For several months now we have been profiling the negative associated with the Industry. With that said, there are actually a few decent outfits to work with. Pricing aside, as the scope of this Series will not address that, several of the Nationals and a few of the Regionals are above board. Before I go any further, let me stress that the profiles we are going to do are Companies whom we do not currently work with. I made it a point to make sure that there would be no conflict of interest. While the list is small, extremely small, if you have a Company whom you feel is noteworthy, feel free to contact me and I will see if they are amicable to being interviewed.
For years now there has been a stigma surrounding Contractors asking Nationals information about their Operations prior to jumping through the hoops. The net sum of this has been a detrimental loss of a quality work force in the Property Preservation Industry. We aim to change that. If Nationals are allowed to possess our financial, criminal and corporate histories the least they can do is be forthcoming and somewhat transparent. If this is not possible, then Contractors should begin to steer clear of them.
Fundamentally, if we are going to throw stones in a proverbial glass house we feel it is incumbent upon us to do several things. First, we need to attempt to reach out and identify both the good and the bad. This Series will attempt to do that. Second, we also realize that if we identify issues we also need to propose solutions. A Series which begins next weekend will also address this in the form of both Position Papers and White Papers from the National Property Preservation Guild (NPPG). In a nutshell there are half a dozen publications whom have profiled these Companies in years past. The problem, we felt, was that the profiling was done from the point-of-view of the shareholder; angled in such a manner as to solicit business. To date, no publication has interviewed on behalf of the Contractors. I firmly believe that, as opposed to the previous twenty year history belief that the Nationals are able to pick and choose as they wish, the new landscape is changing. Hopefully, something good will come out of this.
