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Have a Contingency Plan - You May Need to Use It

It could happen at any time: A natural disaster or other catastrophe interrupts your operation, or forces it into emergency overdrive—or both. Surprisingly, few businesses have specific plans in place to cope with these contingencies, but calamities like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina have taught us that we need to be prepared.

Tim Miletello, owner of the Mr. Appliance franchise in Northshore, Louisiana, admits that he didn’t have a plan to get himself and his business through Hurricane Katrina—but, thanks in part to the Mr. Appliance systems, he says he’s ready if a similar storm ever hits the New Orleans area again.

"After a disaster like Katrina, you’d better be prepared to work, work, work; provided you have the staff and can stay on the phone,” he says. “Another larger appliance company was wiped out by the storm, so I was very much in demand. I was up to my ears in service calls. My cell phone was ringing 30 to 40 times a day, and my answering service was wearing me out. I was getting up at 4 or 5 a.m. and working till late at night.”

From the experience, and with the help of the established Mr. Appliance systems and fellow franchisees, Miletello learned several lessons that he’s incorporating into his disaster survival plan. Here are some of the principles he considers most important:

Manage Your Time and Movement
Before tackling various recovery tasks, plan to address them in the most efficient order. Two important lessons Miletello took away from Katrina had to do with logistics. “I’m going to reorganize my routing,” he says. “In the days following the storm, the traffic was pretty bad. Sometimes it’d take us 90 minutes for a trip we usually could complete in 15, so next time, we’ll order our calls so as to concentrate on one neighborhood at a time.”

Practice Triage
When dealing with a large amount of injured people, medical teams will divide them into groups: those who will likely recover, and those whose recovery depends on immediate treatment. By focusing on the latter group, the team operates at maximum effectiveness.

“I’d go to someone’s house to work on an appliance, and I’d find all the neighbors waiting outside my truck asking me to help them, too,” Miletello recalls. “I knew I couldn’t handle all of it, so I took only those cases that I classified as emergencies. Refrigerators and ranges were top priority; washers, dryers, and dishwashers were not.”

Be Prepared to Counsel
During and after a disaster, a technician who makes house calls will sometimes have to lend a shoulder and an ear, as well as a hand. Miletello says he turned to The Dwyer Group Code of Values, a list of principles that helps guide each company, to lend supportive words.

“Keeping morale up is just about as important as fixing the appliance,” Miletello says. “It can be depressing, seeing the damage done by these storms. Some of these people have lost just about everything, and they need someone to talk to; they need to hear something good.”

Be Aware of Your Resources
Have a list of numbers you can call if you need a hand. Sometimes your neighbors won’t be in a position to help you, but you might be able to draw on colleagues some distance away. Miletello said he was amazed at the number of fellow Mr. Appliance franchisees who offered to send food, water, and other help—even extra personnel. “One or two companies offered to send me technicians,” he recalls, “but maybe they were afraid I wouldn’t let them leave.” He also couldn’t have made it without the support from the Mr. Appliance corporate office that was available to him 24/7. Not only was their 800 number available anytime, but he also received support and advise from his Franchise Systems Manager (FSM).

Back Up Your Customer and Supply Information
“This doesn’t have to be complicated, and it can make all the difference,” says Miletello. “Just plug in a CD and copy the information from your computer ahead of time, and have it ready to take along if you have to evacuate.”

Prepare for a Long Aftermath
Many businesses underestimated the time it would take to recover from Katrina. In Miletello’s case, the cleanup involved taking on a number of new customers who had nowhere else to turn.

“I was getting calls from people who had appliances from Sears, Whirlpool, and other companies that offered their own warranties,” he says, “because they’d been put on a waiting list and might not see service for three or four months. As it was, I was the only repairman in town for a while.

“I’ve hired two more technicians now, and we’re still working hard. Surprisingly, although a lot of people haven’t yet returned to New Orleans, a lot of people are buying homes in my area, north of Lake Pontchartrain. My business has been just unreal for the past few months.” Thanks to the Mr. Appliance systems on time management and employee recruiting, handling situations such as these can be easily manageable.

Keep Communications Open
Your cell phone can be your best friend. If the electricity goes out, though, it might be difficult to keep it charged. Stock up on several days’ worth of rechargers.

Anticipate Shortages
“One mistake I made was not having a large enough supply of the right parts on hand,” Miletello admits. “From now on, during hurricane season I’ll have an extra-large supply of parts. It’s hard to tell what you’ll need, but electronic timers will get burned up in a power surge, and so will compressor relays. Another concern is fuel. We’ve stocked up on 5-gallon cans of fuel for next time—enough to keep us going for a week.”

Keep All Personnel in the Loop
“My new technicians and I are in the process of devising contingency plans that everyone understands,” Miletello concludes. “We want to be sure that we’ll know what needs to be done, and we’ll be in a position to do it.”

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