ServiceMaster of Alaska

unknown

unknown

unknown

.

They quickly responded including shutting off the water and got the rest started. However, the communication was scant after we left town and returned back at the time the house was due to be completed. But, we thought it was doing well for that length of time. After looking at the house, there were lots that needed to be done. So, we had to stay elsewhere in town for a month before we could move back into the house. Even so, the progress had been at a laid-back pace. But, even at that time, there were lots of flaws and things that were missed. They found a leak from the roof to the crawlspace, but I was hoping they would found it before they put the sheetrock up, but I appreciated that they found the issue and repaired the cracked vent pipe. I put together a list and I was glad that they were patient, working to get things done one by one, although it took additional couple of months beyond the date to get the house in shape overall.
Also, I did appreciate that they packed up the salvageable items and returned to me, but many of them were not processed for cleaning, leaving behind the moldy smell, especially the smaller electronics. But all of the clothing were cleaned up professionally. Much were packed well, but we had a broken glass that took a while to have them remedy it. However, several items were missing and had to go through the insurance company. I even received items from other people that Servicemaster were working on that time by mistake. We gave the items back, but still we had our items missing, some that were irreplaceable. They even used the electric oil heater and box fan during the drying process and was never left behind in the house or returned, but they were minor though.
When we were selling the house, the home inspectors and mold testing revealed a lot of things that Servicemaster and its subcontractors should have taken care of that cost us a lot of time and money. The crawlspace and other things like the bathroom fan exhaust pipe was not properly installed that we had to pay someone to fix, even though it was part of the reconstruction project and their 5-year warranty.
The crawlspace was not properly sealed up with plastic sheeting, causing high mold count so it had to be redone at our expense at a huge cost. The insurance company were no help in this regard as they insisted that it was an existing problem, not caused by the flooding prior to this. Servicemaster felt the same way and was willing to do the work again at additional charge, regardless of the reconstruction project. We planned to use them, but because of the disagreement about what professionals to use for testing, we had to re-consider our options. We had to find someone else that did the high-quality work with more reasonable cost.
However, Servicemaster installed the smoke /carbon monozide detectors, installed the partition in the crawlspace that were missing, all of those that would be nice to have them taken care of the first time. Nonetheless, I have to prod them, but appreciated that they finally get to them.
Looking back, I understand that the house was a complex project and time-consuming as it was gutted out and remodeled up from the studs, but it was something unforgettable for what my family went through, especially when the significant amount of money and time that could be spent on something else were gone. Even that affected the sale of the house with the much lower selling price than anticipated with the condition the house were in and the hassle with the insurance company and Servicemaster. So, we had to do what we needed to do to get the house sold in a reasonable condition at our great expense.
I feel that there were many subcontractors that the Servicemaster used that were of varying quality ad the quality assurance professional were hired by them late in the project were the bulk of the issues. However, this is one's family experience and hopefully you won't go through as I have learned a lot and I hope they learned a lot too.

I used Servicemaster of the Valley for an insurance claim from a leaky water heater.
Overall the experience was a nightmare!
-The crews were never there when scheduled leaving us waiting for hours on multiple occasions.
-Multiple items were lost.
-Multiple items were STOLEN from desk drawers!
-Multiple items were broken beyond repair!
-When the furniture was replaced the left the house a complete dirty mess. Luckily they brought back our smashed vacuum that no longer worked. Also they lost our bedding (pillows, sheets, comforter etc.) for a few days leaving us with our house in less than liveable condition.
My contact Byron Maltby was personable enough with me and he did deduct the replacement cost of the
items that were lost, stolen and broken. However, when I stated that I would like to be present for future work in order to insure nothing else goes missing he basically quit leaving me on my own to finish the work (drywall repair and trim as well as painting).
Overall, dealing with Servicemaster of the Valley was a less than pleasant experience and we will not be using them again.

After being told by Taylored Restoration that the mold we found along a 20 foot stretch of wall was from animal urine, we went with Service Master to take care of our problem. We met Mike & Rick at the job site to explore the problem and discuss it's removal. Multiple times during the consultation we discussed the crew removing the drywall, cleaning, and then replacing the drywall. Everyone was in agreement. So when the estimate came in, and the last line simply stated "painting" we assumed they were to paint the wall. Considering this is something easily done, we declined to have them paint. Not a single person stopped us to explain that the painting referred to was a mold killing specialty paint. Basically, the purpose of the removal and to inhibit further growth should a stray spore be left.

The crew arrives an hour late (just like the consult) and begins their job. After they are finished and are removing their ionizing equipment I am told that another crew would get in touch about fixing the walls. When I heard nothing for a week, I called to check in, and lo and behold, the estimate was not for the drywall fix at all, but only the mold remediation. A separate estimate then came in for almost $800 to fix less than 20 square feet of drywall. At this point, the mold had been cleared, thus an insurance claim for the amount above our deductible could not be filed.

After the crew left, we went to check on the procedure and were completely devastated to find visible mold still left in the area. This was not stained wood, but actual spores which were visible to the naked eye. A supervisor did come out the next day to fix the problem - but aren't they supposed to do it right the first time?

After everything is said and done, and we bring in our own drywall person, I receive an overdue notice in the same envelope as the first bill I had seen. The bill was very different from the estimate - not only in price but also appearance. While the estimate was an exploded bullet list of items (3 pairs of gloves, 20 feet of sheeting, etc) which was over 5 pages long, our bill was 6 lines. When I questioned the charge for an ionozing/ozone unit billed in 24 hour increments, I was told the unit had been in our house longer than 24 hours and we were billed as such. I left the crew at my house at 9am on the morning in question, the unit could not have been used for at least 2 hours, and when I saw them at 8 am the nest morning, they were picking it up. Less than 24 hours. The bill also indicated that more than 1 pickup load of material was hauled away from the house. Not possible.

With 2 of the 6 lines questioned, I asked  for an exploded version of our bill, formatted exactly like the estimate. I received another copy of the estimate. We went back and forth trying to track down an appropriate copy of the bill for OVER 2 MONTHS.

This is very suspicious to me. If you overcharge in one area, and then refuse to show the full bill, I am left to the conclusion that you are vastly overcharging and hiding your figures. After 2 months I was finally able to get a copy of the amended, correct bill.

In short, I understand it was our responsibility to comb through the estimate. However, it is their job to explain to the customer why an important step is needed, and be sympathetic to the fact that most of their customers are not fluent in the particular vernacular of their specific field.

It's a very good company.  These 2 things happened in the time frame of 2 months and they are working on it.  It's a process that needs to be done.  They've been good so far.  It was under warranty and I've spent $1000 so far, $500 deductible.  They are courteous.  They did try their best to finish as fast as possible.  The only process that has been taking a long time is waiting for the carpet to come in.  It should have come in, but it hasn't.  It should have been in stock, but they said it wasn't.  They are pretty quick and fast.

They have water which comes from their van instead of hauling water from my house. I have been using them for a very long time. When a pipe breaks or the hot water heater goes berserk they are the ones who come out and clean the water and shampoo the carpet. They will come out anytime whether it is day or night. They get all the water out and get the machines to dry the carpet. Then the adjacent person will come out and decide whether it needs replacement or not. I would continue to use them again in the future.