Over sixteen years ago, former US Coast Guard service man Gary Randall quit his attempt at being a 7-11 business owner to join the ServiceMaster Restore franchise. The flip-side of the same coin as search and rescue, Randall just can’t seem to stop chasing disasters. Only instead of pulling people out of dangerous situations, he’s rescuing buildings and possessions.
Whether its renewing items damaged by fire or restoring a home that’s been flooded, Randall wants to be the person who helps people recover from the unexpected. “I like my job because it falls into the category of helping people. I love that part of the job – showing up when disaster strikes and having the answers and resources to help people out. Our motto is to ‘restore peace of mind,’ and that’s kind of what we do. It is a lot of fun to do that. It’s hard work, but people enjoy what we do after we’re done.”
Working at 7-11 mini mart was not how Randall wanted to spend his retirement. Finding a ServiceMaster Restore truck behind his gas station one day in Tumwater, Randall decided to ask questions about what the driver did for a living. A little research later, and he had the beginnings of a business set up in his garage.
After servicing his first fire, Randall realized he’d never be able to succeed working out of his home. It didn’t take long before he was looking for a building to base his business. John and Betty Lupo provided him his first ServiceMaster home and Randall can’t say enough about how much they contributed to his success. “They are my heroes and gave me a break going into that building. I thought it was the biggest thing I’d ever seen and that we’d never need all that space, it was huge,” expressed Randall.
“Within three years we’d outgrown the first half of the building. Betty just gave us the entire building when the old renters were out. They had to be leasing that building to me for under market rate. Betty saw something and started helping me from day one,” said Randall in appreciation. “They would hire me for every little thing they could to help me bring in cash flow. They are just really good people and I owe them a debt of gratitude for helping me get started. I think they were the key to my success – there’s no doubt in my mind about that. That’s what’s good about Grays Harbor. There’s a lot of good, big hearted people who live here and are making a difference.”
For Randall, living in the Harbor wasn’t an accident. During his time with the US Coast Guard, Randall had the opportunity to spend a part of his career in Grays Harbor County. Out of all the places he travelled to and all the places he could have gone after retirement, Randall came back to the Harbor. “This is the area I liked the most,” Randall explained.
It is also the area in which Randall loves to give back. There are many non-profits that ServiceMaster enjoys assisting, but perhaps one of Randall’s favorite is the Aberdeen Police Department’s Explorer Program. The Explorer Program teaches kids basic police officer duties, introduces them to serving their community, and encourages behavior that leads to excellence. Randall sees not just the benefit to the teens within the program, but also the time and commitment of leaders to the program. “I like to support people who are volunteers and giving out of their own pockets and time and are benefiting the community.” Randall explained.
Randall is also a large promoter of honesty – something the Explorer Program greatly encourages. Within his own team, he has one rule that, if broken, will get you an immediate dismissal. The rule is honesty. From the bottom rung to the top of his business, honesty is a must.
Randall enjoys giving people opportunities to succeed and often hires those who are inexperienced workers or teens. Work ethics and job experience can be taught, but honesty is what Randall requires the moment an employee comes through his doors. Randall backs up the employees he can trust and is better able to serve his community and customers because of it. “This business is who I am. I’m proud of who I am and my accomplishments and I’m proud of my employees and their accomplishments. We do good work and so when we mess up we try to fix it,” says Randall. With good customer service and honesty, ServiceMaster Restore of Grays Harbor has cultivated satisfied customers and a reliable business practice.
Having recently moved into a larger, newer building, Randall is looking forward to being able to serve even more customers. Though he hopes you never have a reason to call him and his team, more information about Randall and his business can be found on his website or by calling 360-537-9800.