"Finders Keepers"
This is a true story sent in by one of our readers.
Recently our contents company was called to perform a “pack-out” of a residence that sustained fire damage. The fire had been contained in one room, but the rest of the house was saturated with smoke and ash.
I explained the pack-out process to the homeowners which included the use of photo documentation. Also, I instructed them to remove all jewelry, money, firearms and any other item deemed extremely personal. The homeowner’s wife was pleased to know that she would have pictures of all their possessions prior to the items leaving the premises for restoration.
She seemed most concerned that there would be strangers (work crews) in her home – handling her personal property. She asked, " How do I know that valuables, if found, will be returned?" Of course we knew that our crew was like family. My “sons and daughters” could be trusted with any amount of money, jewels, valuable art, etc. – they would no more steal or harm anything here than they would in their own parent’s home. They were friends of mine and they wouldn’t let me down.
It’s the same with the sub-contractors we use. Before I entered the restoration business, I was an insurance adjuster myself, and I know that when you bring in an outside expert to assist with a case, they have to “belong.” So, my “third party,” companies have to earn a place with my team.
In this case, we brought in an excellent dry cleaning company to address the necessity of emergency clothing. The dry cleaning crew (third party contractor) proceeded to remove clothing, shoes, handbags, etc.
Normally the homeowners would inspect and remove personal valuables prior to the dry cleaning technician taking the items from the residence. But after a fire, most homeowners respond to displacement of their personal property with fear, anger, aggression, or despair. They just want it all to end, and they sometimes find it difficult to focus.
The dry cleaning company had taken various clothes, purses, shoes etc. to get the smoke out of them and a few hours later, we received a call from them. One of their employees found a handbag containing two thousand dollars.
The money was brought to us for safe keeping. We immediately contacted the homeowner and she explained that she never said anything to us, thinking that she would never see the money again – and that she thought no one would believe she had simply left two thousand dollars in a purse.
I felt the way you might feel if you heard that your daughter had found a handbag with two thousand dollars cash in it, on the street, and had turned it in at the local police station.
I was at once so proud that I thought my buttons would burst – and at the same time I would find myself thinking, “Well of course we did, nobody would expect anything less.”
This is a true story sent in by one of our readers.
Recently our contents company was called to perform a “pack-out” of a residence that sustained fire damage. The fire had been contained in one room, but the rest of the house was saturated with smoke and ash.
I explained the pack-out process to the homeowners which included the use of photo documentation. Also, I instructed them to remove all jewelry, money, firearms and any other item deemed extremely personal. The homeowner’s wife was pleased to know that she would have pictures of all their possessions prior to the items leaving the premises for restoration.
She seemed most concerned that there would be strangers (work crews) in her home – handling her personal property. She asked, " How do I know that valuables, if found, will be returned?" Of course we knew that our crew was like family. My “sons and daughters” could be trusted with any amount of money, jewels, valuable art, etc. – they would no more steal or harm anything here than they would in their own parent’s home. They were friends of mine and they wouldn’t let me down.
It’s the same with the sub-contractors we use. Before I entered the restoration business, I was an insurance adjuster myself, and I know that when you bring in an outside expert to assist with a case, they have to “belong.” So, my “third party,” companies have to earn a place with my team.
In this case, we brought in an excellent dry cleaning company to address the necessity of emergency clothing. The dry cleaning crew (third party contractor) proceeded to remove clothing, shoes, handbags, etc.
Normally the homeowners would inspect and remove personal valuables prior to the dry cleaning technician taking the items from the residence. But after a fire, most homeowners respond to displacement of their personal property with fear, anger, aggression, or despair. They just want it all to end, and they sometimes find it difficult to focus.
The dry cleaning company had taken various clothes, purses, shoes etc. to get the smoke out of them and a few hours later, we received a call from them. One of their employees found a handbag containing two thousand dollars.
The money was brought to us for safe keeping. We immediately contacted the homeowner and she explained that she never said anything to us, thinking that she would never see the money again – and that she thought no one would believe she had simply left two thousand dollars in a purse.
I felt the way you might feel if you heard that your daughter had found a handbag with two thousand dollars cash in it, on the street, and had turned it in at the local police station.
I was at once so proud that I thought my buttons would burst – and at the same time I would find myself thinking, “Well of course we did, nobody would expect anything less.”
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