1-800-Water Damage Poised to `Flood’ Marketplace with Proven Franchise Model, Technology

What’s in a name? For 1-800-WATER DAMAGE, the answer is “just about everything,” including a memorable brand that serves as a powerful marketing tool – a constant reminder of who home or business owners should call when they have water damage.  

1-800-WATER DAMAGE takes a one-of-a-kind approach to water damage restoration, working directly with home and business owners to ensure that the restoration process is done quickly and to the customer’s satisfaction following a flood or water leak. The company’s water damage technicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing a 90-minute customer response time. Using technology that focuses on restoring, not replacing damaged items, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE restores a home or business back to its pre-loss condition in an average of three to five days. At the completion of every job, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE requires technicians to get a Customer Satisfaction Form signed.  

According to company executives, the name 1-800-WATER DAMAGE also provides current and prospective franchisees with an unforgettable and distinguished brand, backed by a 16-year reputation of quality workmanship, state-of-the-art drying technology, and excellent customer service, making 1-800-WATER DAMAGE what it is today. With 18 locations already thriving across the United States and 20 locations set to open in 2005, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE projects to dominate the water damage restoration industry with 300 Franchises on the U.S. map in the next five years.

“1-800-WATER DAMAGE offers entrepreneurs more than just an opportunity to invest in a rapidly proliferating $5 billion industry,” said Lisa Bongi, President of 1-800-WATER DAMAGE, the wife of company founder Rick Stonell. “We have a long-standing reputation as an industry pioneer who stays abreast of the latest restoration techniques. Plus, because our name is also our phone number, we are providing an instant and innovative marketing tool available through no other water damage restoration concept.”

According to Bongi, any customer calling into the 1-800-WATER DAMAGE number is automatically routed to the 1-800-WATER DAMAGE location nearest them.

`Flooded’ With Inquiries
Rick Stonell, a restoration industry veteran, created 1-800-WATER DAMAGE in 1988, in response to the needs of customers of his former California-based carpet cleaning business. Initially, Stonell expanded the carpet cleaning company’s scope of services to include water damage restoration. However, as the demand for that service increased, he eventually focused only on water damage restoration, becoming the largest provider in California ’s Greater Bay Area.

In the mid 1990’s, shortly after 1-800-WATER DAMAGE opened a second location in Seattle , the company began receiving inquiries from entrepreneurs wanting to purchase their own 1-800-WATER DAMAGE franchise. In response, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE started offering Franchise opportunities, quickly becoming the largest water restoration service in Washington . In fact, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE sold 18 franchises across the country through word-of-mouth before even publicly offering the Franchise Opportunity in the Summer of 2004.

Franchisees Get Their Feet Wet – Literally
To build a solid infrastructure for its franchise growth, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE chose Seattle for its corporate headquarters earlier this year. The company converted a Downtown Seattle warehouse into

a training facility and customer support center, which includes an 1,100-square foot residential “flood house.” The company actually floods the training house, which gives franchisees hands-on technical training and allows 1-800-WATER DAMAGE to test new water damage restoration technology.

“Our state-of-the-art training facility and flood house puts our franchise owners a step ahead of the competition,” Bongi said, further noting that there are only a handful of flood house training facilities across the country. “All of our franchisees have hands-on experience drying a wide variety of building materials used in the construction of the flood house. The flood house also allows us to send our franchisees out into the field using proven, state of the art drying methods.”

To ensure the success of new franchisees, and assist with the national expansion of the 1-800-WATER DAMAGE brand, founders brought on board a team of franchise experts with almost 100 years of combined industry experience. Leading the team is industry veteran Eric Little, who has helped such franchise leaders as AlphaGraphics and Valvoline successfully grow their brands through franchising.

“Franchising is the ideal growth method for 1-800-WATER DAMAGE” said Eric Little, Director of Franchise Development . “With the 1-800-WATER DAMAGE branding, entrepreneurs can use the backing of a nationally known name and phone number to reach out to home and business owners in their local communities.”

Entrepreneurs from virtually any industry can succeed as 1-800-WATER DAMAGE franchise owners. In fact, the company’s current franchisee roster includes doctors, lawyers and a real estate broker/musician who used to perform with legendary musician Ray Charles.

1-800-WATER DAMAGE franchise owners receive a comprehensive training program that provides marketing and business plans and operational manuals. They receive hands-on technical training in the Flood House and extensive training on all business operating systems. Ongoing support includes access to key marketing materials and training seminars via a private intranet site, annual conventions and access to a corporate representative to help them sustain and monitor growth. The franchise fee to purchase a 1-800-WATER DAMAGE Territory is $60,000 for 150,000 homes and $100,000 for 250,000 homes.

After more than 16 years, the success of the 1-800-WATER DAMAGE business model is evident in the fact that more than 65 percent of our current franchise owners operate more than one franchise.” Bongi said. “We are consistently upgrading our franchise support systems because, after all, our success depends directly on the success of our franchisees.”