1. First of all, how are you experiencing this crisis? How is it going in your franchise network?

He had a lot of insecurity at first. I didn't know the extent of the crisis at the beginning. I sympathized with business friends who were laying off employees. When it hit us in turn, it was difficult to lay off half of my staff at the head office.

The government's announcements came with their share of ambiguities regarding essential services. Were disaster restoration companies essential? Since this decision was governed provincially, we had to make representations in each Canadian province to try to get an answer. After a few days of multiplying calls, we finally learned that we were considered an essential service, but for emergency interventions only.

2. How have you supported your franchise owners? Because they too are facing a lot of uncertainty…

The first thing was to offer them coaching through a series of daily capsules. We offered them tools to reassure their front-line employees, whom we call our “soldiers.” Everything was quickly put in place to ensure health and safety at work with equipment, protocols, etc. Franchisees saw their employees seduced by the idea of staying home, safe, with the CERB rather than going back to work. The best key was to mobilize them and, above all, to communicate well and transparently, because we didn't have all the answers.

At the head office, we have also made it our mission to always stay abreast of government initiatives and banking institutions in order to inform our franchisees of the programs and assistance measures available to them.

3. Are you still afraid for some of your franchisees?

Yes, I am still afraid. By only offering emergency response services, many of them have seen 50% of their turnover stop. Now with the resumption of construction sites, we can consider a return to normal eventually, and I say eventually, because many disaster victims still prefer to wait due to their COVID-related insecurities.

Some of our franchisees are great operators on the ground, but they are less skilled in financial management. So we worked with them on maintaining and updating the cash flow statement. We set up small groups on Zoom to guide them. If we give them the right tools, they will have a better overview of the next few months and will be better able to make informed decisions.

4. The enemy to be defeated at the moment, COVID-19, is still full of unanswered questions. You have made a public statement to warn the public about the use of the word “decontamination” by certain companies…

We have participated in several webinars on the subject with many experts and scientists still do not agree on its components and the exact methods of spreading the virus. When we talk about decontamination, we are talking about destroying the source and being able to test the results of our work. Steamatic can offer preventive cleaning by applying disinfectant products, but we cannot absolutely guarantee decontamination at this time. So I wanted to warn the public so that they do not let themselves be fooled, especially since a decontamination quote is much more expensive than a preventive cleaning quote. The reputation of the disaster restoration industry is at stake. We have been working on this for years as a network and banner.

5. In the context of COVID, several essential workers have been recognized, particularly during Premier Legault's press briefings. Would you like to see more recognition for restaurant technicians?

We are in a grey area between construction and cleaning service. I find it unfortunate that we never fall into a specific category. We don't even have a number at Industry Canada. Our work has been recognized regionally, notably during the 2019 floods in Outaouais, but I'm still waiting for a mention at a press briefing!

To congratulate them internally, we made a thank you video for all the technicians on the front lines these past few weeks and I just finished handwriting about a hundred personalized cards. I want to express my appreciation and gratitude to them and highlight their contribution and dedication during this pandemic.

Steamatic Canada has more than 45 franchisees, including 26 in Quebec. The network is also present in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, New Brunswick and Western Canada.