Often I am asked, “What makes you different then any other cleaning and restoration company? Or, “Why should I use your services, when I can find someone cheaper or even do the clean up myself?”  And I will respond with, “You’re right! You can use anyone you want but not everyone has what it takes to do the job right to begin with.”

Training is very important in this field. It is like no other in that you could become or make someone else very sick, even to the point of death, if you make the wrong choice. 

I often wonder why some cleaning and restoration contractors would even want to enter this field when in fact they don’t follow Industry Standards in the first place. I’m not talking about the hard stuff; many choose to ignore some of the basic safety and health issues in just carpet & upholstery cleaning, or janitorial and housekeeping, ext.  I wonder how many have even been to some formal training programs, other than what they teach themselves.

Is it the money that brings them into this field? Whatever the reason, money is not the main focus for everyone. It does play a big part but it’s not the main event. I think that those that enter Bio Cleaning just for the money don’t last long in the business. 

Over the years I have had many people want to go into this line of work and after a year or so they are no longer in it. Why even some so called; I can really handle the job, people have not even gone through the door when they get to the job site. You here them say I thought I could do it but I just couldn’t; they didn’t even sit in the vehicle, they walked away from the job altogether. You really just don’t know how, when, where or who it will hit. And its not to say anything less of these people, it has happened to many that have been doing it for years.

The hardest part of the job is not the blood and gore; it’s dealing with the stresses. You have to deal with your emotions and then there are the family members and friends. You never know what to expect. One moment things are somewhat fine the next there can be a hugh fist fight or worse. You never know what you are walking into. What can you say to a person that just lost a loved one? I’m sorry for your loss. Even that can provoke someone that is not in their right mind and it happens more than you know.  You can’t tell someone that things will be alright. It will never be alright for that person. And you surely don’t want to say it will get better. Better than what? And you never want to say I know how you feel, because you really don’t know how they feel. Even if the same kind of loss happened to you, you just don’t know how that person feels. You may say when this happened to my family we were devastated and even though I do not know how you feel, I know how I felt then and how I feel now.

The best information you can give someone is a phone number to a help line or group. The faster they respond, the faster they will start to cope with the pain and suffering. Many people may think they don’t need to talk about the situation. The truth is, everyone needs to talk about it. When you see a fireman or law enforcement officer crying or holding back the tears after a tragedy do you think they don’t get help to deal with the situation? Many places it is required that they get counseling. It is a proven fact that those that receive counseling cope and feel better faster than those that do not get help. In fact years later it has been said that people report that they should have gotten help sooner and if they had known about such help groups or counseling programs they would have gotten the help sooner. Many feel that they don’t need it, especially men; nothing is farther from the truth than that. Everyone needs help; it just takes some longer to realize it than others.  Recognizing things like this can make all the difference between a regular cleaning company and true professionals.

The questions I hear asked the most is, why you are here? Is it the money? Certainly it is one of the reasons. Is it the unknown and intrigue of the job?  Most certainly that is a very high possibility. Believe it or not this is probably the number one answer. Finally is it because you care about people and want to help? Maybe you feel that no family member or friend should have to do the clean up? This is probably the second reason that people get involved with this kind of service.

For myself, I feel that with all the training, equipment, and experience that I have. I should reach out to people in need of the special services that I can provide. I have been in many situations with my own family and friends.  I truly feel that family and friends should never have to clean up after a devastating loss. Even if a life was not lost, clean up after a traumatic situation is not going to be any easier on a family member or friend. I know because I still get chocked up dealing with situations that are not related to me. You just can’t help it. How much worse it is for a loved one or friend to deal with the situation.

Some people say that the clean up was not hard for a particular job. That is true in many cases however dealing with the emotions of the bereaving is 90%, because to them it is 100% traumatic.

I have done jobs without any money being involved because the people just simply didn’t have it nor did they have any insurance to cover the loss. This I have done for water damage, sewage backups and have just offered carpet cleaning for people just to be of help or do something to return a good deed to someone in need. I am not bragging many people do it. I can’t and nobody can do it for everyone because it simply cost money and if every job was given away then we would not or could not stay in business.

So, what sets me apart from other cleaning and restoration contractors? I would hope you would never have to find out first hand however if the things that I have mentioned above doesn’t answer that question then nothing I can say will. However if you believe that I’m trained, equipped, willing, caring, compassionate, comply with OSHA, Local, State and Federal laws and can do it in strict safety for everyone involved then these may be some of the things that set us apart from any other cleaning and restoration contractor.

Professionalism
The American Bio-Recovery Association (ABRA) is an international, nonprofit organization designed to promote education, proficiency and ethical standards for bio-recovery services, such as those who perform crime and trauma scene management. Membership is by invitation only, following a background investigation and agreement by the proposed member to meet ABRA’s stringent standards. This process serves to prevent all but the most qualified professionals from becoming members, which helps to protect the general public. ABRA ensures that consumers receive the best possible service from companies who have sworn to uphold the highest levels of industry performance.

Trauma Scene Services, LLC is
ACCREDITED BY: American Bio-Recovery Association

Courtesy of Trauma Scene Services
Norwalk, Ohio