2020 End-of-Year State of Business Survey

We want to thank everyone who participated in our end-of-year survey. Here is a summary of the responses with 79 responses logged.
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1. How is your staffing?

Other:

• Fully staffed but looking to hire at least 2 positions
• Only an owner/operator. No other employees before or since pandemic started. Use a specific group of subcontractors to perform some of my work.
• Always need to find GOOD employees!

2. How many of your employees have been sick with COVID-19, if any? Have you had a workplace shutdown or interruption of service due to positive cases?

37 respondents say they were unaffected by illness or shutdowns.

Other responses included:
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• 3, no shutdowns
• 5 employees, no shut down due to cases only quarantine
• At this point, we have 10 employees off sick for the Covid. This number represents 1/6th of our team
• 4
• We have seen a significant increase in employees with Covid in Q4 compared to Q2. Roughly 20 staff members tested positive while another 30 were quarantined but did not test positive. This created significant disruptions to normal business production in November and December
• None sick - but been tested multiple times due to possible exposures.
• One employee tested positive. We had two employees to quarantine but tested negative. Have not had to shut down in 2020.
• less than 10 positive cases. Shutdown a branch office for a week.
• Two positive. Neither exposed other coworkers. Contained within those exposed outside of work environment
• 1
• 1
• only 1
• 1 confirmed case of Covid 19. Several quarantine situations during the year, but all were negative for Covid
• 4
• 12 positive cases. No shut down and no interruption of service, however had to juggle previously scheduled appointments with the technicians for 2.5 weeks.
• 9 - 10% of workforce, mostly field. No impact to jobs. Closed office a couple times and had office employees work remote though. Had rotating office schedules.
• 2 - Techs got it, both back to work doing well! No shutdown just protocol in place.
• We Had one person in late February early March sick at the time and was diagnosed with Covid-19 about 10 days later he was on vacation at the time and was in the hospital for 3 weeks
• 2 and they quarantined. No shutdown or interruption
• 3, No Interruption
• 20
• 4 sick out of 45
• 2 People, some work pushed back because of this.
• Zero, however, we have had to have people quarantine which hurt our business.
• 1
• 4 out of 20
• We have had six employees come down with Covid. It is definitely affected the flow of service.
• 1, no
• One contracted COVID on a personal trip, and took two weeks off. No contact with other employees. Two others have quarantined due to exposure, but never tested positive for COVID. No shutdown, nor interruption of service.
• One covid positive employee. Using multiple tactics to avoid a workplace shutdown
• Ten
• 2
• We had one employee who was sick with COVID-19
• 5 no shutdown or interruption
• 5%. No shutdowns or interruptions.
• 58 (5.5% of our workforce) as of today.
• 8-10 sick with COVID. No business shutdown or interruption
• A few have had it but we haven't shutdown and they have been back to work within 14 days.
• 20+ some interruption with quarantining the close contacts. Also, customers postponing work due to their staff having cases.

3. What percentage of your workforce was impacted by employees testing positive for COVID-19, if any?

4. How has revenue been for 2020?​

5. What has been the most challenging aspect of business in 2020?

• covid safety for our staff, scheduling
• Covid 19
• Morale. It is very difficult for our employees to maintain a positive attitude with the uncertainty in the country.
• Keeping employees safe from Covid.
• Skilled and certified work force
• The virus
• Closed businesses are hard to meet up and service.
• 90% of our customers are destroyed. Restaurants are closing every day of the week. They will not return for years to come. Our lenders have stopped lending to any restaurant operations.
• Managing through state shut downs, employee safety while looking to keep everyone employed for future success
• Mask mandates. And some small customers (locally owned businesses) declining or delaying services.
• Constant Adjusting. large projects being put on hold due to uncertainty.
• Dealing with the stress of the challenges of day to day operations. Keeping our employees safe why balancing getting enough work done to keep business going
• Businesses being able to pay for our services, when they are either shut down or not able to serve at capacity.
• construction slow down, scheduling, deferred maintenance
• Government shutting down businesses.
• Readjustment.
• Navigating with customers reduced hours and scheduling.
• Keeping up with Covid requirements and scheduling
• businesses being closed
• Employees wanting to take unemployment or FMLA under the CARES act.
• Getting the work completed
• Getting in to accts
• the uncertainty of our health of customers especially retail vertical
• managing expectations of staff and customers
• Maintaining communication, awareness and execution of the COVID initiatives created by federal and local government legislation with the employees.
• Travel - We cover a large service area and it is not drivable. We travel by air or sea to outlying locations.
• We are an essential business but many customers are not so they are not open
• Staying fully staffed due to close contact of our employees with customers that tested positive.
• Slow pay, closings from restaurant accounts, and trying to get people back on track for fire safety service, We have some customers holding off service unless it is absolutely necessary because of Covid!
• Dealing with the COVID in nursing homes getting appointments scheduled
• Scheduling service work and projects
• Service is down about 10% largely due to restaurant business being off, but our engineered systems department has sold a lot of new fire alarm installations and clean agent gas systems making us overall up.
• Keeping and hiring employees
• Catching places that were closed
• Slower start up than expected due to projects not taking off as quickly
• New clients
• personnel issues
• CLOSED BUSINESSES
• Access into closed occupancies to perform work to comply with Fire Code requirements.
• Still finding employees
• collecting $$$$$$$$$$$$$
• Dealing with employees' fear and anxiety
• Been looking for new employee prospects. Most I'm not impressed with. Work force has become limited in our area.
• State Shutdowns
• Finding clients at their place of business.
• finding employees
• Getting access to businesses that have been shutdown due to covid.
• scheduling
• Not knowing who is going to be showing up to work on a day to day basis. Not knowing what customer is willing to have us do their work on a day to day basis.
• getting and keeping stock of parts needed to conduct business due to manufacturer shortages.
• Collecting on invoices
• COVID
• The instability from COVID to our customers.
• Other than the measures to control COVID infections in the workplace, it has been a typical year. No special challenges.
• Getting employees on same page when it comes to covid awareness and taking all precautionary measures.
• Employees - protecting them, navigating the mine field of covid consequences OSHA, FFCRA, "opening Texas", keeping employees working and furloughing, PPP
• Business loss and morale.
• People and business shutdowns
• The additional precautions that we needed to take. Also keeping morale up and ensuring that our employees' mental health was a priority.
• Keeping employees busy
• Customer business closures.
• Govt rules and regulations and taxes
• planning for the unknown
• ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
• Covid restrictions and scheduling appointments with clients.
• Adapting
• Scheduling work with customers. Working around their full and partial shutdowns and their Covid related requirements for entering their facilities
• Product delivery delays. Gaining access into customer's facilities to perform service.
• Predicting sales
• Customers staying open or allowing us in to complete work. Finding talent continues to be on the list.
• Staffing. Schedule juggling.

6. Have any of your clients gone out of business this year?

Comments:

• We have seen a significant reduction in work forces related to the food service and hospitality businesses. Their revenue has been significantly decreased
• My clients are closing every day. Not only small "Mom and Pop" restaurants, but very large chains. Wendy's, Waffle House, Long John Silvers, Subway, Red Robbin, ETC.
• Primarily small mom and pop restaurants however large hotel chains have stretched payments creating concern for those as well
• Very very tiny amount of them.
• Many closed temporarily but now in California some have closed for good.
• We have had a couple of place go out of business, but they were having trouble prior to the COVID outbreak
• Sad to watch so many small businesses that shut there doors thanks to our Governor. I feel so blessed to be still up and running.
• Forecasting to lose 40-50% of restaurant trade
• Not yet, but we have a lot in the restaurant sector and the restaurants are hurting terribly right now. Some may go under if they do not receive a second PPP loan
• Mostly restaurants.
• besides many retail customers going bankrupt many have also closed a number of locations
• Food industry especially
• Mostly small businesses, restaurants, and some large office space customers, that are working from home because its safer, less expensive and more productive. ( Approx. 50 accounts so far. )
• Restaurants and small businesses
• Many small bars with forced shut downs.
• Very few went out of business. All were small businesses. None of our larger customers went out of business - most of them are essential businesses and are exceptionaly busy.
• A number of restaurants.
• We have a large variant when it comes to this. I would say by and large the majority are restaurants.
• We have definitely lost some of the smaller businesses.
• Mostly restaurants.
• A few restaurants have closed. Some other closures driven by market conditions unrelated to COVID. New accounts have more than backfilled those closures.
• Mostly restaurants
• But then we haven't reached everyone yet
• Restaurants mostly
• RESTAURANTS
• Entertainment
• Several bankruptcies among non-restaurant customers and many other restaurants that are now closed and may not reopen
• Restaurants and hospitality industry partners.
• Restaurants, small specialty businesses, movie theatres,
• Not many...yet anyway.

7. In planning for 2021, is there anything you have to plan differently than you normally do?​

• tighter budget, try to be prepared for a situation where employees may have to quarantine
• We are performing assessments of our customers prior to extending large amounts of credit. We have noticed funds are becoming scarce for many customers
• Be willing to negotiate the price on new installations.
• Proactive mindset to business re opening
• We are going to try to set up a drop off location to minimize contact.
• Yes, much more aggressive sales and marketing efforts to build market share while others are getting back on their feet
• less travel, more webinars, maintain precise stocking levels.
• Yes - no hiring for now. Looking to any government assistance we can get to help us through these lean times until we can get all employees vaccinated.
• Yes. We will keep trimming what we purchase from our suppliers while trying to take care of our customers.
• trying to stay cash heavy as possible.
• No. Just look for the opportunities to fill the gaps. This year we sold a lot of PPE.
• Remain flexible and up with all CDC directives
• More initial communication prior to inspections.
• Become more efficient in our processes.
• PPE consistent on every job site, constant PPE training, taking advantage of a 2nd PPP loan and hiring another sales person to boost numbers and get us back onto the road to recovery
• Last minute flexibility when we find out a customer's location has COVID and being able to adjust the schedule.
• Not at this time
• being conservative with budget for 2021 until see long term affect of this pandemic on the economy and health of customer verticals
• Flat Year to 2020
• Marketing efforts will take on a different approach. Sales/customer relationships will be fostered using more technology. WFH has become the norm for many employees, due to COVID, we may have to incorporate that balance or change in the near future.
• Travel is still an issue going into the new year
• just have to wait it out
• Sell more multiple service contracts to make up for lost Covid revenue.
• More so than ever be aware of masks and gloves to eliminate potential exposure.
• Recruit better
• Prepare for the higher gas prices and the clients going out of business due to the restrictions that will return and the higher taxes because of the Harris/Biden presidency.
• Be busier
• loss of revenue due to new president
• No. Just have to try to schedule jobs when they are due to be performed. If jobs are deterred then that impacts other jobs' scheduling in future months.
• Don't think so. Seems to be working so we are going to stay the course.
• closing of restaurants
• more conservative and cautious in spending
• Our scheduling had changed drastically in the 1st and 2nd qtr.'s last year. 2021 will bring challenges this year.
• Going back on closed or out of business account.
• not for now except site access is more difficult
• Scale up internet presence, make bigger effort for new customers, repeat and existing customers are no longer enough.
• Yes what I stated before yes extra planning on a percentage of the workforce potentially being out as well as a percentage of customers postponing or going out of business.
• clearly covid has changed everything
• We need to hire and will need to figure out how to safely train the new staff.
• Training new employees
• Work harder to retain existing customers and implement different sales/marketing strategies to not only make up for the losses but also grow the business.
• Prices are going up
• Taxes, employee compensation/benefits
• yes watch out as cities counties and fire agencies will run out of money see above work with NFPA as we are now running a "fruit stand" with alot of our products run out of date not worn out
• Not really, just adapt and move forward
• Continue an aggressive scheduling effort of calling every customer and making appointments for almost every call. Our office is now capable of working 100% remote as needed and will continue to work only part time on an in person (at the office) schedule
• Longer lead times for product. Staff continuing working remotely which we never had done prior to 2020. Looking at self insuring for health insurance due to continued increased costs.
• Always assessing. Marketing and sales push to gain customers that may have lost service providers due to COVID.
• You tell me what's going to happen in 2021 and I'll plan for it.

8. Is there something that you’d like to see NAFED doing to better support you?​​

• continue to offer online training and support, keep doing quarterly surveys to keep the industry updated on what others are seeing around the country
• Provide updates on quarantine regulations for employees that test positive and for employees that have been exposed but are not Covid positive
• Let’s have the conferences this year safe and sound.
• offer more virtual training with CEUs
• The compensation survey was very helpful but wish there were more participants. Would also be good to see suppliers provide general overall perspectives on their business. Last, Service Trade has hundreds of fire protection service companies and they publish data on LinkedIn (at times) that has provided good insight to how things have progressed or fallen back with the national data they have. Would be good to see this if they are open to sharing with NAFED too
• 1.In person classes / training. 2.Email (short) technical tips/videos to my technicians.
• More topics on the importance of maintaining good stocking levels during the pandemic. Shipping goods in a timely fashion has become more difficult and needing an item urgently is becoming more prevalent as manufacturers are streamlining their processes to carry only enough inventory as required. This means forecasting will become more vital as will maintaining adequate stocking levels for distributors.
• Keep looking for programs that might benefit our industry (grants, PPP loans, PPE Equipment). Help us navigate the Families First Act. (paying employees while waiting for test results?)
• Do not cancel any of the Conferences this year.
• Continue communicating with all members and share any advancements throughout
• NA. You guys have been very informative and helpful.
• Help push for a more stringent regulation process in our industry. The fraudulent dealers need to be forced to either inspect devices correctly or be fined for failure to do so. I was warned early on about the amount of fraud there is in the fire extinguisher industry. I never knew it was this bad. In NC, we have no standard regulations and guidelines to hold companies accountable for their actions. I would also like to see a more stringent training offering around the US we can attend or send technical staff to for constant training on fire extinguishers and emergency lighting. Need more hands on.
• All good right now
• NAFED is a great association for our industry. I can't think of any additional support we need today.
• Keep in touch more so all members will want to renew membership
• offering zoom classes for members at a lower rate, or for free, to keep employees up to date, and keep them working
• more on line training opportunities
• Been pretty happy with NAFED. Would like to go back to in person training. I think in-person training offers more opportunities for questions and learning.
• Local trainings or online classes with ceu's.
• I appreciate the responsiveness of NAFED.
• Promote our industry as a viable occupation.
• Practice pretests for NFPA 10 and others
• see above, work with NFPA on date rules, puts the legal profession in charge as guilty if use good but outdated equipment!
• Adapt and move forward.
• Continue to provide these types of surveys and gather info from across the country so members can see what and how others are doing. Also provide additional online training opportunities for members
• Keep up these surveys
• Keep up the stream of info and looking forward to the Conferences coming back on-line. Thank you