Risk prevention keeps customers, visitors satisfied
Nationwide Insurance offers online training for funeral home owners, staff
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2008
Contact:
Liz Christopher 614-249-7705
christe1@nationwide.com
Columbus, Ohio — Keeping customers and visitors safe from
accidents is critical for building and upholding a funeral home's
reputation. Nationwide Insurance combines simple safety tips with online
training courses for a complete safety and loss prevention package, with
the goal of helping small business owners keep customers satisfied, and
in some cases, reduce risk and insurance premium.
“Customer service and safety are every small business owner’s top
priorities,” said Mike Ekiss, vice president of loss control for
Nationwide Insurance. “A few preventive measures can go a long way to
help funeral home owners maintain their outstanding reputation for
customer service.”
Nationwide Insurance offers online safety-training courses for funeral
homes, many available in both English and Spanish. The training website
allows users to select the courses that fit their needs, learn at their
own pace and track results. These courses are part of a larger online
safety-training resource from Nationwide, which offers more than 300
classes to assist a variety of business needs. For more information,
please visit safety-training.nationwide.com.
These simple tips from Nationwide Insurance also offer easy ways to
maintain a safe workplace for staff and visitors at minimal or no cost:
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Maintain the interior and exterior - Frequently check exterior
lighting to ensure well-lit walking and working areas. Maintain racking
and shelving so the units remain steady and secure. Remove excess trash
and debris.
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Keep walking areas free and clear - Make sure that the areas
where customers walk are in good physical condition and clear of cords
and debris. Clean up wet spills immediately. Clear exterior walking
surfaces of ice and snow to prevent slipping in winter months.
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Inspect your equipment - In addition to regularly inspecting
fire, burglary, sprinkler and alarms systems, it is also a good idea to
have your building’s wiring, heating, air conditioning equipment and
refrigeration units checked regularly.
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Train your employees - Make sure employees have been trained in
storage and dispensing practices when using aerosols, combustibles,
flammable liquids and cleaning supplies, and can properly use fire
extinguishers. Employees should be trained on the use of special
equipment. Consider providing first aid training.
- Plan for disaster – Funeral homes need to prepare themselves and the businesses for fire, weather and other potential disasters. Nationwide, in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, created A Disaster Planning Guide for Small Business Owners. This guide provides information small business owners need to develop an effective plan to protect customers and employees in the event of a disaster. Identifying hazards, creating plans to remain in operation if the shop is unusable, making backup copies of critical records and storing them offsite, and understanding limitations of the company’s insurance coverage are some key disaster preparedness strategies covered in the guide. The guide can be found at www.nationwide.com/disaster-planning-recovery.jsp.
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $161 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #108 on the Fortune 500 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
Nationwide and the Nationwide Framework are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. On Your Side is a service mark of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
