The Short Answer
Three kinds of company answer water damage calls in Bakersfield: national franchises, owner-operated local companies, and call centers that pass your job to whichever contractor pays for it. Any of them can do good work. Three things decide how your job goes: whether the company that answers is the one that shows up, whether it measures moisture every day and gives you the readings, and whether it bills your insurance company directly. For a typical home loss (a supply line, a water heater, a slab leak), an owner-operator gives you one person who answers the phone and runs the job. For a loss bigger than one crew can dry at once, a franchise's extra trucks and equipment can matter more. Ask any company the six questions below before you sign. Kern Water Damage Restoration is owner-operated: Caleb Owens answers the phone and runs every job, and we are on site within 60 minutes in Bakersfield or Tehachapi, at any hour. Call 661-912-6344.
The Three Kinds of Company
National franchise
A franchise is a locally owned business that operates under a national brand. The brand supplies the name, the phone system and the training program. The local owner supplies the trucks and the crew.
Where it fits: big losses. A franchise office usually has more equipment and more people than a one-crew company, and many do the rebuild as well as the drying. Some are on insurance companies' preferred-vendor lists, which usually means the company has agreed to that insurer's pricing and program rules.
What to ask: will the person who inspects your house be the one running the job, and who do you call at 9 PM on day three?
Owner-operated local company
The owner answers the phone, comes to the house and makes the calls on the job. There is no brand office or call center between you and the person doing the work.
Where it fits: most home losses. You get one phone number, and the person on it knows your house. The limit is size. On a large commercial building or several big losses in the same week, one owner's equipment and crew can run out, so ask any company, us included, how much drying equipment it can put on site today.
What to ask: who covers the job if the owner is on another loss?
Call center that sells the lead
Some of the companies that come up first for "water damage near me" don't do the work. They answer under a general name and pass your job to a local contractor who pays for the call. That contractor may be good. You just don't know who it is until the truck pulls up.
Where it fits: when you need someone fast and have no name to call, it gets a contractor moving.
What to ask: what is the name of the company coming to my house, so I can look up its reviews before it arrives?
Six Questions to Ask Any Water Damage Company
- Is the company I'm talking to the one that will come to my house?
- Who will run my job day to day, and can I call that person directly?
- Will you take moisture readings every day and give me a copy of the log?
- Do you bill my insurance company directly, and what will I owe out of pocket?
- Who on your crew holds an IICRC certification, and does your work follow the IICRC S500 standard?
- Do you also do the rebuild, or only the drying?
How We Answer Them
Who comes. The person who answers our phone is Caleb Owens, the owner. He runs your job from the inspection to the final dry report.
Who you call. Caleb, at 661-912-6344, on day one and on day five.
Moisture readings. We read moisture every day and log every reading with photos. You and your adjuster get the final dry report when the structure reaches dry standard.
Insurance. We bill your insurance company directly. On a covered loss you pay your deductible. How our billing works
Certification. Caleb holds an IICRC certification in water damage restoration, and every job follows the IICRC S500 standard. What IICRC certified means
The rebuild. We do the mitigation: extraction, drying and the moisture records. Replacing drywall, flooring and paint is a separate job for a general contractor, and your claim covers both. What each part costs
What About the Company My Insurance Recommends?
You can use it, and you don't have to. California lets you choose your own restoration company, and the list your insurer reads you is optional. Your rights under a California policy