Hail Damage in Ohio

Tom, I live in the bible belt you ain't gotta tell me how it is dealing with (and I use the term loosely) christians.

I suppose my statement was meant more for stephens #3 than you. If I were ever to develop that cynical an outlook on friends and family I'd probably move to some hick town in the middle of nowhere and run a car wash or something.

Jed Said:#3 is so true. When it coes to money all Saints & Sinners are equal

If you two truly believe that then you mix with some poorly chosen people.

There are almost as many churches as people in this town. Try running a legit company here and see where it gets you ....

Stephen, your neighbors must be mean people. I get offered water or soda at 90% of the estimates that I go on here in TX. Of course, since it's usually over 100, we are always sweating and dehydrating LOL.

I know you have a much different business model than I so anything I would offer is meaningless. I will say that if I had 250 people invite me over to inspect their roof, I most likely would have signed 240 contracts LOL.

I also agree about stepping up the marketing in the neighborhoods that weren't hit by hail. It's a good idea but we are/were so busy in the hail areas that we don't have time. That pretty much proves your theory.

Your strategy to charge $100 per inspection is smart too. You could further that idea by carrying a few tarps and some sticks of battens and be ready to put emergency tarps on for $300 each or so.

#3 is so true. When it coes to money all Saints & Sinners are equal

If you two truly believe that then you mix with some poorly chosen people.

#3 is so true. When it coes to money all Saints & Sinners are equal

I'll add another thing: Carry a cooler w/ Ice & drinks

soldierboy, I am down in Akron-and we had a major hail storm here june 8 2007. I will tell you what I did-what I learned--- and what I would do in the future if history repeats itself, LOL. also- my apologies to Jim-who heard me whine about this for 2 years on another forum----------- june 8th my son and I had just come home from finishing a roof when the hailstorm hit my neighborhood with the proverbial baseball sized hail-watched chunks of ice fall outtof the sky and bounce off the hood of my truck-watched clusters of hail-3-4 baseball sized pieces fused together in one big lump hit the driveway-shatter and bounce 8 ft. up into the air-listened to it all bounce off my roof-------

This happened in MY neighborhood- where I have lived my entire life and where for over 20 years over 80% of my work has come within 8,10,12 blocks of my home. Here is what you need to know 1) storm chasers are vermin-they really are despicable-and there is NOTHING you can do about it-don't waste another moment of your mental energy even thinking about storm chasers

2) you ARE going to be flush with work-regaurdless of how many jobs the storm chasers book-you are going to have more work than you can handle----------how you deal with this will make or break you

3)almost everyone you personally know is dishonest. your family,your neighbors,your friends,your fellow church members, the parents of the kids you coached in baseball----etc.-almost all of them are dishonest and will screw you without hesitation if they think it will make them $125, LOL

4) In 2007-when the hailstorm hit- I was already booked out 3 months in advance BEFORE the storm-After the storm- I would get up at about 4:30 AM- do paper work-roof from 7:30 untill about 2:00-and then inspect roofs from 2:00 untill dark. this was my biggest mistake- inspecting roofs---huge,HUGE HUGE mistake-and that's where other peoples dishonesty comes into play-and they really don't think they are being dishonest

5) that summer I stopped counting after climbing on my 250th roof to inspect- i actually climbed on many others. I had people come in actual tears and cry on the doorstep of my personal residence begging me to come inspect their roof and to tell them what to do.- Out of over 250 "inspections'-exactly 3 people offered me so much as a glass of water when I was at their home.- remember- this is MY neighborhood- these people are my family,my friends, my neighbors,my fellow church members- I felt an obligation to help them-to the point that i was working 16-17 hours a day at some points-almost always constantly de-hydrated-and 3 people offered my a glass of water????

some one you know- you have known their entire family your whole life calls you and says" Steve- I would really appreciate it if you would look at my roof and tell me what to do''- they appreciate you alright- they appreciate you bont won't offer you a glass of water????

6) you should know- that for 10 years I have tracked everything I know how many hours each year I work" production"- i know how many hours are overhead- I know how many leads I get-and from where- i know what My closing ratio is over-all- and I know what it is broken down by direct referalls vs. response to adds etc.-so i know that for months I worked an extra 6-8 hours PER DAY for FREE to serve the members of my community and I know I can look anyone in the neighborhood i meet square in the eye because I did the "right thing"- but I also know there are people who screwed me-and scurry down other aisles at the supermarket to avoid meeting me because THEY know they acted dishonestly

7)- what would I do differently?- funny you should ask. this past tuesday I ran into a fellow contractor I have known loosely for 8 years- both professionally and personally.- this past fall he had a bit of a nervous breakdown arising out of the stress of the last 2 years of hails storm work- he is a gentleman with a conscious-and he has taken things hard.

we talked about another guy we know locally by reputation- the local story is that he sold the rights to use his companies name to a storm chasing outfit. at the time he had a good reputation and a good business-hailstorm on june 8th- by august we had heard he had 6 lawsuits against him( with 2 months or swo of the storm!)- I heard this past March that he had died-less than 3 years after the storm-guy in his 40's-multiple law suits etc.- storm chasers gone- left the local guy holding the bag

anyhow- what would I do differently?

historically my closing rate is 52%- my closing rate on storm work that I actually submitted proposals for?-8%

when I look back on the roofs we actually got- I can see I was ALWAYS gonna get those roofs no matter what-always!------ all the other inspections and proposals were a waste of time-and ruined my life for over a year so A) I would charge $100 for every inspection-paid up front when I arrive at the house and before I climb on the roof-no pay----no inspection! I will credit the $100 towards any roofing work we actually contract-but no free inspections. that move alone, i believe would have weeded out 90% of the free estimates we were involved in

B)- I did zero additional marketing within the hail struck neighborhood. I STILL would do ZERO marketing in the hailstruck neighborhood- instead I would have stepped up my targeted and specific marketing in neighborhoods across town and well out of the hail neighborhood. Every "roofer" in north america was infesting my neighborhood- but across town was where the real opportunities were-that's actually where I concentrate my efforts now.

My very best wishes to you, stephen

I just bumped A thread that gives some insight to this. the partneship and liason one.it's just got some counter measures.

Put out some ads and get you some storm salesmen,they would much rather work for a local reputable outfit.Its a lot easier sale,your not going to beat them.But if you advertize for door knocking storm chasing salesmen they will come to you,but it will cost you they are going to want to split the profit after the office cost.And get you some more crews to handle the volume,you will need to learn exactaware or find you someone to do your claims.What you want is a salesmen that knows what hes doing with the insurance adjusters and is willing to work with you.Do not hook up with someone that is bringing in his own crews,they are just going to try and use you and your name.

Pool your ad money with other local roofing companies, then take out large ads promoting the local companies. Educate the public. Its a lot easier for 10 guys to put up $1000 each then 1 guy putting up 10,000.

We recently had a local roofer purchase a full page ad and the entire ad was a court ruling from Minnesota against the Miami based storm chaser who was ripping local people off. Needless to say, they had signs everywhere....now they are far and few between.

Research the storm chaser companies that are in your area. Many of them have numerous complaints, lawsuits, bankruptcy and have operated under many different names.

Do your homework, then educate the public. That is the only way I feel this will ever change.

Mike M. Said: Do you mean the 7th of June 2009?

I'm not as worried as I was this morning and last night, however YES I am now a storm chaser in my own back yard. :-) I figured that our contracts would have to change a bit to get the homeowner off the market, try and kick the adjusters around a bit and see what we can do. Our referral base has been notified that there are out of town marketers coming in to take their business. I figure that thru facebook, emails, letters to our customer base, phone calls, and door hangers amonst newspaper ads will be enough to get the work that we need to survive. Figure that we will have to split our crews into smaller repair crews in a year when the roofs that professionals didn't get to touch start leaking. Plenty of money fixing the mistakes of others! But, we aren't going to just lay down and let these out of towners take our market share either! Heck, I wouldn't mind a team of professional storm chasers to sell the roofs and let us install them. That would work!!

The homeowner pays only the deductible.So it's a matter of who knocks on his door first.As far as those contracts they sign they're not legally binding so they get broken all the time.

Do you mean the 7th of June 2009?

JET Said:

twill59 Said: CIAK is a prophet. As much as I disagreed with him, I know he is right. The stormchasers have had their plan in place for years. Where is yours?

I dont think Id give him that much credit......hes just been a part of the scheme for a while now. As far as competing with the pros on this, forget it. Theyve got insurance company adjusters in their pocket and can promise the homeowner a seamless transition from chaos to its fixed. The first thing they do is take the homeowner off the market and get them to sign away their rights to use another company. The car business people do it all the time. Theyll give someone a new car without getting final credit approval. If credit is denied they take their car back. In this case the chaser just keeps stringing the homeowner along and if they bitch they show them the contract they signed. Your best bet is to run some newspaper ads and show that youre a local company who will back up your work and warranty. Also state that you work with insurance companies. Put specific wording in your ad that states, Avoid out-of-town storm chasers, theyll take your money and run. You have to get down and dirty to compete with these slime-balls because they have absolutely no problem taking every job out there.

JET

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. I don't think you need to "get down and dirty" at all. I think positive advertising will always outdistance negative advertising. For instance, I created some copy that makes the point that I'm local by saying "Howdy Neighbors!. We invite you to use this valuable coupon as a way of saying "THANKS" for working with "LOCALLY OWNED" roofing companies". The message was basically the same but framed in a positive manner.

I also don't agree with your comparison to a car dealer. First, I'd like to say that I think it is a good marketing plan to let someone take a car home with them. I've driven a few home like that myself. I've never felt victimized and always was in control of the situation. I could have said, "No thanks, I'll drive it home after we close on the vehicle.". And, I don't blame the car company for taking back the car if the creditor can't get financed. That's just basic business, isn't it? How can you see a demon in that?

As far as roofing...and "taking a homeowner off the market"....Yes, I do it. So do you. Again, I'll ask...why is this wrong? Do I promise a "seamless transition from chaos until it's fixed"? Yes...not in those exact words. So I ask again...why is this wrong? Am I not providing a valuable service? I'm going to do everything that I can to assist the homeowner through the process. I pull out "complicated" (sample) insurance reports and help them to interpret them. I explain the adjuster process. I offer to meet with the adjuster and to monitor the report. I also follow through and replace the roof in a manner that I would want done for myself.

Where is the conflict?

And finally...personally, I would have absolutely no problem with "taking every job out there."!!! I'm in business. I'm a capitalist. Selling and installing roofs is my business. WHY WOULDN'T I BE TRYING TO GET EVERY JOB OUT THERE?

Jet, there might be some demons chasing storms but you haven't really identified any of them other than vaguely referring to some adjusters being in the hip pocket of the contractors. I'm not saying that they aren't out there...I'm just saying that they haven't affected my business. The key, I guess, is to "take the homeowner off the market" before the crooked adjuster shows up.

soldierboy Said: O.K. This will be the first time that I have to experience this. We have storm chasers that have moved into my area. Now, how does the local roofing contractor get ahead of these guys? We had hail come thru on the 7th of June. I have been out with my wife and my one and only salesman hanging door hangers. These other guys bagged 50 roofs in one day, I am still dead in the water. Does anyone have any advice? This year is bad enough and with the other out of towners coming in and taking all the work itll be a really tough year in our market in Northern Ohio.

Soldierboy

I hate to break the news to you....but you are now a storm chaser LOL!

I've been working in hail areas for the last year. The storm chasers were here en masse and yes, they did land a lot of roofs. I've done okay for myself even though I am a relative novice as a full time roofing business. There is still a ton of business left, so don't despair.

I think the best advice I can offer is something you probably already know: this is a people business. It's not really about door hangers or newspaper advertisements or radio spots. It's personal. You have to make contact with the homeowners and connect to them on their level.

What do they want/need? The basics: safety, security, etc. They want to know that you will be the best person to lead them through an intimidating maze called "filing a claim". Think about it....how many of these ordinary people have ever filed a homeowners claim? Not many. They don't know what to expect. They are worried about 100 things.

So, what service are you really offering them with your door hangers? I'm guessing that your door hangers are geared toward your normal retail sales efforts. They need "insurance specialists" and you are a "quality roofer". Guess which company is getting the most opportunity?

I'm not a "storm chaser" by most interpretations. I happened to be in the residential remodeling business when storms rolled through here. I'm now an "expert" in insurance claims and working within 1 to 25 minutes of my homebase. But...I can guarantee you that if I showed up in your neighborhood tomorrow, I'd be planting one to five signs a day, working alone....with no door-hangers!

As far as the allegations about storm chasers having adjusters in their pockets...I don't believe that its such a big deal. I've run into a very small percentage that had a slight smell of collusion but in my neck of the woods it just doesn't seem like it has been an issue at all. I don't hear any homeowner, contractors or adjusters talking about it. Maybe I'm clueless...but I just haven't seen it.

Jet- I only agree CIAK's tactics. As far as morals go, when you bring those up, he starts babbling, tries to wiggle out of the argument and mouthing off. You are correct about where he stands tho---- in deep chit. :laugh: