Every year, American Residential Services sets aside a period of time to celebrate ARS through activities and events in each of the service centers throughout the country. This year, ARS celebrated 10 years of serving customers, so the festivities were better than ever.
During this time, the letters ARS have a different meaning:
- Acknowledge our Employees
- Refresh our Surroundings
- Serve our Community
“We wanted a way to show pride in the company by setting aside a week where we can acknowledge our employees and show them how important they are to us. We wanted to refresh our surroundings by taking some time to clean up the warehouse and our environment. And then, probably the most important part of this week, we wanted to give back to our community. We take great pride in every one of these markets we’re in and we want to make sure our employees know and understand why we give back,” said Dave Slott, Chief Operating Officer at ARS.
Acknowledge our Employees
Everything that happens at ARS is made possible because of the employees and their focused involvement in the purpose and mission of ARS. Through the Employee Survey, valued employees are provided an opportunity to voice their opinion. There are also annual Wellness Screenings to provide employees an opportunity to identify their personal wellness measures and earn wellness credits towards reducing medical premium costs for the coming year.
Besides the survey and screening, many service centers and the corporate office acknowledged their employees in their own unique and special ways.
At ARS/Rescue Rooter Colorado, managers cooked breakfast one morning for all the employees, then later on in the week cooked hamburgers and hotdogs. They also held fun contests with prizes and showed their coworkers appreciation by writing notes to each other.
ARS/Rescue Rooter San Diego gave technicians the red carpet treatment all week. Each day, breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks were provided and the service center was decorated in different themes. An Xbox, PS4 PlayStation, refrigerators, Nutri Bullets, cash prizes and more were just some of the prizes that were given to daily raffle winners at the branch.
At the Corporate Offices in Memphis, TN, employees got the opportunity to dress up at work with hat day, jersey day, and wacky dress day. At the end of the week, there was a huge 10 year celebration at Shelby Farms Park. Employees along with their family and friends danced, played games and enjoyed some Memphis BBQ.
Refresh our Surroundings
A clean and clutter-free environment can promote more creativity, higher productivity, and lower stress levels. ARS assets like vehicles, equipment, and uniforms are valued and protected – as these are the resources that allow employees to do their jobs. Branches organized fun activities or contests that involved cleaning and de-cluttering of offices and workstations, desks and cubicles, vehicles and equipment, warehouses and storage areas, kitchens and break rooms, uniforms, etc.
ARS Boston made major upgrades to spruce up their surroundings, including re-painting the parking lot and conference room, landscaping the lawn, re-doing bathrooms, and adding new furniture, new offices, a Tech Lounge, and a new fenced area for scrap metal and more.
Rescue Rooter Seattle’s technicians were in charge of what project they would take on to refresh their surroundings. The techs decided that the Jetters were looking sad and worn out. The machines ran perfectly, but were in serious need of a make-over. Together, they brought the Jetters back to life by stripping the old paint, priming, and re-painting them.
Serve Our Community
ARS believes in Working Hard, and Changing Lives. Serving customers is critical to the success of ARS, and serving their local communities around the country is critical to ensuring a positive well-respected reputation. By giving back to the community, ARS makes a great imprint within that community – and within the service center, employees develop unity and self-esteem.
At the corporate offices, employees participated in a month full of community service opportunities all around Memphis. Employees volunteered their time cleaning up Shelby Farms Park, sorting donations for the International Children’s Heart Foundation, and sprucing up the space while organizing donations at the Carpenter’s House.
Aksarben/ARS was proud to volunteer at “Touch a Truck”, an event sponsoring the Child Saving Institute. At this event, kids, accompanied by their parents or guardian, can explore emergency and military vehicles, semi-trucks, bobcats, race cars, and Aksarben’s very own service vans. The employees and their families also participated in the fun activities at the event. The branch also held a food drive for Heartland Food Bank.
Rescue Rooter/Jack Howk in Portland adopted a family of seven adopted children whose father passed away earlier this year. The family had no means to purchase school supplies and school clothes, so the branch provided everything needed from haircuts to gift cards. Employees plan to continue to help the family throughout the holidays. The branch also held their second annual American Red Cross Blood Drive, raising over 250 pints of blood.
“It’s the one time each year that we really get to recognize our employees and all of their hard work and dedication. Our employees do a lot to serve their communities, because service is what we’re all about,” Don Karnes, Chief Executive Officer at ARS.
