Roof Leak Call Response

by Jeff Evans, RRC

Building owners with multiple sites often have to decide how to deal with routine and emergency facility issues, like roof leaks. Retail facility managers, in particular, have to provide some type of service to their stores in response to roof leaks. Some provide an inhouse call center to handle chasing down a repair contractor. Others may contract with a third party for this service.

Benchmark has provided a leak response service for several clients over the years, through a toll-free leak response service. We currently provide this service for a national retailer that covers 544 stores.  Initially, we conducted roof surveys on all stores, whether they were company-owned or leased locations. Subsequent roof survey reports identified each roof's makeup, condition, history and repair/replacement needs.

Our roof leak response team handles calls approximately 18 hours per day, 365 days per year. When a store has a roof leak, the store contacts our office with the store location, locations of leaks, and telephone number. We attempt to determine over the phone if the leak is a roof leak, (if the sun is shining, and it hasn't rained, the problem may be HVAC related).  

If the leak is roof related, we enter the information into our ROOFMAN database leak tracking system.  Depending on the store, we might dispatch the call in a number of ways:
l Call the property management firm
l Call the roofing manufacturer, if the roof is under warranty
l Call a roofing contractor, if company owned and not under warranty 
l Call a roofing contractor, regardless of warranty or ownership status, to assist in interior 
    protection,  cleanup, or ceiling tile removal

Each telephone call is noted in the database, and a tickler is established to prompt a follow-up call. Leaks that are repaired are tracked to see if the repair is successful, then the leak is "closed". Contractor invoices are checked against work completed, and then paid.

Benchmark also subscribes to a web-based service that allows the owner to follow our leak response activity: what leaks are reported, which calls are open and how long each call is open. We sync our ROOFMANÓ leak data with the website once per day, so the information is always current.