Recent General Posts

Holiday Tips if You Are Traveling or Staying Home

11/6/2023 (Permalink)

Here are a few tips for cleaning your gutters.

With Thanksgiving approaching in a couple of weeks and Christmas and New Year’s Eve around the corner, families are either preparing to travel, just stay put or both. Depending on which camp you fall under, there are a few things you need to be ready for.  
 
Traveling 
If you are planning on going out of town for one of the upcoming holidays, it’s wise to check a few things to elevate the stress of returning home to a potential flooding disaster. Look at your pipes under your kitchen and bathroom sinks, leading to your freezer ice maker, and also your water heater. If you notice any cracks or leaks, make sure to get them fixed.  
 
Outside, you need to make sure your gutters are cleaned and draining properly. And inspect your sump pump and clear out any debris, test it by filling the sump pit and turning on the pump. Last but not least, look over your window seals and check your roof for any leaks, especially if you are expecting any rain or snow storms while gone.  
 
Doing these little things can hopefully prevent water damage. And another reminder, if you don’t have anyone checking on your home while you are gone, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just turn the water supply off the water main to your home and drain the pipes.  
 
Staying home – time to clean!  
Maybe you’re just staying home and you’re hosting family and friends for one of the many holidays, but your house could use a good cleaning. You can reach out to us and we can come over and remove those stains that have accumulated over the months in your carpet or on your furniture. Or maybe there’s a peculiar odor emanating from your vents that needs addressed?   
 
We are ready to come to your rescue and keep you from embarrassment as people enter your home to enjoy the festivities. And that would be one less thing you have to worry about that we can take off your lengthy to-do list at this time of year. 

 
If you have any water damage to address, or if you just need some cleaning done, please contact us at SERVPRO of Gainesville West-Alachua County West at 352-374-6589.  
 
 

A Brand and a Family You Can Trust

3/4/2022 (Permalink)

Jason (left) and Mark Raymond accept an award in small business at the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Awards.

Although SERVPRO itself is a large, national corporation, each franchise is individually owned and operate by your neighbors or friends. And the same can be said for SERVPRO of Gainesville West and Alachua County West. You are keeping it local and supporting your community when you use our company.

SERVPRO of Alachua County West has been serving Gainesville and surrounding areas for the past 20-plus years. The current owners, the Raymond family, purchased the business in 2007. Led by Mark Raymond, who is no stranger to Gainesville, having graduated from the University of Florida, worked at a SERVPRO franchise in Jacksonville, Florida. He started as the marketing representative and worked his way up to general manager, working for the SERVPRO of Arlington in Jacksonville for nearly eight years. When word came out that the SERVPRO of Alachua County West franchise was for sale, Mark jumped at the opportunity. Not only was this a franchise that he could believe in, but he had also always wanted to own his own business. In 2007, this dream was made a reality. He moved to Gainesville with his supportive wife, Becky, who would serve as co-owner, and two of his four children, Julianne and Joshua Raymond. Mark and Becky's eldest son, Jason, already had around four years of previous experience working for SERVPRO. So, once the franchise was purchased, he put his knowledge and experience to use as their production manager. He continues to serve in that role today. At one point, Julianne served as marketing representative, making connections throughout the community. She currently serves a marketing consultant to the company.  

The Raymonds care deeply about the people and community they serve. They are your neighbors, your friends, your trusted remediation company.

The Raymonds, along with a great team beside them, work to make it "Like it never even happened," for you. SERVPRO of Gainesville West and Alachua County West is not only a brand you can trust, but a family you can trust.

A big thank you to our SERVPRO team on Employee Recognition Day!

3/5/2021 (Permalink)

The SERVPRO Gainesville West/Alachua County West restoration technicians & marketer standing in front of truck - ready to help!

On Employee Recognition Day, we want to recognize the hard work all our local SERVPRO Gainesville West/Alachua West team members put in every day, especially since we're a 24/7 business. From the office staff to our technicians in the field, they all help make it "Like it never even happened," when our customers have a fire or water damage emergency or require mold remediation to keep their home or business safe. 

Our office staff, Nikki and Melissa, are often the first employees customers interact with when they call to inquire about a job. They strive to be cheerful and courteous during what is often a stressful time for customers, and we appreciate their great customer service and organization skills.  Our marketing team (CJ and Rachel) work both face to face and through our blog and social media channels to help keep our community connected with our services and informed about fire/water/mold issues that may affect our local Gainesville/Alachua county area.

Of course, we could not do the work we do without our technicians who are on call and ready to get to any size disaster, day or night, even on weekends and holidays. Led by our Production Manager, Jason, this hard-working team puts in physical work combined with technical expertise to get the restoration job done as quickly as possible with quality work. Thank you Billy, Travis, Lee and Spencer for your hard work!

As a locally owned and operated SERVPRO restoration franchise, our employees are like family and we appreciate them not just today, but every day for choosing to work with us and give it their best day in and day out. 

There's an App for that!

9/1/2017 (Permalink)

Just another reason "SERVPRO" is "Faster to any size disaster".

Believe it or not, there’s an app for that!   "SERVPRO" has created an extensive app for your IPhone or Android device to address your water, fire, mold, or even odor issues.  The Ready Plan helps you create a custom "Emergency Ready Plan" complete with address, building size and structure, rooms within, and contact information such as your insurer, fire department, and utilities.  The app even includes directional information, such as where circuit breakers, waters shut offs, and fire extinguishers are located. There is even space for you to place photos for those hard to reach or find locations and it's all right there at your fingertips on your phone's home screen.   You choose the information you want accessible as well as who has access to that information at all times, such as employees, managers, or tenants.  These specifics can help you save both time and money when disaster happens by ensuring quick response available at your fingertips.

Call us today so we can come out, for FREE and discuss the protocol with you to put the most effective plan in place BEFORE disaster strikes! 

One of the Ways We Are Better than the Rest!

4/18/2016 (Permalink)

Owners of SERVPRO of Alachua County West since 2007...Mark & Becky Raymond

Let's be honest...

SERVPRO of Alachua County West is not the only restoration company in the Greater Gainesville area.  You have many options when it comes to water and fire clean up &restoration and mold remediation.  There are many reasons as to why we are the best out of your choices, BUT one of the main reasons is... no one can compete with the amount of knowledge and experience we possess.  

One of the owners of SERVPRO of Alachua County West, Mark Raymond, has been with SERVPRO since 2003.  He started as the marketing manager for a franchise in Jacksonville, FL.  He then moved his way to General Manager and the further enveloped in the company he became, the more he loved SERVPRO.  His son, Jason Raymond, began working part-time as a technician for the Jacksonville franchise in 2004.  Later, he moved to Gainesville and began working for the Ocala SERVPRO franchise.  Mark and Becky then heard word of the Gainesville SERVPRO franchise being avaiable for purchase, and they jumped at the chance!  Jason then began working for his parents' franchise as Production Manager.  Their daughter, Julianne, has worked for them a combined 3 and a half years, as both the receptionist and currently, the marketing manager.  The Raymond family as a whole has a combined 35-40 years in the restoration industry.  But the best part is, the knowledge doesn't stop there!  

The management and technicians at SERVPRO of Alachua County West are not only all licensed and certified for all restoration and remediation services they provide, but they are also constantly learning more.  SERVPRO corporate holds training classes and seminars regularly so as to make sure every SERVPRO is up to date on training.  But SERVPRO of Alachua County West not only wants to keep all their employees educated on topics such as water damage, fire damage, mold, biohazard clean up and more.  They want to make sure that you are educated as well!!  Especially if you are a real estate agent, insurance agent or insurance adjuster.  

SERVPRO of Alachua County West hosts FREE Continuing Education classes throughout the year for either real estate agents or insurance agents and adjusters.  Owner, Mark Raymond, is the dynamic and knowledgeable teacher for the classes.  Not only do you get free education by attending their classes, but you also get free lunch and giveaways!  

If and when you find yourself in the midst of a disaster at your home or business, you want to call the best.  You want to call someone in who has dealt with disasters like yours NUMEROUS times and knows how to make it "like it never even happened."  Don't question who to call; trust in the fact that you are calling the most experienced and the most knowledgeable company when you call us.

Call SERVPRO of Alachua County West at (352)374-6589...  

Not just a BRAND you can trust, but a FAMILY you can trust.

SERVPRO of Alachua County West... A Family Business

2/19/2015 (Permalink)

A SERVPRO Family

Most people see SERVPRO and automatically think of a faceless and large corporation.  Many do not know that while SERVPRO is a nationally known corporation, its over 1600 franchises are all individually owned and operated.  This, in part, is what makes us better than the rest.

One of SERVPRO's biggest advantages over its competition is that no job is too large or too small for us.  Due to the fact that we are a corporation, we have access to unlimited supplies.  If a large loss occurs, we can call in as many "sister" franchises as we need.  SERVPRO even has both a Large Loss team and a Storm Team for such cases.  On the other hand, as before stated, SERVPRO franchises are all individually owned and operated.  So by using a SERVPRO, you are still keeping it local and supporting your community.

SERVPRO of Alachua County West has been servicing Gainesville and surrounding areas for the past 20+ years.  However, the current owners, Mark and Becky Raymond, did not purchase the business until 2007.  Mark Raymond graduated from the University of Florida and worked over 30 years in the retail industry before he stumbled upon SERVPRO.  He then worked as the marketing representative and progressed his way to general manager working for the SERVPRO of Arlington in Jacksonville, FL for nearly 8 years.  When word came out that the SERVPRO of Alachua County West franchise was for sale, Mark jumped at the opportunity.  Not only was this a franchise that he could believe in  but he had also always wanted to own his own business.  In 2007, this dream was made a reality.  He moved to Gainesville, FL with his supportive wife, Becky, and two of his four children, Julianne and Joshua Raymond.  Mark and Becky's eldest son, Jason, already had around four years of previous experience working for SERVPRO.  So once the franchise was purchased, he put his knowledge and experience to use as their Production Manager.  Their daughter, Julianne Raymond, is their current Marketing Representative.  

Altogether, the Raymonds work to make it "like it never even happened" for you.  SERVPRO of Alachua County West is therefore not only a brand you can trust, but a family you can trust.