ServiceMaster by Benevento
In business since 1984
Free estimates
Emergency services offered
"Fire & smoke damage clean up and repairs. Please read all reviews before you sign with SM. I wished I had. The fire was in my garage 1/21/24. The 4-5 star reviews are correct in that they responded immediately. After that it has been all downhill. They were very professional until they had a signed contract and the first deposit. $35,000.00. They were quick to get the garage cleaned out. I was told they would set aside any items that were questionable as to the damage. I did sign a waiver allowing them to use their judgment. DON'T! Their "judgment" was to dispose of everything. Some things were clearly not damaged. The reason I say "dispose" is I have no proof they didn't cart my things into their own garages. When I brought this up to one of the supervisors, they just gave me their standby comment that they would discuss at the next meeting. After they cashed the check, it was about 6 weeks before anything else was done. That is only because the bank contacted me for a progress report. I told SM what I told the bank "Not a d**n thing had been done once they got the check. The "pack out": Please, Please, Please take pictures of everything before they begin. I got so upset with the carelessness of the first crew, I requested another crew be sent. Seeing how careless they are, I told them they were not allowed to move my fish tanks. I didn't want them damaged. Depending on which supervisor （and boy do they have a lot of those） you talked with the tanks needed to be moved or no they could work around them. I made it very clear that if the tanks were to be moved, I wanted professionals familiar with moving tanks to move them. SM was NOT to move them. Last Friday SM came to finish the pack out. I got finished with work early and decided to stop by my house to see how things were going. SM had 3 of the 4 tanks wrapped and was starting to move them. The room they were supposed to finish packing was not packed. They just threw some things in boxes didn't seal the boxes and stacked on top of each other. They threw things behind the stacked boxes, including glass picture frames (not wrapped). There was a glass shelf in the room. They took it down and just stashed it behind a door. No, it wasn't wrapped or protected in any way. It seems like the packers were told to hurry and get the tanks moved before I knew they were moving them. I also have a baby grand piano. I also stated SM was not to move the piano. Well, they didn't move it. But, when they wrapped it, they turned the bench upside down. Why? The bench slides right under the piano. And, don't get me started on their communication skills. The right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing and neither communicate with you unless you hound them. I thought it would be easier to have SM just take care of everything instead of dealing with several companies. The fire was a piece of cake compared to working with SM. Again, I implore you to read all the reviews. It looks like if it is a small clean and go job customers are happy. But if there are any extensive repairs SM gets a 1-star review. Compare the type of job you have with like reviews. Get the initial clean up done, or the property secure, then take a couple of days to let it sink in what has happened. Then research contractors. I wished someone would have given me that advice. It has been 4 months and still waiting for the permits. No, the City of Visalia did not drag their feet. The requested paperwork was not submitted to the City in a timely manner. I have held off writing a review hoping it would get better. It hasn't. I just wanted other people in my situation to be fully informed. They have barely started the repairs. I may have more to review at a later time."
Recommended by85%of homeowners
