LITTLE ROCK, Ark — One industry that has been uniquely prepared to serve Arkansas during this coronavirus pandemic is the cleaning industry.
SERVPRO, which operates both locally and nationally, has been hard at work since the outbreak hit and they are expecting even more business than ever before.
Preston Bass, Head of Commercial Sales with SERVPRO, said franchisees haven't experienced anything of this magnitude.
"We have over 1,800 franchises in the USA and Canada and all of them have seen a huge call volume for this kind of cleaning and disinfecting," he said.
Now, they are prepared for even more calls.
"We have overstocked all of our PPE, disinfectants,suits and respirators," said Bass. "We have adjusted quickly."
He said they will continue adjusting as Governor Asa Hutchinson allows more businesses to reopen.
"People want to be completely sanitized and disinfected when their doors open," he said. "We can't prevent someone with coronavirus from coming in but we can give peace of mind with hospital grade cleaning."
They've already been getting calls from businesses recently allowed to open like salons and barbershops.
Michael Jackman owns Jerry's barbershop in the Heights and said right after the governor's announcement, calls for appointments started flowing in.
"Each day is getting filled very quickly," said Jackman.
That meant he needed to act fast to get ready for business. He had SERVPRO come out to clean the whole shop.
"We want to take the extra step to make sure everything is as clean and disinfected as possible," he said.
Bass said SERVPRO is also starting to see an increase of calls from churches and larger venues; places they expect they might need to visit on an ongoing basis.
"We can go back on a weekly basis if they want us to," he said. "But, again, this doesn't prevent someone that's infected from walking in and contaminating again but if they call us with a confirmed case we can go back out and repeat the process."
Bass said that whatever is in store, SERVPRO is ready.
"You adapt and adjust the best you can but we are as prepared as any service you can imagine," he said.
For more information about SERVPRO click here.