Join the Herd: We're Hiring an Estimator!

Job Opening!

Buffalo Restoration Estimator/ Sales Position
Open Until Filled
Full time, 40 Hours/ Week

Job Description
Qualifications: Experience in estimating restorative construction. Hands-on knowledge of construction practices. Solid sales skills or experience. Budgeting skills and experience. Ability to manage multiple projects, personnel management experience, excellent communication and problem solving skills, organizational skills. Also, must have some knowledge or be able to develop expertise in insurance claims handling processes and familiarity with Xactimate or similar software programs.

Duties: Will scope and develop potential new projects; estimate cost of jobs for potential customers; maintain customer accounts & follow up with customers previously contacted; close all sales and meet sale goals; obtain bids from subcontractors; develop budgets and allowances; prepare contracts and payment terms; follow through & review contracts; work with insurance adjusters and project managers to ensure completion and success of projects; be available to help with production when needed; maintain, complete, submit preparations and paperwork for invoices, orders, supplements and audits; maintain complete and timely updates of job-mangement software; perform other tasks as assigned; report to Sales Manager.

Hours: M-F 8-5. On call rotation after trained up for emergency services.

Wage: Annual $40,000.00-$50,000.00. Benefits available after the first 90 days.


Referral Instructions
Please apply Buffalo Restoration Inc in person or e-mail resume to Mr. Phil Blodgett
Contact Direct:555 MANLEY ROAD,BOZEMAN,MT 59715
Email: pblodgett@buffalorestoration.com

Don't Let Your Christmas Tree be Kindling

Christmas is the most joyous time of year. But your beautiful Christmas tree can be a source of disaster. A fire during the holidays is certainly more of a headache than the in-laws. Be safe, save the presents, and your sanity.

Did you know that fire departments respond to an average of 230 home fires caused by Christmas trees per year?

Christmas tree fires aren't incredibly common but when they occur, they can be very serious.

One of every three home Christmas tree fires is caused by electrical problems with lights.

One out of every six tree fires is caused by a heat source being too close to the tree.

Yikes.

Here are some tips from the Buffalo herd:

• When picking a tree, choose one that has fresh green needles that don’t fall off the branch when touched.
• Before placing your tree in the stand, cut 2 inches from the base of the trunk.
• Make sure the tree is far away from any heat source including a fireplace, candles, radiators, or lights.
• Make sure the tree doesn't block an exit.
• Water your tree daily. See the video below for an example of how a dry tree burns versus a tree that has been water properly.

• When you’re adding decorations and lights, make sure you replace any worn or broken bulb connections. Don’t connect more than three strands of lights together.
•  Never use actual lit candles on the tree.
• Always remember to turn off the lights on the tree before leaving the house

Have a safe and happy holiday season from your friends at Buffalo Restoration!

How to Tell If Your Hotel Room is REALLY Clean

You've heard the horror stories. And the Bozeman Daily Chronicle just ran a disturbing report of a local hotel's lack of cleanliness and disrepair. So whether you have family in town or you're staying in a hotel away from home, make sure you know what to look for in a clean hotel room. If it isn't clean to your standards, call the front desk for a re-clean. You're entitled to a comfortable and clean space, no matter how many people have stayed there before you.

Here are some things to check before you get comfy:

• The fancy covers and pillows on top of the beds don't get washed every day so just sacrifice the pretty bed and toss them to the side for your stay

• Is the comforter in a duvet cover that is washed every day or is it a dark, stain-covering bed spread? Opt for the white duvet covers, toss the bed spread and use a blanket.

• Everyone's worst nightmare, bed bugs.  Rip off all the layers of sheets on the bed and look at the top and bottom edges of the mattress. If you see brown or red spots, you've got a problem. 

• Housecleaning will wash the sheets and vacuum, but they may miss what we call "points of contact" which include commonly touched items such as remote controls, phones, handles, door knobs, light switches etc. Make sure they look clean, and if you can, take a Lysol wipe and do a second round. Being extra careful can't hurt.

• Furniture obviously can't be cleaned daily so only use furniture that looks very clean.

• Most rooms are stocked with glasses for water. If they aren't individually wrapped to show that they have been cleaned, do a quick rinse before using as they may have accumulated dust.

• The bathrooms are important. Make sure the floor is free of debris. The amenities are stocked (you should never see items that have been used before). The toilet is scrubbed. And the shower (bottom and walls) are spot free.

• And lastly, if you have issues, make sure to call the front desk. They'll fix it. And if the room is really clean, give the cleaning staff a tip. They work hard, and you will probably never know the messes they've had to deal with.

Happy, safe, and CLEAN holiday travels to all from the Buffalo Herd. 

Don't Drink and Drive this Holiday Season

Buffalo wants you to stay safe this Holiday season.

So we'd like you to know about Operation Tipsy Tow offered by AAA. 

They'll tow your car and give you a free ride home (within city limits of Belgrade and Bozeman and a tow up to 10 miles). Tipsy Tow is available Dec. 14-Jan. 1. Put this number in your phone!

Just call 1-800-222-4357.

Thanks to AAA for providing this important service for our community!

Did you know our contents cleaning equipment uses sound waves?

Did you know Jay Leno uses the same machine that we do to clean his garage tools and car parts? Check out our cool Omegasonics Ultrasonic technology which uses sound waves to remove dirt, soot, rust, and all sorts of particles from contents. We can take the soot covered belongings from a fire or smoke damage and make them look like new again, without any harmful chemicals and solvents.  We're saving our customers money by speeding up the cleaning process and restoring items that would have been unsalvageable and replaced.

Want to visit? We're always open for a tour at our new facility, 555 Manley Rd. in Bozeman, MT! We're restoration geeks and we love to show off our state of the art equipment.

Disaster Preparedness for Your Business

Have you ever thought about what would happen to your business in the event of a fire? 20-40% of businesses don't reopen after they experience a loss. 

Just imagine...

Who will contact customers? Are your contacts and files backed up off site and where?

Are you a tenant? What does your insurance cover? Do you have Business Interruption Coverage?

If you could not access your office for days or even months, would you close temporarily? Move business elsewhere? How would you continue your operations?

Do you have an evacuation plan? Are your employees aware of it?

These questions may scare you. But knowing the answers could be the difference between going out of business or saving your business after a disaster. 

Don't worry! Buffalo has a simple, easy to use, disaster planning worksheet available for free for businesses in our community. 

• The worksheet compiles important contact information for the business including preferred plumber, landlord, insurance provider, electrician, IT support etc. Having this "important contacts" information in one place is incredibly helpful in streamlining the response to a disaster.

• The worksheet also encourages businesses to include a sketch of their facility. The sketch can identify water shut off valves, hazardous materials such as propane, electrical boxes, critical areas, exits etc. This sketch is good to have so that you can help emergency and restoration personnel navigate the building.

• And lastly, the worksheet has businesses answer a number of questions about their operations, insurance coverage, communications chain, evacuation process and more so that the business has a plan in place.

Tip: Buffalo suggests keeping a copy of this worksheet in a central location in the business. Tell employees where it is kept and encourage them to read through it so they know where to access important emergency information if they are the one needing to make the calls. We also suggest businesses keep a copy of this worksheet off site, or even at Buffalo Restoration, so that it is accessible if the internal copy has been compromised. Buffalo can use this information to respond to the emergency quickly.

For your copy of the Buffalo Restoration Disaster Preparedness Worksheet, email eporth@buffalorestoration.com or call 406-586-8109.

Did You Know? Turkey Facts!

With Thanksgiving approaching, we decided to help you get to know the bird a little bit better. Thanks to FRSTeam for their inspiration!

• The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.

• The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog. 

• A 15 pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat

• The five most popular ways to serve a leftover turkey is as a sandwich, in stew, chili or soup, casseroles, and as a burger.

• Turkey has more protein than chicken or beef

• Turkeys will have 3,500 feathers at maturity

• Male turkeys gobble. Hens do not. They make a clucking noise.

• Commercially raised turkeys cannot fly

• Turkeys have heart attacks. The United States Air Force was doing test runs and breaking the sounds barrier. Nearby turkeys dropped dead with heart attacks.

• A large group of turkeys is called a flock

• Turkeys have poor night vision

• It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30 pound tom turkey

• A 16-week-old turkey is called a fryer. A fire to seven month old turkey is called a young roaster

• At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward".

• Some turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour on ground

Happy Thanksgiving from the Buffalo Herd!