PLACENTIA AND LOS ANGELES, CA— Choosing a Bay area commercial hood cleaning company based on price instead of quality could lead to trouble down the road.

American Professional Services (APS-Hoods), a nationwide company based in Denver that provides Bay area hood sales, cleaning and installation services, recently picked up a new account of eight McDonald’s restaurants after shoddy service provided by another hood cleaning company contributed to a kitchen fire in one of the establishments.

APS-Hoods had provided repair services for these restaurants in the past, said Massoud Farazandeh, chief executive officer of the company, which provides Bay area hood cleanings and other services.

“This is one of those unfortunate circumstances for the franchise owner,” Farazandeh said. “I had raised concerns that their hood cleanings weren’t up to par and the owner had been considering switching to our service. Before they finalized their decision, one of their restaurants had a kitchen fire.”

The fire resulted from there being too much grease in the ductwork, Farazandeh said. When grease is left to build up, it becomes fuel in the event of a fire. This fire, which happened in February, resulted in the restaurant being shut down while a major clean-up was conducted and repairs were made. The fire system also had to be recharged.

After the fire, the franchise owner fired the hood cleaning company and hired APS-Hoods to clean all eight restaurants in the franchise.

Farazandeh’s first step after taking on the account was inspecting the other seven restaurants to make sure they weren’t at risk of catching fire.

“The last thing I wanted was for this franchise owner to experience another fire after we had taken over the account,” said Farazandeh, manager of Bay area commercial hood company.

An inspection of the other McDonald’s locations found more of the same problem. Ducts were opened to reveal four to six inches of grease build-up.

“I don’t know how they haven’t had a fire yet,” Farazandeh said. “You can have a fire with grease build-up of one inch or less.”

A Lesson to Learn
Situations such as this are a lesson learned the hard way for restaurant owners and managers charged with securing cleaning services from a reputable company.

Finding a quality company when the restaurant opens and maintaining a regular cleaning schedule keeps costs down in the long run, Farazandeh said.

In this case, the initial hood cleaning services APS-Hoods provided when it took over the account were more expensive than subsequent cleanings will be because the areas were so difficult to clean.

If the franchise’s insurance company had seen the ducts in that condition, they would “have given the owner a hard time for it,” he said.

Within two weeks of taking on the account, APS-Hoods had all of the restaurants’ hood systems cleaned and up to their professional standards.

“Everyone thinks that a fire isn’t going to happen to them,” Farazandeh said. “It can happen to anyone.”

When selecting a hood cleaning company, it is wise to select a company that can provide references, he said. A professional company also should be willing to provide before and after photos of their jobs and a complete report that outlines all of the work that was performed, along with recommendations for repairs that may be necessary.

Learn More
If you would like more information about the Bay area hood installation, sales and cleaning services offered by APS-Hoods, or you wish to schedule hood cleanings for your restaurant or commercial kitchen, please call: (800) 750-7313, or visit the company’s Web site: http://www.aps-hoods.com/.

About APS-Hoods
American Professional Services (APS-Hoods) is a full-service restaurant fire protection business that installs, services, repairs and performs routine inspections and sales for hood and fire suppression systems. Founded by Chief Executive Officer Massoud Farazandeh in 1989, APS-Hoods has grown into a national leader in hood sales and fire protection for restaurants and facilities. APS provides superior service, a quality guarantee and maintains a highly qualified and dependable staff. All crew members are professionally trained to comply with the National Fire Prevention Association Standards and state and local codes. APS-Hoods is fully insured and bonded. They are licensed in the mechanical and electrical fields, as well as fire protection contracting. APS-Hoods is affiliated with the National Fire Protection Agency and the Colorado Division of Fire Safety Fire Suppression Program.

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