Why Would an 85 Year Old Man Do That?

11/15/2021 (Permalink)

Why would an 85 year old man get on a ladder with a running chainsaw to trim a tree?  Well, that’s and easy answer: because he had branches pulling on his gutters and leafs clogging the downspouts!  And how do we know about this “adventurous” gentleman?  We were called by his neighbor (a customer of ours) who could not convince him to turn off the chainsaw and come down off the ladder.  The neighbor called us in a panic, saying his neighbor was worried about water getting into his house because of damaged downspouts and gutters and was on a ladder trying to take care of the issue by sawing limbs off the tree. It was only after he finished telling us what his neighbor was doing, that he added that the gentleman was 85 years old! 

Although trimming trees isn’t in our line of work, helping people assess a situation when it comes to potential water damage is in our wheelhouse. Only being 1.5 miles away, we sent two staff members over to see if we could assist in any way. When they arrived, the 85 year old gentleman was down off the ladder taking a rest.  They were able to discuss his concerns with water possibly leaking into the house. They walked around the home, then went inside with him and looked at the interior.  Although they saw no indication of water leaking into the home, his tree did need to be trimmed away from the house.  They were able to convince him to let them call someone they knew to come over and finish the trimming for him.  Our professional friend came over that afternoon and finished the work at no charge.

Why did we do this?  Because we are a vested member of our community and helping people (especially when they are 85 years old on a ladder with a chainsaw) is how we build relationships. We did not receive work from our efforts, but we know that this gentleman will call us in the future as will our customer who initially called, and hopefully the many neighbors who learned of his endeavors that day.  But even if we don’t receive future work from our efforts, we know we did the right thing and being a responsible member of a community benefits us all in the long run.

So, if you do ever find yourself needing assistance with water damage, storm damage, mold, fire, etc., why not call us at SERVPRO of Burke-Clifton-Fairfax Station on (703) 250-6300.  We’re here in the community and ready to help.