handling items safely and securely—and that they know where homeowner assets are at all times. Having advanced inventory systems can be essential here. Franchising offers a huge technology advantage, allowing local owners to benefit from sophisticated technology without having to invest their own money in research, development or implementation.
Franchises come with built-in reputations for sympathy and support. Finally, when homeowners experience traumatic incidents, they want to find vendors and service providers they can trust. Franchising offers established name recognition, meaning local owners benefit from a brand name that’s already associated with compassion and care. This can be a significant boost when it comes to earning trust.
As natural disasters become more numerous, the services offered by packout companies become more valuable—particularly when paired with a real sense of compassion. Franchising provides some unique benefits here, helping local owners to be effective as helping hands in their community.
Stefan Figley is president of 1-800-Packouts, a leader in the contents and personal property restoration franchise industry since 2016 and part of the Five Star Franchising platform of home service brands. Figley has nearly 30 years of experience in the franchise and marketing industries, with a focus on brand growth. He has held executive and leadership positions with nationally recognized companies such as Terminix, Steamatic, Merry Maids and Jani-King International, as well as prominent international roles in the marketing industry.