It’s been almost two months since Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued his order banning all large gatherings and closed schools throughout the state. All nonessential businesses in the state were ordered to close soon after.
Vito Services – a Plumbing and HVAC home service company located in Rockville, Maryland – was deemed an “Essential Service” and has remained open and operational ever since. Similar to several other essential companies, Vito at first was overwhelmed with all the information and details about operating during the coronavirus pandemic.
Thankfully, the health and safety of all Vito employees, customers, and the community we serve were always put at the forefront of all company planning. Now, after two months of working through the pandemic, Vito Services has established a daily protocol to help us succeed each day. We firmly believe that these steps have helped keep our team and customers safe.
While our new daily protocols have allowed us to continue to operate safely through COVID-19, we believe many (or all) of these procedures may become standard protocol for Vito Services even once the state is fully reopened.
Plumbing and HVAC workers have been deemed “critical infrastructure workers” by the Department of Homeland Security because they “provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plumbing and HVAC services are not a luxury, they are a necessity!
That being said … operating as an essential service in a COVID-world was a new experience for us and came with a lot of uncertainty. How can we stay open and operate? Do we close the office entirely or allow some employees to come in? Can our CSR’s work remotely? How do we set up employees to work from home and ensure they are able to do their jobs? Do customers still need us? Do they even know we’re open?
Then there were the technicians.
Do customers want our technicians in their home? Do our technicians feel safe working in people’s homes? If so how do we keep them both safe?
Vito Services has now worked for almost two months through the COVID-19 pandemic, without any incident or employee getting sick. We are extremely thankful to be able to say that and work hard every day to ensure it stays that way.
We’ve attributed much of that success to our Daily Safety Checklists, which we have continued to build and grow over the past two months:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a tough challenge for everyone. As an Essential Service, Vito Services has remained open and working through the pandemic and – thankfully – has remained operational and healthy. From the very start, we have been committed to the health and safety of our employees, customers, and community, which is a large reason we have been able to safely navigate through these unchartered waters.
In addition to the Vito Services Daily Safety Checklist, we have made several other changes to meet customer needs for a contact-less experience. Vito Services has been a paperless operation for several years, and now just require e-signatures on invoices. In addition to adding a “Virtual Consultation” option, we also have invested in a larger scale virtual appointment application, which will allow our customers to schedule appointments through our online booking service, and are adding an online payment option to our website to simplify that process.
While Vito Services has been proactive in promoting the health and safety of our business, we understand that the steps we have taken (as described above) are not perfect and are constantly examined and scrutinized every day. While no procedures can be 100% full-proof against a highly contagious virus, we believe these steps have allowed our business to stay open, and our employees and customers to remain healthy while feeling good about our company and the services we provide.
Leave it to Vito
Since the start of the state lockdown, Vito Services has remained open as an Essential Service to those in our community who need us. We have tried to accommodate all customer and employee concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and, so far, have been successful in doing so. If you require our services, please know that we are here for you. The seasons are changing, and with that comes issues with your plumbing, heating, and cooling systems.
During the current rain season, we are offering reduced Sump Pump checks and will soon be offering AC Inspection deals as now is a great time to have your air conditioning unit inspected. We will also be helping several of our customers re-open their offices and stores once the state and county lockdown has been fully lifted.
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