Restoration contractors interview questions

Tell me about a relationship with an insurance carrier, third-party administrator or large referral source that you built or saved. What did it take?

Behavioral · Insurer and partner relationships

Strong answer

Names the partner and the problem, describes their own actions such as meeting program guidelines or fixing response times and file quality, and gives the result. Mentions tradeoffs like program fees or price rules.

Red flags

Talks about relationships in general, or credits dinners and golf instead of performance.

A national program offers a big jump in water-loss volume, but it sets your prices and requires response times your crews already struggle to meet. How do you decide?

Situational · Program work decisions

Strong answer

Models margin at program pricing, checks crew and equipment capacity, weighs the risk of relying on one payer, involves operations leaders, and sets conditions or a walk-away point before agreeing.

Red flags

Takes all volume because growth is good, or turns it down without running numbers.

A hard freeze hits a city two hours away and your phones light up from there, while local customers still need you. What do you decide in the first day?

Situational · Leading through a catastrophe

Strong answer

Protects local commitments first, decides how many crews and how much equipment can travel, checks licensing, lodging and payment risk in the new area, names a leader there, and sets a point to stop.

Red flags

Sends everyone and leaves local customers waiting, or ignores licensing and cash flow.

Tell me about a time you removed a senior leader who was well liked but hurting results or quality. How did you handle it?

Behavioral · Hard people decisions

Strong answer

Set clear expectations, gathered evidence, gave a fair chance to improve, decided in time, and planned how to tell the team and protect customers during the change.

Red flags

Waited a year hoping it would fix itself, or acted suddenly with no record.

Tell me about a time a customer complaint, bad review or claim dispute threatened your company's name. What did you personally do?

Behavioral · Protecting reputation

Strong answer

Got the facts, contacted the customer directly, fixed what was the company's fault, changed a process, and kept any public reply short and honest.

Red flags

Blamed the customer or adjuster, or argued online.

Walk me through the numbers you check each week to know whether a restoration company is healthy, and why each one matters.

Technical · Reading the business

Strong answer

Names cash and receivables aging by carrier, gross margin by job type such as mitigation versus rebuild, time from estimate to approval, backlog and labor use, and says what each warns about.

Red flags

Watches revenue only, or lists numbers without saying how they act on them.

You learn one branch tears out drywall and ceilings in older buildings without testing for asbestos first. What do you do this week, and over the next month?

Situational · Regulatory compliance

Strong answer

Stops the practice now, sets asbestos testing and lead-safe work rules that meet federal, state and local requirements, works out with counsel which past jobs may be affected, trains crews, and adds a file check.

Red flags

Sends a reminder email, or blames the branch manager without changing the process.

Walk me through how you would audit a water mitigation job file, from the first call to equipment pickup.

Technical · Auditing job quality

Strong answer

Checks response time, signed authorization, photos, water category and class, the moisture map, daily readings that show progress, equipment counts that match days billed, and that the drying goal was met before pickup.

Red flags

Checks that the invoice was paid and the customer didn't complain.

A citywide freeze brings in three times your normal water losses in two days. Walk me through how you run operations that week.

Situational · Running a surge

Strong answer

Triages by severity and water category, pauses non-urgent rebuild work, brings in trained subcontractors or rental equipment, holds daily leadership huddles, protects documentation standards and watches crew fatigue.

Red flags

Takes every call with no triage, or lets documentation slide until the rush ends.

Tell me about a process you changed that made field operations faster without hurting quality. How did you measure it?

Behavioral · Improving field processes

Strong answer

Names the bottleneck, the data used to find it, the change, how crews were brought along, and before-and-after numbers.

Red flags

Says they improved efficiency with no measure or example.

Tell me about a time two departments, such as mitigation and rebuild, blamed each other for a delay. How did you resolve it?

Behavioral · Fixing handoffs between departments

Strong answer

Brought both sides together with facts, found the gap in the handoff, set a clear rule for who owns each step, and followed up to see it hold.

Red flags

Picked a side without facts, or let the managers sort it out alone.

Tell me about a time you kept field crews working long stretches during a busy season without burning them out. What did you do?

Behavioral · Sustaining crews in busy seasons

Strong answer

Rotated on-call duty, tracked hours, brought in help, recognized effort, and watched for safety risks from fatigue.

Red flags

Had everyone work every day until it ended and called it teamwork.

After a large storm, your work in progress doubles, but carriers and mortgage companies are paying slower than usual. How do you keep cash steady for the next quarter?

Situational · Cash flow after disasters

Strong answer

Builds a weekly cash forecast by job and payer, lines up credit before it's needed, pushes file quality so estimates get approved faster, tracks lender-held funds, and sets limits on new work if cash runs short.

Red flags

Waits for checks to arrive, or plans to stretch vendors with no forecast.

Walk me through how you would set up job costing so we can see margin separately for mitigation, rebuild and contents work.

Technical · Job costing by line of work

Strong answer

Separate phases or cost codes per job, labor and equipment charged daily, materials and subcontractors coded at entry, overhead spread the same way every month, and variance reviews with project managers.

Red flags

Looks only at company-wide margin, or relies on month-end guesses.

A file review shows several jobs billed drying equipment for days with no moisture readings recorded. What do you do?

Situational · Billing compliance risk

Strong answer

Treats it as a billing and compliance risk, pulls a wider sample, works with operations to find the cause, corrects bills where needed and fixes the documentation process.

Red flags

Ignores it because the carrier already paid, or blames technicians without checking the process.

Tell me about a time your cash forecast missed badly, such as after a storm or when carriers slowed payment. What did you change?

Behavioral · Forecast accuracy

Strong answer

Names a specific miss and its root cause, says how they warned leadership early, and describes a concrete change to the forecast method.

Red flags

Blames other departments, or can't name a miss.

The CEO wants to buy [20] more dehumidifiers and air movers before storm season. How would you evaluate it?

Situational · Capital decisions

Strong answer

Compares utilization history, renting versus buying, financing, what carriers allow per equipment day, maintenance and storage cost and the cash impact, then gives a clear recommendation.

Red flags

Approves or rejects on gut feel, or compares sticker prices only.

Tell me about a time you raised the standard of a finance team. What did you change, and how did people respond?

Behavioral · Leading the finance team

Strong answer

Describes specific expectations, training, a close calendar or controls, how they handled pushback, and a measurable result such as a faster close.

Red flags

Did the work alone, or replaced people without coaching them first.

Mitigation is profitable, but the rebuild department loses money on most jobs. What do you look at first?

Situational · Fixing a losing department

Strong answer

Compares estimated and actual cost by job, checks supplement capture, subcontractor pricing, schedule delays and estimate detail, then sets specific fixes with owners and dates.

Red flags

Cuts rebuild work without knowing why it loses, or raises prices across the board.

A large property management client threatens to stop sending work after two slow responses. What do you do?

Situational · Keeping key accounts

Strong answer

Calls them personally, finds out what happened, gives the facts and a concrete fix such as a named contact and a response commitment the team can keep, then follows up with results.

Red flags

Blames the crews, or offers a discount with no fix.

Walk me through how you'd build a yearly budget for a restoration branch when storm and freeze volume is hard to predict.

Technical · Budgeting for unpredictable volume

Strong answer

Uses history for base volume, adds scenarios for weather events with staffing and equipment plans for each, ties fixed overhead to the base case, and reviews actuals monthly.

Red flags

Takes last year and adds a growth number.

Tell me about a time a number such as days to estimate approval or receivables aging was going the wrong way at a branch. What did you do?

Behavioral · Turning around a KPI

Strong answer

Names the KPI, digs into causes with data, sets actions with owners and dates, and shows the result.

Red flags

Talks about KPIs in general, or credits a change in the market.

Tell me about a time you made a safety or compliance rule stick across a whole team, not just on paper.

Behavioral · Making safety rules stick

Strong answer

Combined training, field checks, clear consequences and recognition, and has data showing the rule held months later.

Red flags

Sent a memo and assumed it worked.

Tell me about a manager you developed who performs better now than when you started working together. What did you do?

Behavioral · Developing managers

Strong answer

Specific coaching, regular one-on-ones, real decisions handed over, and results that show the growth.

Red flags

Can't name one, or describes only sending them to a class.

You arrive at a job on day two of drying. Walk me through how you check whether the crew set it up right.

Technical · Checking a drying setup

Strong answer

Checks air mover placement and count, dehumidifier size and output, containment, that wet materials were removed where needed, readings logged at the marked points, and safety such as cords and trip hazards.

Red flags

Glances around and checks that the machines are running.

You walk into a crawlspace and see a technician working in sewage water without gloves or a respirator. What do you do?

Situational · Stopping unsafe work

Strong answer

Stops the work right away, gets the technician out to wash up and put on the right gear, including a respirator only if they're fit-tested and trained on it, finds out why it happened and fixes that cause.

Red flags

Mentions it on the way out, or lets them finish first.

A homeowner stops you on site and says the crew scratched their hardwood floor while moving furniture. What do you do?

Situational · Handling damage claims on site

Strong answer

Listens, looks, takes photos, checks the pre-work photos, doesn't argue or promise anything on the spot, reports it that day and tells the owner when they'll hear back.

Red flags

Denies it right away, or promises a new floor.

On a rebuild, the drywall subcontractor's finish work isn't up to your standard, and the family moves back in on Friday. What do you do?

Situational · Holding subcontractors to standard

Strong answer

Documents the defects, meets the subcontractor's lead on site, agrees on what gets fixed and by when, checks the fix, and warns the project manager early if Friday is at risk.

Red flags

Accepts it to keep the date, or has their own crew redo it without telling anyone.

Tell me about a time an experienced technician kept skipping a step you required, such as daily readings or containment checks. How did you handle it?

Behavioral · Correcting experienced staff

Strong answer

Talked privately with specifics, explained why it mattered, checked the redo, and kept the working relationship.

Red flags

Called them out in front of the crew, or let it slide to avoid conflict.

Tell me about a time your moisture readings, dated photos or notes settled a dispute with a customer, adjuster or subcontractor.

Behavioral · Site records

Strong answer

Names what was recorded and when, how it answered the question, such as showing a wall was dry before rebuild, and how the dispute ended.

Red flags

Doesn't keep notes, or relies on memory.

Our technicians wear respirators on mold and sewage jobs. Walk me through what needs to be in place before a new hire puts one on.

Technical · Respiratory protection program

Strong answer

A written program, a confidential medical evaluation by a licensed health care professional before fit testing, a fit test for the exact model, training on use and care, and records, with fit tests repeated on schedule.

Red flags

Hands out masks with no evaluation, fit test or training.

A storm means you need [10] more trained technicians within two weeks. What do you do?

Situational · Surge hiring

Strong answer

Uses past applicants, referrals, staffing partners and subcontractors; shortens the process without skipping safety training, I-9 forms or driving checks; and is honest with new hires about how long the work may last.

Red flags

Hires anyone available with no training, or promises permanent jobs that won't exist.

Technicians say they aren't paid for being on call or for driving to night emergencies. How do you look into it?

Situational · Wage and hour compliance

Strong answer

Reviews the on-call rules, how restricted that time is, federal and state rules for on-call and travel time, and the time records, then works with leadership to fix any underpayment.

Red flags

Dismisses it because it's always been done that way, or guesses without checking the law.

Tell me about a complaint you investigated where the person accused was a top producer or a long-time supervisor. How did you keep the process fair?

Behavioral · Fair investigations

Strong answer

Acted promptly, interviewed the people involved, documented, kept it as confidential as possible, decided on evidence, and protected the person who complained from retaliation.

Red flags

Took a side early, or skipped documentation.

Tell me about a time you got a whole team through required training or certifications by a deadline.

Behavioral · Certification on a deadline

Strong answer

Tracked who needed what, scheduled around field work, followed up with stragglers and their managers, and kept records an auditor could check.

Red flags

Sent sign-up links and hoped people finished.

Tell me about a time technicians kept quitting within their first few months on water and mold jobs. What did you find, and what did you change?

Behavioral · Retention in hard jobs

Strong answer

Used exit interviews and pay data, looked at on-call burden and supervisors, made specific changes and tracked retention afterward.

Red flags

Blamed workers for not wanting to work.

A sales rep wants to run an ad that says 'We'll cover your deductible.' What do you do?

Situational · Lawful advertising

Strong answer

Says no and explains that waiving or absorbing deductibles is illegal in many states; offers a lawful message such as fast response or payment plans, and checks with counsel.

Red flags

Runs it because competitors do.

A big storm hits your area overnight. What changes in your marketing over the next [72] hours?

Situational · Storm response marketing

Strong answer

Shifts spend to emergency searches and local ads, makes sure phones are staffed, updates messages with honest response times, and pulls back once crews are full.

Red flags

Spends heavily without checking capacity, or runs scare ads.

Walk me through how you'd track a water-loss lead from first search or referral to a paid job, so you know which channel paid off.

Technical · Tracking leads to revenue

Strong answer

Call tracking numbers, a required source field in the CRM, matching closed jobs to sources, revenue and margin by channel, and regular reviews with sales.

Red flags

Counts clicks and calls only.

Tell me about a referral partnership you built with insurance agents, plumbers or property managers. How did you measure what it produced?

Behavioral · Building referral partnerships

Strong answer

Names the partner group, the outreach, the value offered such as training or fast response, and jobs and revenue tracked from that source.

Red flags

Counts meetings and giveaways, not jobs.

Tell me about a campaign that brought calls but not paying jobs. How did you know, and what did you do next?

Behavioral · Learning from a failed campaign

Strong answer

Had a target set up front, read the data early, cut or changed it, and names the lesson they applied later.

Red flags

Can't name one, or blames the market.

Tell me about a time project managers said marketing's calls were mostly small or out-of-area jobs. How did you resolve it?

Behavioral · Working with sales

Strong answer

Reviewed lead data together, agreed on what a good lead is, changed targeting or intake, and checked the results.

Red flags

Defended the leads without looking.

Walk me through what a complete claim file should contain before we send the final invoice to the carrier.

Technical · Complete claim files

Strong answer

Signed work authorization, before-during-after photos, moisture logs, equipment records, approved estimate and supplements, change orders, certificate of completion and adjuster emails.

Red flags

The invoice and the estimate.

A project manager wants to bill a job today, but the signed certificate of completion and the last two days of drying logs are missing. What do you do?

Situational · Holding billing for missing documents

Strong answer

Flags the invoice, asks the project manager and lead technician for the missing items with a deadline, explains the risk of a rejected or delayed payment, and tracks it.

Red flags

Sends it anyway, or holds it without telling anyone.

An adjuster emails asking for documents on [3] jobs by Friday, and the project manager is out on a storm. What do you do?

Situational · Covering for an absent manager

Strong answer

Pulls what's in the files, finds the gaps, asks the lead technicians for missing items, sends what's complete on time with a note on what's coming, and keeps the project manager informed.

Red flags

Waits for the project manager to come back.

Walk me through how you'd plan a Monday when payroll is due, two new technicians start, and three adjusters are waiting on documents.

Situational · Prioritizing office work

Strong answer

Ranks by deadline and consequence with payroll first, hands off parts of onboarding, blocks time for adjuster documents, and tells people when to expect things.

Red flags

Works in the order things arrive.

Tell me about an office process you fixed, such as tracking adjuster requests or drying logs, that saved real time or cut errors.

Behavioral · Improving office processes

Strong answer

Names the fix, such as a shared tracker for adjuster requests, how they got project managers to use it, and a measured result such as faster payments.

Red flags

Vague, or describes reorganizing folders with no result.

Tell me about a time field staff kept turning in paperwork late. How did you get it fixed?

Behavioral · Getting paperwork from the field

Strong answer

Found the reason, made it simpler, set deadlines with the field managers and followed up every time.

Red flags

Did it all themselves, or complained without changing anything.

You have [5] crews. Tomorrow brings [3] new water losses, [12] drying checks, a mold job start, and two time-off requests. Walk me through how you build the day.

Situational · Assigning crews

Strong answer

Starts with emergencies and commitments, groups drying checks by area, puts trained people on mold work, decides time off fairly, and names what to push or subcontract.

Red flags

Fills slots without thinking about skills or drive time.

Your on-call technician has worked three late-night calls this week and sounds exhausted. A new loss comes in tonight. What do you do?

Situational · Managing on-call fatigue

Strong answer

Doesn't send the exhausted technician, uses the backup or goes personally, fixes the rotation and records it.

Red flags

Sends them anyway because it's their week.

Walk me through how you'd measure crew utilization in restoration, and what you'd do if one crew is always low.

Technical · Measuring crew utilization

Strong answer

Billable hours against paid hours with drive and wait time broken out; looks for causes such as routing, paperwork or skills, then coaches or changes assignments.

Red flags

Tells the crew to work faster without data.

Tell me about a time you went to a job site to solve a problem the crew couldn't. What did you do?

Behavioral · Solving field problems

Strong answer

Specific technical or people problem, what they did, the result, and what they taught the crew.

Red flags

Took over and left without explaining.

Tell me about a time you pulled a crew off a loss because of a hazard, such as suspect asbestos or a sagging ceiling. What happened next?

Behavioral · Putting safety ahead of schedule

Strong answer

Named the hazard, pulled the crew, arranged testing or other fixes, told the customer and project manager, and stands by the call.

Red flags

Never had to, or let the work continue while they looked into it.

Tell me about a time data showed a problem your team didn't see. How did you get them to act?

Behavioral · Acting on performance data

Strong answer

Shared specific numbers in plain terms, agreed on fixes with the team, and tracked progress.

Red flags

Doesn't track data, or announced new rules without explanation.

Walk me through how you make sure a rebuild after a house fire meets code and passes inspection.

Technical · Code compliance on rebuilds

Strong answer

Pulls permits, gets framing checked if it was damaged, uses licensed trades for electrical, plans smoke alarms, insulation and fire blocking to current code, and books inspections at the right stages.

Red flags

Builds back exactly what was there without checking what code now requires.

Walk me through your morning briefing for a crew starting mold remediation in a home where the family is still living.

Technical · Briefing a remediation crew

Strong answer

Covers scope and containment, protective gear and respirator checks, keeping family and pets out, shutting off the HVAC to the area, waste handling, what to do if they find more, and checks before containment comes down.

Red flags

Gives the address and tells them to be careful.

Two crews sat idle for half a day waiting on an electrical inspection that was requested late. What do you change so it doesn't happen again?

Situational · Keeping crews productive

Strong answer

Requests inspections when the rough-in is scheduled, confirms the day before, keeps a backup task list for every crew, and reviews upcoming inspections with project managers each week.

Red flags

Blames the inspector's office and changes nothing.

Tell me about a time rebuild callbacks were too high, such as for drywall or paint touch-ups. How did you find the cause and bring them down?

Behavioral · Reducing callbacks

Strong answer

Tracked callbacks by type and crew, found the root cause such as rushing, training or materials, changed the process and measured the drop.

Red flags

Blamed the crews in general.

Tell me about a time you got more work done with the same crews without cutting corners.

Behavioral · Raising productivity

Strong answer

A specific change such as job kits, better sequencing or prep, with a measured result and quality that held.

Red flags

More overtime, or pushing people harder.

Cabinets for a kitchen rebuild are back-ordered, and the family's move-back date will slip by two weeks. How and when do you tell them?

Situational · Delivering bad news

Strong answer

Calls as soon as the delay is confirmed, explains the cause, gives a new date and what's being done to recover time, tells the adjuster about the extra living expense, and follows up in writing.

Red flags

Waits until the original date, or blames the supplier and offers no new plan.

Walk me through how you write a line-item estimate for a water loss so the adjuster approves it without a reinspection.

Technical · Writing estimates that get approved

Strong answer

Scopes from the inspection with photos and readings, splits mitigation and rebuild, ties quantities to measurements, notes why each item is needed, follows the carrier's guidelines and submits quickly.

Red flags

Uses a template without measuring, or adds items they can't support.

An adjuster refuses to pay for removing the lower drywall in [3] rooms, saying fans alone would have dried it. How do you handle it?

Situational · Settling disputed line items

Strong answer

Presents the readings, photos and water category, explains the reasoning calmly, asks what documentation the adjuster needs, and escalates through proper channels if it stays stuck.

Red flags

Argues without evidence, or tells the homeowner the insurer is cheating them.

Before you approve pulling the drying equipment, what do you need to see in the file, and why does it matter to the carrier?

Technical · Approving equipment pickup

Strong answer

Readings at every marked point at the dry standard, dated photos, equipment counts by day and the technician's sign-off. It supports the drying charges and protects against a mold claim later.

Red flags

Takes the technician's word that it's dry.

A family's kitchen is torn out after a leak. They call you every day, upset that nothing seems to happen while the estimate waits for approval. What do you do?

Situational · Updating anxious owners

Strong answer

Sets a regular update time, explains each step and who is waiting on whom, gives realistic timing, chases the adjuster and logs every call.

Red flags

Stops taking their calls, or promises an approval date they can't control.

Tell me about a time you found hidden damage partway through a job. How did you get it approved and paid?

Behavioral · Supplements for hidden damage

Strong answer

Stopped to photograph it, told the adjuster quickly, sent a supplement with evidence, got approval or the owner's signed go-ahead before proceeding, and kept the schedule moving.

Red flags

Did the work first and hoped to get paid.

Tell me about a job where getting the final payment was hard. What did you do to close it out?

Behavioral · Closing out and collecting

Strong answer

Completed the file and certificate of completion, worked through the mortgage company's release steps, followed up on a schedule and kept the owner involved.

Red flags

Handed it to accounting and moved on.

Your top rep closes a lot of work by telling homeowners we can get their insurance to pay for everything. What do you do?

Situational · Stopping risky sales claims

Strong answer

Stops it now and explains the risk: contractors can't promise coverage and many states limit what a contractor can do on a homeowner's claim. Retrains, documents and reviews the rep's recent files.

Red flags

Lets it go because the numbers are good.

A property management company with [40] buildings wants a preferred-vendor agreement with fixed response times and discounted pricing. How do you approach it?

Situational · Negotiating preferred-vendor deals

Strong answer

Learns their volume and pain points, checks crew capacity, prices for real costs, trades any discount for volume, and writes response times the team can keep.

Red flags

Agrees to everything to win the account.

Walk me through how you forecast next month's signed work when much of the volume depends on weather.

Technical · Forecasting weather-driven sales

Strong answer

Separates base volume from referral partners, open estimates by stage and odds, commercial accounts, seasonal patterns and weather scenarios.

Red flags

Guesses from last month.

Tell me about a rep whose plumber or agent referrals kept going to competitors. How did you coach them?

Behavioral · Coaching reps

Strong answer

Rode along on partner visits, found the gap such as slow follow-up after referrals or no updates to the referrer, practiced it, set activity goals and followed up.

Red flags

Gave pep talks, or replaced them without coaching.

Tell me about a referral relationship your team lost. What happened, and what did you learn?

Behavioral · Recovering lost partners

Strong answer

Gives the honest cause, what they did about it, and a change they made afterward.

Red flags

Blames the partner.

Tell me about a rep you hired who struggled to build referral relationships with plumbers or agents. What did you change in hiring?

Behavioral · Hiring sales staff

Strong answer

Names the warning sign they missed, such as no follow-up habits, how they handled the rep, and how they changed interviews, such as a referral-call role-play.

Red flags

Says they've never made a bad hire.

Walk me through how you'd track every dehumidifier, air mover and air scrubber so we always know which job it's on and for how many days.

Technical · Tracking drying equipment

Strong answer

Asset tags or barcodes, check-out to a job in the system, counts tied to the drying logs, alerts when units stay out too long, and regular audits.

Red flags

A whiteboard, or memory.

Walk me through how you'd store restoration chemicals so they're safe and compliant.

Technical · Storing chemicals

Strong answer

Safety data sheets on hand, labeled containers, incompatible products kept apart, a spill kit, ventilation, protective gear, limited access and trained staff.

Red flags

Any open shelf.

Equipment comes back from a sewage job and a mold job on the same afternoon. Walk me through what happens before it goes out again.

Situational · Cleaning returned equipment

Strong answer

Keeps it apart from clean stock, cleans and disinfects by company procedure, replaces pre-filters and HEPA filters on air scrubbers as the procedure requires, inspects and tests it, then tags it clean.

Red flags

Puts it straight back on the shelf.

A freeze is coming, operations wants every dehumidifier ready, and [8] units are waiting on repairs. What do you do?

Situational · Getting ready for a surge

Strong answer

Fixes the quick repairs first, lines up rentals, checks filters and cords on the rest, and gives operations the true count.

Red flags

Says everything is ready.

Tell me about a time equipment or tools kept going missing. How did you fix it?

Behavioral · Stopping equipment loss

Strong answer

Tracked the losses, found the pattern, set a check-out process with accountability, and shows the result.

Red flags

Bought more.

Tell me about a safety improvement you made in a warehouse that stores chemicals and heavy drying equipment.

Behavioral · Warehouse safety

Strong answer

A specific hazard such as chemical storage, forklift traffic or heavy lifting, the fix, the training and the result.

Red flags

Can't name one.

A caller says water is pouring through their kitchen ceiling right now and they're panicking. Walk me through the call.

Situational · Taking an emergency call

Strong answer

Stays calm, checks safety such as a sagging ceiling or wet light fixtures, tells them how to shut off the water if they can, gets the address, source and start time, then gives a real arrival time from dispatch.

Red flags

Starts with insurance questions before safety, or promises a time without checking.

A homeowner asks whether their insurance will pay for all of this. What do you say?

Situational · Talking about coverage

Strong answer

Explains that only their insurance company decides coverage, offers to help them start the claim, and explains what the company will document for the adjuster.

Red flags

Promises it's covered, or guesses that it isn't.

Three days into a job, a customer calls to say the drying fans are loud and nobody has told them how long this will last. What do you do?

Situational · Keeping customers informed

Strong answer

Apologizes for the missing update, explains why the equipment runs day and night, checks the file for the latest readings, gets the lead technician or project manager to call that day, and logs it.

Red flags

Tells them to turn the fans off at night, or says someone will call with no follow-up.

Tell me about a time you handled a caller who was crying or angry. What did you say, and how did it end?

Behavioral · Calming upset callers

Strong answer

Let them talk, named the stress they were under, gave clear next steps and followed up when promised.

Red flags

Got defensive, rushed them off the phone, or passed them along with no notes.

Tell me about a time you set up one site visit that worked for a homeowner, an adjuster and a crew lead. How did you make it work?

Behavioral · Coordinating appointments

Strong answer

Gathered everyone's availability, offered a few options, confirmed in writing, sent reminders and updated the record.

Red flags

Left it to others, or booked a time without confirming with everyone.

Walk me through what you'd write in the file after a first call so the crew and project manager can act without calling the customer back.

Technical · First-call notes

Strong answer

Address and access, who will be home, cause and source, when it started, whether the water is clean or sewage, rooms affected, insurer and claim number, and any safety concerns.

Red flags

Name, phone number and 'water damage.'

First thing in the morning you have two crews and three new calls: a sewage backup in an occupied home, a water heater leak that has stopped, and an office with wet carpet. Who goes where?

Situational · Triage

Strong answer

Sends the first crew to the sewage backup because of the health risk, weighs the office's business impact against the stopped leak, gives each caller an honest time and tells the waiting ones what to do meanwhile.

Red flags

Goes in call order, or doesn't call the customers who have to wait.

At [11 p.m.] the on-call technician doesn't answer, and a customer has water spreading through a finished basement. What do you do?

Situational · After-hours escalation

Strong answer

Follows the backup on-call list, escalates to the supervisor, keeps the customer posted with a real time, and records the missed call for follow-up.

Red flags

Keeps calling the same technician, or tells the customer someone will come in the morning without asking a manager.

Walk me through what you need to know before you send a crew to a new water loss so they arrive with the right people and equipment.

Technical · Sending the right crew and equipment

Strong answer

How many rooms and floors, what materials got wet, the water source, how long it's been wet, access and parking, and whether extra extraction, containment or a second crew may be needed.

Red flags

Just the address and a phone number.

A project manager wants you to pull a technician off today's drying checks to help on a big new loss. What do you do?

Situational · Protecting drying checks

Strong answer

Asks which checks can safely move, finds another technician to take readings, makes sure the affected customers are told, and records the change. Doesn't let monitoring quietly lapse.

Red flags

Pulls the technician and hopes nobody notices the skipped checks.

Tell me about a day when your schedule fell apart before noon. How did you rebuild it?

Behavioral · Rebuilding a broken schedule

Strong answer

Names what broke, how they reordered the work, who they called and in what order, and how the day ended.

Red flags

Vague, or says someone else fixed it.

Tell me about a time you caught a mistake before a crew left, such as the wrong address, missing equipment or a job that needed containment gear.

Behavioral · Catching errors

Strong answer

A specific catch, how they spotted it and the checking habit they use now.

Red flags

Can't name one, or says mistakes are the field's job to catch.

An insurance check for a water loss arrives made out to the homeowner, our company and the homeowner's mortgage company. Walk me through how that money gets deposited and posted to the right job.

Technical · Posting multi-party insurance checks

Strong answer

Knows the mortgage company must endorse or release the funds, gets the owner's signature, follows the lender's release steps, logs the check against the job and claim number, and keeps the project manager posted on what's still held.

Red flags

Tries to deposit it without every endorsement, or posts it with no link to a job or claim number.

A job shows the carrier paid in full, but the customer's deductible is [60] days unpaid. The project manager mentions the customer is unhappy with the repairs. What do you do?

Situational · Collecting deductibles

Strong answer

Checks the signed agreement and final invoice, talks with the project manager about the complaint before calling, then follows the collection steps. Never waives or writes off a deductible on their own, since that can be unlawful in many states.

Red flags

Sends it to collections without asking about the complaint, or quietly writes it off.

Walk me through how you would set up receivables so you can see what each insurance carrier owes, including supplements that haven't been approved yet.

Technical · Receivables by carrier

Strong answer

Tracks invoices by job, claim number and carrier; keeps approved amounts apart from pending supplements; reviews aging weekly with project managers and flags anything stuck with an adjuster.

Red flags

Lumps all open amounts together with no way to see which carrier or claim is late.

Tell me about a time the payments received on a claim didn't add up to the approved estimate. How did you find the gap?

Behavioral · Reconciling claim payments

Strong answer

Laid out the estimate, supplements, deductible and every check, found the cause such as funds held by the mortgage company or an unbilled supplement, and fixed the record.

Red flags

Plugged the difference to make it balance, or can't explain how the error was found.

Tell me about a time a subcontractor or equipment rental bill didn't match what the job file showed. What did you do?

Behavioral · Vendor payment discrepancies

Strong answer

Held that payment, checked the job file, drying logs or work orders with the project manager, contacted the vendor with specifics, paid only the correct amount and documented the fix.

Red flags

Paid it to avoid hassle, or held it with no follow-up until the vendor got angry.

A project manager asks why their job shows a loss when the approved estimate was higher than the costs they remember. Where would you start looking?

Situational · Job cost questions

Strong answer

Checks for costs coded to the wrong job, unbilled supplements, equipment days not yet billed, open subcontractor bills and whether the deductible was counted, then walks through findings with the project manager.

Red flags

Says the report is what it is, or moves costs between jobs without checking.

Walk me through how you'd set reorder points for supplies like antimicrobial, plastic sheeting, HEPA filters and protective suits when usage jumps after storms.

Technical · Setting reorder points

Strong answer

Uses past usage and supplier lead times, adds a storm buffer, tracks use by job, watches forecasts with operations, and adjusts the points after each event.

Red flags

Orders when the shelf looks low.

A freeze is forecast for next week, and your supplier says HEPA filters are on back order. What do you do?

Situational · Handling back orders

Strong answer

Checks other suppliers, tells operations how many are on hand against expected use, and gets approval for alternatives before ordering.

Red flags

Waits for the back order without telling anyone.

A delivery arrives with a leaking container of antimicrobial that has soaked a box of HEPA filters. What do you do?

Situational · Chemical spills at receiving

Strong answer

Keeps people away, uses the safety data sheet for cleanup and gear, contains it, sets the soaked filters aside as damaged, documents with photos, and gets the supplier to credit or replace both.

Red flags

Puts it all on the shelf, or tosses it in the regular trash.

Walk me through how you receive a supplier delivery and get it into the system correctly.

Technical · Receiving accurately

Strong answer

Checks it against the order, counts, inspects for damage and expiration dates on chemicals, notes shortages on the packing slip, updates the system that day, and sends problems to purchasing.

Red flags

Signs for it without counting.

Tell me about a time counts of consumables such as plastic sheeting, filters or antimicrobial didn't match the system. How did you find out why?

Behavioral · Fixing count errors

Strong answer

Recounted, checked transactions and job charges, found the cause such as unlogged use or a receiving error, and changed the process.

Red flags

Adjusted the number and moved on.

Tell me about a time you got field crews to record what they used when they didn't want to.

Behavioral · Getting crews to log usage

Strong answer

Made logging easy with job kits, scanning or a quick form, explained how it ties to billing, and followed up until it stuck.

Red flags

Complained to managers but changed nothing.

A plumber who refers you work calls from a burst-pipe job. The homeowner is upset and unsure about calling their insurer. What do you do when you arrive?

Situational · Handling a referred emergency

Strong answer

Confirms the water is off and the space is safe, listens, explains the drying steps and the claim process without promising coverage, gets signed authorization before work starts, and thanks the plumber afterward.

Red flags

Pushes the contract first, or says insurance will pay.

The adjuster's estimate is much lower than yours, and the homeowner asks you to just fight the insurance company for them. What do you say?

Situational · Setting homeowner expectations on claims

Strong answer

Explains the company will send documentation and supplements it can support, is honest that a contractor can't negotiate the claim for them, and suggests they talk with their insurer or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.

Red flags

Promises to win, offers to negotiate the claim for them, or pressures them to sign over their benefits.

Walk me through what you measure and photograph on a first visit so the estimate holds up later.

Technical · Documenting the first visit

Strong answer

Room sizes, affected materials and how high water wicked, meter readings, photos of each wall and the source, contents and access, with notes that tie each photo to an item.

Red flags

Takes a few photos and estimates from memory.

Tell me about a job you expected to win but lost, such as a referred loss that went to another contractor. What did you learn?

Behavioral · Learning from lost deals

Strong answer

Gives an honest reason, such as a slow arrival or a muddled explanation of the claim process, and a specific change they made in how they sell.

Red flags

Blames price or the customer.

Walk me through how you tracked jobs waiting on insurance approval or a signature in your last sales role, using a real week as the example.

Behavioral · Organizing follow-up

Strong answer

Specific CRM habits, a daily task list, timing rules for follow-ups and notes someone else could pick up.

Red flags

Keeps it in their head.

Tell me about a customer or account that came back to you or sent referrals. Why did they?

Behavioral · Earning repeat business

Strong answer

Specific actions such as fast response, honesty about what would and wouldn't be covered, and follow-through after the job.

Red flags

Vague, or credits a low price.

A homeowner used us for water mitigation but went quiet after we sent the rebuild estimate. Walk me through your follow-up.

Situational · Following up on unsigned rebuilds

Strong answer

Reads the file first, calls to ask how they're doing and where the claim stands, finds the real reason such as price, a slow insurer or another contractor, offers help and logs the result.

Red flags

Pushes for a signature, or sends the same text over and over.

A past lead asks you to stop contacting them. Their file shows mold we found that was never fixed. What do you do?

Situational · Respecting do-not-contact requests

Strong answer

Stops contact and marks the record right away, then raises the open mold finding with a manager instead of calling again.

Red flags

Keeps calling because the mold is a safety issue.

A past water-loss customer mentions a musty smell in a closet during your call. What do you say?

Situational · Recommending service honestly

Strong answer

Takes it seriously, offers an inspection by a technician instead of diagnosing by phone, explains what the visit includes and any cost, and books it.

Red flags

Tells them it's mold and sells remediation on the spot.

Walk me through how you'd rank old water, fire and mold leads, such as unsigned rebuilds and mitigation-only jobs, to decide who to call first.

Technical · Prioritizing old leads

Strong answer

Sorts by type of loss, how recent, how far it got, why it was lost, job value and any open issue, and removes do-not-contact records first.

Red flags

Starts at the top of the list.

Tell me about a time you revived a stalled lead, such as one waiting on an insurance decision. What did you do differently?

Behavioral · Reviving cold leads

Strong answer

Researched the history, had a real reason to reach out, listened, handled the objection and closed.

Red flags

Got lucky, or kept calling until they gave in.

Tell me about a week of calls when many people were still stressed or upset about their loss. How did you handle those calls?

Behavioral · Calling people after a loss

Strong answer

Led with care, didn't push, logged real needs, kept up activity, changed the opener and asked for coaching.

Red flags

Pushed sales on upset people, or slowed down and blamed the list.

Walk me through how you inspect a new water loss and set the drying goal for the walls and floors.

Technical · Inspecting a water loss and setting drying goals

Strong answer

Confirms the source is stopped, decides the water category, maps wet areas with meters past the visible line, reads unaffected materials of the same type as the dry standard, records conditions, and marks monitoring points.

Red flags

Looks at visible wet spots and sets equipment by habit, or uses one target number for every material.

On day three, the walls aren't drying and the dehumidifier isn't pulling much water. Walk me through how you figure out why.

Technical · Diagnosing stalled drying

Strong answer

Takes temperature, humidity and grains per pound inside, outside and at the dehumidifier outlet; looks for hidden wet layers, closed cavities or poor airflow; then changes equipment or removes materials.

Red flags

Adds more fans without measuring, or waits a few more days.

Walk me through how you decide what can be cleaned and what has to be replaced after a small kitchen fire.

Technical · Smoke damage decisions

Strong answer

Identifies the residue type, checks for heat damage, cleans test spots with the right method, looks for odor sources in hidden areas, documents, and talks with the project manager before replacing anything.

Red flags

Paints over smoke damage, or uses one cleaning method on everything.

You open a wall on a water job and find more mold than you expected. Walk me through what changes.

Situational · Responding to unexpected mold

Strong answer

Stops demolition there, tells the project manager and customer, sets up containment with negative air and HEPA filtration, upgrades protective gear, follows the remediation protocol and state rules, and documents for clearance testing where required.

Red flags

Keeps tearing out with no containment, or sprays it and closes the wall.

A homeowner asks why you need to cut their drywall and pull up the carpet pad when everything looks fine. What do you tell them?

Situational · Explaining work to homeowners

Strong answer

Shows the meter readings, explains in plain words what happens if wet materials stay, notes the adjuster will see the photos, and gets signed approval before cutting.

Red flags

Says it has to go without showing proof, or cuts before getting approval.

Tell me about a technician you trained who got noticeably better. What did you teach them, and how?

Behavioral · Training technicians

Strong answer

Names a specific skill such as meter use, equipment placement or logs; showed it, had them do it, checked their work and gave feedback until they could do it alone.

Red flags

Says new people learn by watching.

Tell me about a time you caught a mistake in a crew member's work that could have cost money or a customer's trust.

Behavioral · Reviewing crew work

Strong answer

Specific catch, such as missing readings, a wrong equipment count or a missed wet wall; how they found it, fixed it and changed the crew's checks.

Red flags

Has no example, or fixed it quietly without telling the crew.

Walk me through how you'd set up air movers and a dehumidifier in a wet bedroom, from the moment you walk in.

Technical · Setting up drying equipment

Strong answer

Confirms the water is stopped and power is safe, extracts standing water, removes wet materials as directed, aims air movers along the wet walls, sets the dehumidifier, routes cords safely and records readings.

Red flags

Points fans at the middle of the room and leaves.

Walk me through how you'd mix and apply an antimicrobial or disinfectant on a job.

Technical · Using chemicals safely

Strong answer

Reads the label and safety data sheet, wears the listed gear, mixes the stated ratio, applies only where directed, ventilates, and keeps people and pets away.

Red flags

Eyeballs the mix or sprays everywhere.

You're carrying out wet carpet and notice a power strip sitting in a puddle with equipment plugged into it. What do you do?

Situational · Electrical hazards on wet jobs

Strong answer

Doesn't touch it, keeps others away, tells the lead right away so power can be shut off at the panel, and helps fix the setup.

Red flags

Pulls the plug out of the water, or ignores it.

The homeowner asks you to move their piano and some boxes into the garage. Your lead didn't mention it. What do you do?

Situational · Staying within scope in a home

Strong answer

Politely says they'll check, asks the lead and follows the answer; doesn't move heavy or valuable items without direction and enough help.

Red flags

Moves it alone, or just says no.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to follow a strict cleaning or hygiene routine. How did you keep it up when you were busy?

Behavioral · Hygiene and cleanup routines

Strong answer

Names the routine, such as washing up or changing gloves, why it mattered, and how they did it every time.

Red flags

Skipped steps when rushed.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to take readings or measurements and write them down. How did you make sure they were right?

Behavioral · Accurate readings and records

Strong answer

Took each one the same way, wrote it down right away, double-checked odd numbers and asked when unsure.

Red flags

Guessed, or filled in numbers later from memory.

This job includes nights and weekends when storms or pipe breaks hit. Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to show up on short notice.

Behavioral · Showing up for emergencies

Strong answer

A specific time they were called in on short notice and arrived ready, with the right gear, and worked safely once there.

Red flags

No example, or describes arriving late or unprepared without telling anyone.