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April State of Business Survey

4/24/2020

We want to thank everyone who participated in our April survey. Here is a summary of the responses with 132 responses logged.
1. Is your business OPEN currently? Is your state/municipality under stay-at-home order?

2. If open, what safety precautions are you taking? (select all that apply)

Some specific responses for "other" include:

Doors to retail area locked.
Daily Temperature Monitoring, Visitor Tracking/Tracing
All inside doors are open
Staggering office people. Encouraging field technicians to self dispatch from their homes, and come to the shop less frequently. Some staggering of shop techs.
spacing scheduling of jobs to low peak hours
Face covering, gloves and sanitizers are supplied to all field technicians for use at specific facilities (as required)
Health screening questionaire prior to each job (temperautre check etc...)
Calling politicians to get on board
Curbside pickup/delivery for store front
Sanitizing tools, keeping gloves, sanitizer, disinfectant on trucks
Masks if Customer requires
employees must report temperature prior to heading to office or jobsite
Open part time. Mostly for emergencies and customers that have to have service.
Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer in trucks, tech required to sanitize everything they touch in location as well as tools before putting back on trucks currently not sending any service techs out, limited office/shop staff only
Safety glasses
Limit customer's access

3. Are you able to continue allowing your admin/office staff to work remotely

4. Have you had to lay off anyone or expect to soon?

5. Are your customers open and willing to have service done?

6. Have you, your employees, or any family been sick with COVID-19?

Additional comments:

I've been the only one sick, the rest of the staff is currently healthy
Only one or two out of 230.
I was just brought into a serum test, thoughts were I had it in January. Rutgers U w/ RWJ St Barnabis is studying and preparing serum antibodies
2
So far, no problems. Because we are a small company, we might have to shut down if someone tests positive.
quarantining for 14 days would be a big impact for our business; trying to come up with creative ideas for this
We have one client (nursing home) that has an epidemic in their facility.
Possibly one employee. Not correct status to get tested. Quarantined by doctor for 1 week our 3 days after no fever witch ever is longer period of time.
Purchased and gave each employee/relative vitamin C to take as an additive. 3-4000 mg per day to boost immune system and it is effective in combating viruses. (Google it.)
a few refuse to work because of Covid 19
I may have been at the end of February, won't know until a antibody test is available.

7. Have you been able to apply for any of the relief bill financial assistance?

Comments from those who said "No":

We were advised to wait before applying for a PPP loan since the money must be used for payroll. Since there was no way of knowing when the restrictions would be lifted in NJ, it made more sense to wait so that the funds could be used to pay our EES at a time when they could actually generate income. At this point, we have no idea what to do other than wait and pray.
Tried to apply for SBA PPP but they closed up applications because they ran out of money already. Waiting to apply.
After jumping through multiple hoops for assistance the entire form was changed so new information has to be filled out and submitted
Did not choose to apply.
Not yet Canada has not come up with the application yet
I'm working on a 3 month going forward and I will call customer to see if they are opened and if they will allow me to conduct the service. Some of my accounts I know are closed. I will apply a hold on until they reopened. The reason that I have decided to review my customers 3 months at a time it will not create a backlog when things get back to normal

Comments from those who said "Yes, SBA PPP":

No money yet
not approved in time to receive any funds in the first funding of the program
Program out of money already, bigger bank customers get served first. Oh well there is no such thing as a free lunch. It's our 101st year in business we will move forward.
Loan was approved today
Just notified of approval for loan.
although we have been approved for the PPPL there is uncertainty there will be any money left since a small business is defined as 500 people. That to me is a large company who has recourses available to get the paperwork done. A small company should be defined as 25 employee or less. I don't have an accounting office with several people solely dedicated to that purpose. My office manager does all that and much more. The entire thing is geared to companies that have much deeper pockets that a truly small "mom and pop" operation
No money has come in yet...
as of today no answer
The system was very fast. Had money for both Companies within 10 days.
no answer yet
not moving quick enough
We applied 10 days ago and cannot get an update from the bank on our status of the loan
Haven't seen the $$ yet...hopefully the process will work.
Work with your banker to make sure you complete the document completely and correctly. Follow up frequently to make sure the process is moving forward.
We have applied, but do not know if we will get it at this time.
Haven't heard anything back on the PPP
submitted 4/7/20, just had follow-up from the bank today (clarifications & a few other questions) so I'm not sure the money will be available by the time we get approval . . .
Banks are deferring interest on loans or credit card balance for qualified customers.
Very Slow! Multiple applications completed.
DON'T QUALIFY NOT LARGE ENOUGH FOR ASSISTANCE SO MUCH FOR SMALL BUSINESS HELP
Applied at the earliest possible time and have not yet heard if the application has been approved.
supposed to sign PPP today 4-15-20
Received the loan funds on 4/15/2020. Went through a smaller local banker versus a big bank.
I've been approved for the PPP but it hasn't been funded as of today. I've been told within 10 days.
Note: we have applied but have not received any funds as of April 15, 2020.
Small banks helpful---large banks not so helpful

Comments from those who said "Yes, other assistance":

Canadian loan without payment and interest for 2 years -Canadian sales tax deferral
Your survey is not adapted for Canadian Business

8. Do you have any advice for other fire equipment distributors on things you've been able to do or make work during this crisis?

Be flexible, change your business to adapt to the changed market place.
Reduced Work Hours. Parking Vehicles at Office to Reduce Vehicle Expenses
COD for emergencies, calls or 1st time customers
Restaurants are either closed, or have limited operations. We are doing most of our restaurant service work at a 20% discount (essentially cutting out our profit margin). We view this as is an opportunity to strengthen personal relationships with clients, and build more customer loyalty. Additionally, we are giving all our staff hazard duty bonus pay. A few hundred dollars each per month.
Nope, we're flying by the seat of our pants
Your people are your most valuable asset to your business, not the almighty Dollar. So protect them.
We are just doing busy work and any calls that come in. The shop area has never been cleaner !!!!
USE YOUR HEAD AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO OPERATE, UTILIZING THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE. WE ARE CURRENTLY CROSS TRAINING DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES
Develop a letter stressing the importance of allowing company to come in and continue inspection work to avoid the crush of work that will occur when America re-opens. Send to all "not at this time" customers.
Sending out letters on company letterhead advising customers that per state requirements life safety inspections must continue (per NFPA). Advising customers to check their insurance and fire companies insurance to see if coverage is voided if required inspections are not done( Force Majeure claus)
Call ahead to see what rules are in place so you are ready when you get to location.
At first we took a very proactive approach and basically reduced business operations to a skeleton crew and only responded to emergency calls. over the next two weeks it appeared many of our customers were still open and we decided to start actively scheduling service appointments. Due to our efforts, we were able to bring 70% of our employees back to work. We provided PPE for our techs and provided procedures to implement same.
We have found that if we go by and they are open they will either let one person in or set extinguishers outside the door
survive
Just Know that Amerex is open. Stay safe and healthy.
Meet daily with your leadership team to discuss cash flow, revenue and Aging AR. Make plans for future possibilities of layoffs, but work daily and diligently to keep staff employed. Keep channels of communication with entire team open daily
communication is key throughout
Go slow, do a lot of cleaning/ sanitizing, push for the 6 foot distancing between employees. We are giving out this week, and for 4 more weeks a $100.00 essential work bonus for those that work 40 hours.
Heavy focus on scheduling and then pre-checking the same day to confirm. Be much more sensitive to payment/AR (taking more credit cards as needed) and make sure your people agree they are safe (don't want them to think you are putting them in harms way)
we are using this time to get lots of school work done and about 50% of our national account work is still open and wanting to stay current on their inspections.
keep working
Call your local politicians and voice your concern
We are carefully choosing the businesses that we are allowing our technicians to enter for service. No on site residential.
Luckily we have multiple food truck builders that we install systems and service. To my fellow colleagues I say never in my lifetime would I have predicted something that would slow our industry down. As a small company I've adapted by offering services and billing the customer rather then collecting right away. Its better to have future funds coming when this epidemic is gone.
Take advantage of NAFED’s free on-line training. Keep in touch with customers to let them know you are working if they need you.
Call and contact customers to work with them to schedule work around their schedules
follow government rules
Business has dropped off some this month. We are attacking some projects like organization, getting caught up on serviced extinguishers for swaps and re-evaluating our cleaning program for office, shop and vehicles.
Embrace technology and take advantage of online training from those that provide it.
I feel like I should be positive - at least we are able to work. Wondering if there will be a torrent of work when restrictions are lifted and how many of our clients will make it through this with us. Business will definitely change!
Oregon Work Force program. This will supplement working techs who get hours cut due to work loss. Other states probably have a similar program.
Some of the customers who do not want us in there businesses have been willing to gather there Fire Extinguishers and set them outside for us to maintenance.
Get caught up on all maintenance of vehicles and equipment. Clean and organize your shops and stores. Be prepared to get busy again when businesses start reopening.
We sure have time to clean up the shop. Built a new dry chemical room painting all the equipment. Writing up Procedures for every piece of equipment.
We have taken the pandemic very serious and are listening to the experts.
sanitize all equipment as you work, sanitize extinguishers as you inspect, as good customer service overlooked by clients
CLEAN SHOP AND ALL SERVICE VEHICLES
Ask customers to set their fire extinguishers outside for your tech if it helps with distancing. Focus on larger accounts to help backfill work. (manufacturing etc)
file for the PPP if applicable. practice CDC guidelines to stay healthy
Not really, just common sense stuff. Be safe.
We are going to have a big cook out as soon as the ban is lifted. As a small family owned company we are disconnected.
Schools and government buildings are closed but we have had luck getting techs in these places to service while they are empty.
We have offered to do repairs during non-business hours to minimze exposure to residents and staff at nursing homes. It has worked well.
we have been contacting schools systems and government entities that we work with to get some projects done, but was in the works somewhat so just happened at the right time for us
Patience!!
been completing some projects around the office and shop that were put off for some time
Paycheck Protection Loan took a lot of pressure off of our company. Received funding and it will let us work through any ups and downs over the coming 2 months.
I've been having customers leave portables outside and calling them when I finish to take payment and let them know they're ready.
Stay in touch with your customers.
Last man standing wins
We have called all customers that have service due this month to request a time for the inspection. Additionally we have signed up techs for needed training and re certification classes.
Haven't done so yet, but if things slow down any more, I'll be reaching ahead on the schedule in an attempt to get customers to allow service before the month in which they come due.

9. Is there any additional information you need at this time?

What is NAFED recommending for the long haul?
How many got their PPP money on the first draft.
Where to get sanitizer and masks for our employees to be able to keep doing work where required. Most suppliers are OUT and don't know where they can get it. We've had no problems finding disposalbe gloves.
No ... but hats off to NAFED for keeping this stream of communication going. Thank you!
IN Michigan customers that are still working don't want any routine scheduled inspections etc done during this pandemic. Emergency response only, suppression discharge
Strategies for what to do once the SBA loan has been approved. In order to get most of loan forgiven, distributors must be prepared to utilize the funds immediately after receiving funding. Eight weeks goes by quickly so the plan needs to be in place before the money gets there.
Sound judgement and common sense need to be in place when contacting customers to schedule service. We are shying away from facilities that have large populations such as nursing or group homes. Our company made a decision to switch from survival mode back to actively promoting our business and, more importantly, maintaining our customers fire protection systems in accordance to the codes.
Who has actually revived the PPP or Eidl loans from the SBA that have applied.
Michigan needs to get on the same page. BFS says no inspections but the Child Care side says yes and no one is willing to put anything in writing
What programs are available
prayers, hoping people are taking this serious and following the CDC guidelines, hoping to make the right decisions on when to have service techs back out on routes, continue to survey the members to keep us updated on changes in the industry
a very clear description of how that PPP thing is to be utilized other than the instruction sheet everyone and their brother seems to send. Big question is, to get it forgiven, do we just have to hire folks back when over or do we have to be paying everyone with that money during so that they can not be paid for by unemployment?
Where can I get masks, gloves and sanitizer?

NFPA Conference Canceled

4/17/2020

The largest industry conference, the National Fire Protection Association's Conference & Expo set for June 15-18 in Orlando has officially been canceled.

Further information directly from the NFPA can be found here.

State of Business Survey Results

4/3/2020

We want to thank everyone who participated in our survey. Here is a summary of the results.

2. If open, what safety precautions are you taking? What changes to employee habits?

*CDC guidelines are likely inclusive of some of the other responses.
*PPE could be inclusive of gloves and masks.

Some specific responses include:

We are sanitizing several times a day wiping down all computers, phones, tablets, doors, work stations, vehicles. Washing hands frequently and avoiding medical facilities
Calling ahead to all customers to see if open and taking any precautions in dealing with any inspections to be performed.
No in face meetings, we are using Microsoft teams to communicate.
Walk-in is closed, customers not to touch iPads for invoices, made all employees aware of safeguards
NONE
updated sanitation, changes to front counter showroom polices and PPE including tyvek suits if needed
Scheduling service for when fewest number of people will be around or no one around to minimize contact. Techs can cancel appointment if they feel site is not taking proper precautions.
twice a week text reminders on hygiene and CDC recommendations, Covid-19 memo with instructions following CDC guidelines
Curbside service for in shop - customers wait in vehicle for services to be completed & pay by phone
Very thorough COVID-19 policies. Too many to list. Pandemic Committee formed and meets everyday. (manufacturer)
Asking techs to remove clothes when home and put them in the washing machine and take a shower before interacting with family. Issuing Ascorbic acid to all who want it to take 2-3X day.
Material pickups are call ahead and leave on the dock.

3.

*Many respondents said they are keeping the schedule full by reducing hours and/or their workforce.
*Many are also breaking out their rainy day projects to keep busy.

Further Comments:

So far, our public sector accounts, (schools, universities, government offices, etc.) work is business as usual. Our industrial accounts are insisting we perform our services. Our restaurant customers consider this a good time to do service and maintenance, and some updating. Third-party reporting will help us to keep out service schedules on-time. And we have a higher than average number of installations on the calendar which appear to be moving forward.
We have a small shop. My one tech is taking voluntary time off when shop work is done. He is very unwilling to go out and service customers and I won't force him
thinking out side the box with how we interact with our customers. They set the extinguishers outside, we do them, wipe them down and they come out and get them after we are gone.
New installations. Service is very hard to schedule and or get paid.
Lots of phone calls to schedule, concentrating on multi family living, manufacturing and fast food.
Serving essential critical industries. Ensuring a clear message that life safety and fire protection are critical to the welfare of the public and community
We have been moving customers around so that if any cancel or postpone due to COVID 19 we fill the days with the backlog / overflow or new business we gain from promotions to help our city / province. We are contacting NEW customers to offer specials to help them during this time and for the rest of the year as they recover
We service grocery stores, auto repair shops and farms. So far so good but if we need we can pull such customers from future months to sustain service while giving those customers a discount for early service.
Focusing on larger factories/businesses not affected by the shutdowns. Pushing future jobs ahead if possible.
So far we have been able to schedule enough accounts to keep techs busy, focusing on institutions and businesses that need compliance or that are long-standing and we trust them to pay so extend terms to 90 days. Some people are using Paid Time Off days to take a break. Senior tech working on our training outline.
Keeping busy one day at a time - by looking for all repairs and calling all customers ahead of time. We are not billing what we normally would be we are getting by with enough to cover payroll
doing national account work and some local businesses that will let them in to do the work. we are still doing lots of work with essential businesses as designated by the government
pre calls to arrange special times, and procedures to ensure our techs are not exposed. We are also in equipment, and apparatus business so there is plenty to keep busy, and large enough facilities that with split shifts people can maintain cdc discipline.
We have been defined as "essential" life safety provider for F/A and Sprinklers and Backflows.
We are front loading all the work that supports essential businesses that are open (i.e. gas stations) to the front of the month.
Asking facilities permission to perform scheduled inspections and maintenance when they're shut down and facilities are less congested with personnel.
Not super busy but busy enough. For now. Mostly pre-scheduled jobs at other essential facilities. Changing the schedule. Next week we go to a 32 hour work week to account for the slow down.
Mixed results. Seems to change day to day. Small businesses and restaurants are the hardest hit and are deferring service.
We would normally be busier but we are running at about 70% of our normal volume. If we can hold that we will get through this OK.
So far, it is getting more difficult with each day. Not that we don't have the work, just can't enter so many of the facilities
very difficult to get any work scheduled. most restaurants are closed. some businesses are not accepting outside vendors.

Responses for "other":

Possibly if work slows down to a point of not best to stay open.
Not yet. That will be a week by week call. We are doing everything we can to keep everyone working.
We choose to temporarily lay off some admin staff and absorb in other roles to prep for a slower April possibly- we expect them all to be called back ASAP
We had one shop tech working 24 hours while going to school. Laid off due to drop in shop volume and need to keep full time staff working.
customers denying services is causing some to not work all day, and we are reducing some of the techs hours
If this continues for very long, yes.
Temporary furlough for many, but now adding back. Some will remain on furlough for the foreseeable future.
lay offs and furloughs on a week by week basis
Part time tech went on lay off, admin asst and sales person as well
Full pay for 3 weeks. Requiring home study NICET sample tests etc.
Reduced hours by 8 hours per week
We have held off on laying off until the Government decides what they are doing for small businesses. The owners will not be paid if necessary to pay our employees
only person not working was indirectly affected in that he didn't have child care and is the sole guardian
Soon

Remote services people are using:

Log me in. (Set up through our IT company that manages our computers) Call forward work phones to cell phones.
We are using Microsoft Teams and Zoom
Forwarding phones from office to cell phone
Cisco Meraki
SharePoint, Teams, Planner - all Microsoft products
Team viewer
Remote PC, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, various SaaS
VPN login for office personnel, and call fowarding
Myself and office manager can login to office computers and quick books
teramind on all remote computers for monitoring, servicetrade for operations, gmail for communications
We have remote log-in to our computers. Able to do billing, quotes, and database updates remotely.
Service Trade, ADP
Teams, O365
MS Teams and Office365, Remote Desktop and VPN
Video conferencing. Remote desktop services for access to internal applications.
"go to" meeting software for all managers communications among our 7 facilities.
Prefer working at the shop
service software is cloud based work from anywhere. Forward phones to where people are working.
some of our staff can work remotely they have been set up through our IT Company. We use Zoom for meetings.
Go-To meeting online conferencing and granting access to our terminal server environment.
firepro365, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams VOIP phones have a online system for desk phones to be used. VPN Cloud based software

Additional comments:

Getting fewer customers every week
Official statements from NAFED, NFPA, and local AHJs have helped.
We have a 2 man force. If I can bring in work, my employee can process it. Fortunately, he is single with little debt. I can see that the revenue stream will be abreviated this month.
About 4 of 60 construction sites shut down. Some service customers closed, but most willing to utilize this time with vacant buildings for service.
We are still doing work for some public works jobs, healthcare, schools that maintenance dept remain open and want us to perform service.
it is day to day, hard to get work scheduled
In our area we feel 30% of the customers will allow work performed in their facility. Many of our customers are not allowing contractors in their facility -period
State of Michigan is shut down for all non-essential businesses.
Yes but very few.
Case-by-case. Some that you'd expect to keep us away allow us to service their location, while other very low risk attempt to postpone services
We are not at the 50% mark but did have a noticeable amount choose to move / postpone to next month or "pending" what happens
less and less as the days go by
Most likely to say 'no' are small, locally-owned restaurants that are completely closed.
Most are either not open or don't want to pay for it right now because work is slow for them too.
recently those who have offices open are now saying they are concerned about cashflow and want to push dates out past July
Only essential businesses. A lot of business are shutdown.
Need to call and contact every customer to ensure they are open and will allow technicians into their facility
Postponing inspections and recheduling jobs with high occupant load & children. Doing some inspections mostly in buildings that have been closed. Concentrating on defielciency service work and emergency work and responding to calls where customers want work performed.
We are shocked that in the hot spot NY area that we are. Companies still want services provided.
higher percentage of system inspections than portable inspections
Down ~10-15%
Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties are the closest to us and have went to 'stay at home' orders. This drastically reduced the amount of work that could be done.
We do not want our techs to be exposed to the virus, so we are choosing not to send them out. We also are concerned if we do service and they go out of business or can't afford to pay us.
Most customers are doing take out and drive through business, it's not paying the overhead not enough volume.
"Annual" clients and restaurants are tough right now...but we do a lot of "monthly" clients including hospitals, defense contractors, electronics manufacturing which are all open and requiring that services can continue.
Restaurants are closed but Grocery store chains we are doing as well as other such hotels. hospitals etc.
Have had a few where we are not allowed in. These have been mainly food processors.
All scheduled PMs have canceled
Most restaurants are closed down, bank lobbies closed, doctors offices, etc. closed. I expect that when they open back up hopefully by May, we will be quite busy.
Restaurants seem to be the bigger challenge, others are mainly open and some have shut down but still some letting us in.

7. Is there anything NAFED can do for you at this time?

I appreciate what NAFED is doing. Keep communicating, and keeping our industry informed.
Keep messaging that our work is "essential" and "critical".
NAFED has done a good job keeping it's members in the loop. Keep up the good work, it's reassuring having an informational pipeline
Continue has you have been and keep us up on all things Corona...Maybe you could help with understanding the "bail out" as it pertains to business loans forgiven for payroll expenses etc. Most small company's do not have one to help them so they muddle through. It would be nice to not have to muddle through!
I appreciate the memos regarding fire protection is an essential business and must remain open. Keep them coming. We've passed the memo along to our techs in case they are questioned...
Yes, encourage all members to look out for each other. Family, friends, employees, neighbors, and the elderly are our biggest assets. PROTECT YOU ASSETS
send cash
LOL, I wish
NAFED IS DOING A GREAT JOB
Promote that fire safety is still essential even when a virus is affecting the community. Fires can still happen and equipment needs to continued to be mantained.
Pray and keep keep information coming. Thank You!
Letter to CISA about fire and life safety being a necessity to support Essential Critical Industries. Open letter to community why our services are critical (e.g. NFPA Guidance for Maintaining Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems Regardless of Occupancy Status)
You have been excellent. Your email re: NFPA's position on essential services has helped a lot to educate our staff and customers. While our AHJ is stating it can be delayed (for annual inspections) this has been an excellent resources to refer to. Sprouse is a huge supporter of NAFED and while not many Canadian Companies attend each year, we commit to being there every year that we can. Thank you for all you do!
pray for our industry during this time, it will not come out of this event looking the same!
Advocate for the government to support and fund the small businesses who are our customers so they are still viable when they are allowed to open again. Also to increase production of safety gear so that we can keep our staff protected.
Keep us posted on national trends
Help interpret what the government is doing to help and how to take advantage. Keep communicating that our business is essential.
Keep providing information on how the industry is getting on and what others are doing to keep their business open and productive.
Perhaps a "Notice to Businesses" paper that fire protection companies could share with customers stating that fire codes, insurance, OSHA, and other groups have not relaxed requirements due to the coronavirus or state shut downs. It is essential that life safety equipment be properly maintained at all times...
Yes - share how other FEDs are handling their work and lack of workforce - thanks!
nothing in particular right now. you have sent out some good information to the membership.
No thank you! Wishing all good health!
Just wish us well and to stay healthy!
Be well...wash you hands...practice social distancing
No, the notice you sent out was great we incorporated it into a memo for the State to prove we were an essential business. The owners are manning the phones this week and slowly bringing people back next week as long as they are healthy!
So far NAFED has been great with all the information provided.
Probably not. This will probably be the death knell for this small company after 30 years.
I don’t know. Any suggestions are welcome.
Find a cure for the virus! Just kidding. However, keeping up with the latest news like you have been sending is helpful.
Keep updating with any/all information regarding our industry and what small business employers can do.
Nothing short of a cure or vaccine, but thank you.

April State of Business Survey

NFPA Conference Canceled

State of Business Survey Results

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