Launches New Veterans Hiring Initiative and Announces Top Contractor Award Winners

Chattanooga, Tenn. (September 10, 2018) – Last week, HomeServe USA, a leading provider of home repair solutions to 3.6 million customers across the U.S. and Canada, hosted 46 of the company’s top contractor partners at its Third Annual Contractor Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hosted at The Chattanoogan in downtown Chattanooga, the day-and-a-half long conference serves as an educational and networking opportunity for a select group of top contractors within the company’s 1,400-member North American contractor network.

In addition to hearing from keynote speakers and participating in focus groups, attendees toured HomeServe’s new state-of-the-art Customer Center of Excellence in Chattanooga to see firsthand how the company uses technology to improve its customer service and provide better efficiency to all of its contractors. 

In July, HomeServe signed on as a proud sponsor of the venerable fan favorite PBS TV show This Old House. To celebrate that partnership, representatives from This Old House, including CEO Eric Thorkilsen and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, joined the company’s top contractors at the conference. Trethewey, a fourth-generation contractor and featured speaker at the conference, talked about the need to close the trade skills gap, especially as it relates to the type of work HomeServe and its contractors do every day. He noted that more than 5.6 million jobs are currently unfillable due to the shortage of qualified skilled workers. Tretheway also highlighted This Old House’s two-year-old effort called Generation Next, a campaign working to close the skills gap by encouraging young people to master the vocational trades that built this country. 

With the skills gap top of mind, HomeServe announced its new veteran’s employment initiative, which aims to promote careers in skilled trades to U.S. military veterans. As part of the initiative, the company will commit $100,000 annually to help connect HomeServe’s network of contractors from around the country with qualified U.S. military veterans. In addition, HomeServe will target active duty military personnel whose service is concluding with a new transition-to-trade marketing effort. Communications and marketing components of the initiative include a dedicated Facebook site, a partnership with military recruiter Viqtory and targeted digital outreach. HomeServe’s efforts complement This Old House’s Generation Next initiative – of which HomeServe is also a new sponsor – to encourage more young people to enter the trades. 

“HomeServe’s business thrives on skilled contractors who can fulfill our customers’ needs by repairing and installing the equipment they rely on every day in their homes. In talking with our contractors, we identified an area that makes us all vulnerable: a significant shortage of skilled contractors and tradespeople entering the workforce,” said HomeServe USA CEO John Kitzie. “One of the ways we believe we can help address the issue is by tapping into the talent and experience of our nation’s veterans. Our initiative aims to match qualified veterans with terrific job opportunities, which in turn will help our contractors find reliable candidates to fill seemingly countless positions across the U.S.”

HomeServe presented several awards at the conference to recognize the top contractors in the company’s network. The top winners were:                                                          

• Diamond Award: The newly created award was given to D Lanzo Plumbing of Hackensack, New Jersey, and United Plumbing of Goshen, Kentucky. The recipients truly embody HomeServe’s values of service excellence and customer satisfaction, and they are proven industry leaders that consistently uphold and deliver high quality performance.
• Best Use of Technology Award: GT Plumbing & Heating of Flushing, New York
• Newcomer Award: Honoring the contractor partner that joined the HomeServe network in the last year and has proven to be a top performer, this award was given to Longs Corporation of Fairfax, Virginia.
• National Winner for Customer Service: R.B Travis Plumbing of Livermore, California
• National Winner for Service Delivery: BP Electric of Lexington, Ohio

Customer Service Awards were presented to the top contractor in each region that most consistently provides timely and professional service to customers. The winners were:

• Northeast – Powerflo of Staten Island, New York
• Mid-Atlantic – Total Plumbing of Warminster, Pennsylvania
• Southeast – In Control Plumbing of Winter Park, Florida
• Mid-Ohio – McAtee of Columbus, Ohio
• Central – Absolute Comfort of Minot, North Dakota
• West Coast – R.B. Travis of Livermore, California                                 

Service Delivery Awards went to a contractor in each region that consistently demonstrates exceptional service delivery though solid business practices. The winners were:

• Northeast – Joseph L Balkan of Richmond Hill, New York
• Mid-Atlantic – Thomas Parisse & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Southeast – K&S Plumbing of Pelham, Alabama
• Mid-Ohio – BP Electric of Lexington, Ohio
• Central – Action Mechanical of Rapid City, South Dakota
• West Coast – Frassica Plumbing of Corona, California

“When it comes to contractors, HomeServe is proud to work with the best of the best across the country because we know they share our commitment to high-quality customer service,” said Sylvester Criscone, Vice President, Contractor Management and Administration at HomeServe. “Each one of these contractors, and the men and women who work for them, stand out because of their ability to adapt to market changes, use new technology to run their operations, and remain committed to achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction.”

The contractors were evaluated against a number of criteria for the Top Contractor Awards, including performance reports, score cards and customer feedback.

About HomeServe
HomeServe USA Corp. (HomeServe) is a leading provider of home repair solutions serving over 3.6 million customers across the US and Canada under the HomeServe, Home Emergency Insurance Solutions, Service Line Warranties of America (SLWA) and Service Line Warranties of Canada (SLWC) names. Since 2003, HomeServe has been protecting homeowners against the expense and inconvenience of water, sewer, electrical, HVAC and other home repair emergencies by providing affordable repair coverage, installations and quality local service. As an A+ rated Better Business Bureau Accredited Business, HomeServe is dedicated to being a customer-focused company supplying best-in-class repair plans and other services to consumers directly and through over 600 leading municipal, utility and association partners.

HomeServe is a proud sponsor of This Old House on PBS, working together to provide homeowners expert advice on maintaining, enhancing and protecting their homes. For more information about HomeServe, a Connecticut Top Workplace winner and recipient of seventeen 2018 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, or to learn more about HomeServe’s affordable repair plans, please go to www.homeserveusa.com. To connect with HomeServe on Facebook and Twitter, please visit our Facebook page and Twitter.