Meet the Voice of Chem-Dry Franchise Region 2 Representative Peter Overfield

The Northern California and Nevada region is full of long-term owners who gladly share their experiences and suggestions with newer franchisees

Peter Overfield has been with Chem-Dry since the earliest days — 1975, before we were incorporated. And with that much history, he has a lot of good advice to offer when it comes to operating a successful cleaning franchise.

Small wonder that he’s in his third term as Region 2’s Voice of Chem-Dry representative. He enjoys the position, he says, because it allows him to be a conduit between the franchise network in northern California and Nevada to the Chem-Dry corporate offices, and vice-versa.

“It’s really nice to be in contact with the ‘inner circle’ so we can find out what’s being developed at corporate and what might be coming our way,” says Peter, who operates his business in Marin County. “At the same time, I really like getting ideas from the franchise network and being able to voice those feelings and views from our side of things to the corporate team. They are very receptive and are a pleasure to work with, so it’s a good way for me to find out what everyone is thinking, and then share that knowledge.”

Owner communications run the gamut

Peter keeps an open line of communication, and so he receives calls and emails on a regular basis. In the past year he’s seen an uptick as more Chem-Dry cleaning franchise locations have come on board, and as the corporate team has worked to strengthen ties in the field.

“People have a lot of questions, and that can be about anything from financial matters to products and services,” he says. “We’ve always had a voice, which I appreciate, and everyone benefits when all these questions and ideas are taken to the table, listened to and, when necessary, adjustments are made.”

Annual meetings keep everyone in the loop

“All the regions meet in person twice a year, as well as hold conference calls. Those are great strategy sessions,” Peter says, “and they tie in really well to the annual convention.

“We tend to meet just before the convention, and so that gives us things to talk about at that event,” he explains. “And then we meet up about six months later. It’s a great way to sit down with the corporate team, including Dan Tarantin, and look each other in the eye and talk. Dan and his team have been really great about that.”

“Everyone at corporate knows how important the Voice of Chem-Dry is, and so when we have a problem, or a suggestion, it finds its way onto an agenda,” he continues. “That means people are more willing to share their concerns. I also ask people to share a way forward, so that we’re not just getting on the phone, or meeting, to sit around and complain about something. One of the strengths of the Chem-Dry cleaning franchise network is that we are that — a network. For a long time, we were just a bunch of guys out here cleaning carpets and not connecting. Now we share a lot of information, which is better for everybody.”

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