Author: Platinum Team

This post is part of our Gratitude series, which reminds us to celebrate the ordinary things as we navigate life at home.

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Today we’re grateful for… that chipped wall.

...and, the story it tells. It transports us back to that day when little Johnny turned the corner too quick and took a chunk out of the wall with his hockey stick. His look of shock and mortification was absolutely hilarious and priceless. It screamed -- OH NO. I’m doomed. Somehow, we let that become one of our better parental moments -- we met his fear with loving laughter instead of harsh reprimand.

So yes, chipped wall, there’s a good part of us that’d prefer you didn’t exist. We dream about a more pristine hallway without you there. And yet, there’s a good part of us that’s grateful for your reminder -- even when when we make a mistake or things fail to go as planned, we can still laugh and give ourselves a bit of grace. 

Fall is setting in, and we recently caught up with The List to talk home maintenance. This segment covers three top items that often need attention come autumn.
1.  Gutters and downspouts - How dry leaves can plug up your downspouts, posing a fire danger or creating flooding issues and what you can do to prevent problems.

2. Washer and dryer - How summer’s heat can encourage mold growth in your washer and how properly cleaning both your washer and dryer can help you prep for fall.

3. Oven - How a dirty door seal and grease build up can impact your oven’s performance and how to best clean it.

Featuring:

Steve Higgins, VP of Field Services, Platinum Home Warranty

Need help with home maintenance? We can help! Just give us a call at 602.733.5000, and ask for our retail division.

Aired: 09/05/2017 04:30:18 PM

Full Transcript:

Jared Cotter: These lazy late summer days may be easy on us but can be super hard on your home. Happily, we've got a few simple ways to fix up your home for fall without walloping your wallet. All on the top of our list.
As much as we'd like to, we can't put our homes on autopilot. Our friends at Platinum Home Warranty show us three things that need your attention come autumn. Number one thing, the gutters and down spouts. David, why is the fall season so hard on gutters?

David Tolsdorf: The leaves are changing, drying, falling, hitting the roof, going into the gutters. The dry leaves will plug up your gutters and down spouts. It's a huge fire danger.

Jared: Even in cool fall weather, sunlight on metal gutters can spark dry leaves.

David: Not only can it clog up the gutters, it can clog up your downspouts and not allow them to do their job.

Jared: The means rainwaters can’t drain and before you know it, a flood in the house. What can we do to prevent it?

David: For a couple hundred dollars for your entire home, there are gutter guards. The debris will fall on here and won't go into the gutter itself.

Jared: Next, the washing machine and dryer.

Steve: Because of the heat, in the laundry room, causes a lot of these mold and mildew spores to start growing around the room of the washing machines. That is mold.

Jared: Summer's heat caused more mold to collect, so give it a good clean for the fall.

Steve: Use anything, any kind of a cleaner. Anything but your fingers.

Jared: What about the dryer?

Steve: The dryer, simple stuff. The lint trap on here everybody is aware of, but not everybody cleans like they should. And if you don't keep this clean and a lot of this plugs up, not only will the dryer use a lot more electricity, but it also creates a fire hazard with that lint going outside. A little spark will ignite a lot of stuff on that roof.

Jared: And our final fall home hazard, the oven.

Steve: Okay, so we're inarguably the most important room in the house, the kitchen. Going into baking season. A lot of people neglect the oven. The door seal gets a lot of grime and stuff on it, causes it to get crusty and prevents it from making the proper seal.

Jared: That means an inefficient oven and a higher electric bill.

Steve: If grease allowed to stay on there at 400 degrees, it will melt a hole in the elements. you'll see it catch on fire.

Jared: Steve says to clean after each baking while the oven is still warm. Falling for autumn home maintenance on the top of the list.

This post is part of our Gratitude series, which reminds us to celebrate the ordinary things as we navigate life at home.

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Today we’re grateful for… the laundry that needs folding.

It’s an invitation -- cast off the demands of the always-on world for a moment. Drop the devices. Engage in a humble act that allows you to disconnect and take a moment to breathe.

If we let it, that mundane act can transform into an opportunity. The pile of clothes can beckon us to find peace in the simple things. The hands-on chore can strangely become so rhythmic and therapeutic.

And that’s when we find ourselves saying -- stack of laundry, thanks for being here. You remind us that comfort can be found in something so unbelievably ordinary.

This post is part of a series to help you get to know the members of our team. We’re real people who call Arizona home, not a big corporate machine! Head here for more Q&A’s with the Platinum team.

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Tell us a bit about your personal background and family.     
I grew up in Northern Virginia/Washington DC area with loving parents and three siblings. At the age of 20, we moved to Arizona, and at that time, I started working towards building my professional background and career with a focus on Communications and Customer Service. I now have three daughters of my own and five grandchildren.

What has your career been like? / How did you get started at Platinum?
My career has given me the opportunity to work in various environments while keeping the focus on providing a high level of customer service. I’m passionate about having the ability to help others and take pride in treating my colleagues, customers and clients as I would want my own family to be treated. Accepting the position with Platinum as the Customer Care Advocate allows me to work with a team everyday who shares my ideas and determination to provide only the best for our customers.

What are your hobbies?
I love cooking, wine tasting, traveling to Mexico with my husband as well as spending time with my family and friends. Living in Arizona allows us to spend a lot of time outdoors in the pool and on our patio enjoying the beautiful weather.

What have you learned that you would love to share?
Everything happens for a reason. It's not always clear at the time, but the answer always come out in the end. Stay true to who you are, and you will always be fulfilled.

What does "home" mean to you?
Home is where I am most happy and treat those who are in my home as my family. It's been a long tradition of mine as a child and now a mother and grandmother (Mimi as my grandkids call me) to cook Sunday dinners and enjoy time together as a family.

School may be back in session, but the summer season is still in full force. While temperatures are still toasty, how can you save energy and money? This segment tackles that question and more. Earlier this year, Steve Higgins, our VP of Field Operations, walked 3TV through questions like:

- How can a programmable thermostat help you save energy?

- Why should you consider using cheaper, thinner AC filters?

- Why do you need to clean the coils on your heating and cooling system?

- What does SEER refer to?

- How can fans help you with cooling and energy savings in your home?
 
KTVK-PHX

Aired: 4/9/2017 7:36:47 AM

Steve Higgins, our VP of Field Operations, walks AZTV through some basics to keep your pool in top shape.
This segment touches on questions like:

• What are some of the best tools to keep the pool clean of debris?
• Why is it important to stay on top of chemicals?
• What does a home warranty cover when it comes to a pool system?
• What options do I have as far as a pool pump?

AZ-TV 7 Cable 13

Aired: 3/30/2017 8:40:33 AM

This post is part of our Gratitude series, which reminds us to celebrate the ordinary things as we navigate life at home.

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Today we’re grateful for… air conditioning. Too obvious? We think not. We confess -- this time of year, it’s easy to fall into a predictable conversational pattern. You know how it goes -- someone asks how you are doing, and your automatic response becomes a complaint about the weather. True, it’s ridiculously hot out there. But, how does dwelling in the negativity really help anyone? Instead of further weighing ourselves down, let’s go the opposite route. Let’s choose to express a little extra gratitude for what we do have this time of year -- air conditioning. It’s pretty incredible what our AC systems can do, allowing our homes and workplaces to be comfortable spaces amidst this season of intense heat. So thanks, AC for doing your thing. As desert dwellers, we have super high expectations of you, and it’s pretty wonderful that you keep running.

This post is part of our Gratitude series, which reminds us to celebrate the ordinary things as we navigate life at home.

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Today we’re grateful for… the fridges that house our food. Pause for a moment. Consider what your life would look like without a chilly place to store your milk, cheese, meat… perishables galore. Especially in the summer heat, those ingredients stand little chance of survival without a fridge to call home. Any extended time without that extra chill would render them questionable for consumption. But how many times do we actually even notice the substantial impact our fridges have on our lives? In our own experience, at least -- pretty much never. Their big time role is largely overlooked (that is, until they fall down on the job). So today, we want to give a hat tip to the fridges in our lives. We’re taking a moment to say -- thanks fridge for the way you keep on keepin’ on, ensuring that our food lasts, providing nourishment and fuel for our lives!

Steve Higgins, our VP of Field Operations, discusses pool care with CBS 5 just in time for the summer season. This segment touches on topics like:

• How Phoenix’s extreme heat summer heat taxes your pool and impacts chemical performance

• The importance of staying on top of cleaning and debris removal, especially during monsoon season

• The negative impacts of older pool pumps -- uses more electricity, can cause leaks and tax pipes and filters

• Why investing in a newer pump that runs at a lower speed (typically about $500-800) is a worthwhile investment to consider

If you're thinking about upgrading your pool pump, be sure to reach out! We'd love to help you explore your options and get the best value for your needs. Contact us here or call 602.733.5000.

This post is part of a series to help you get to know the members of our team. We’re real people who call Arizona home, not a big corporate machine! Head here for more Q&A’s with the Platinum team.

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Tell us a bit about your personal background and family.   

My name is Javier Mendez, but most people call me "Javi" for short. My mother likes to tell the story about how she had to drive herself to the hospital that fateful stormy night that she gave birth to me, so that I can understand how hard things can be sometimes and that you have to get things done on your own at times. I love my parents Blanca and Armando for all they have done and given for me. I grew up in Pacoima, CA (San Fernando Valley), which is just 15 minutes from Hollywood and about 30 minutes from Downtown Los Angeles (if there is no traffic, otherwise it is about an hour to get anywhere). I am the oldest of four children (Javi, Aeshia, Tiffany & Ryan) and am also now a father of two beautiful children of my own and husband to an amazing woman, Deisy. I have a son named Isaac who is a splitting image of me, and my mini-me as well as a little cutie and feisty daughter named Emma. I studied CAD drafting and residential uniform building code / design at Los Angeles Valley College but have not really done much CAD work in over a decade. For me it's simple:

• God first
• Then family
• Then community / the world

What has your career been like? / How did you get started at Platinum?

My career has been primarily within this industry or with homes in general. Homes seem to be my thing as I learned early on how to draw them and how they are built and the processes in between to get that done. I started with Platinum in December of 2015 and have had the opportunity of bringing many years of experience with some of our counterparts in the industry. Having had experience with a major entity in our industry (First American Home Buyers Protection) and then a smaller and growing warranty company such as ourselves (which I shall not mention) are a couple of companies that I have had the opportunity to spend my career and time at over the years.

What are your hobbies?

Hobbies? Well my nickname sounds like a hobby (Javi) so I have many. :) I love to cook and am praying that one day I will have the opportunity to take my passion in the kitchen and transition that into a taco truck or maybe even a restaurant one day. It's also no surprise -- I really really .... really love my team The Los Angeles Dodgers, as I spent most of my life playing baseball myself and even spent a few years in semi-pro leagues both in California (LAABL - Burbank Royals) and also here in Arizona (AZABL - Arizona Amateur Baseball League) as a pitcher and utility player. One of other big passions is house music. I have always been intrigued by the four on four rhythm of house music. It is not only a sequence in time but also somewhat a basis for the soundtrack of life, as it is upbeat, moving and has a certain taste that I will never grow tired of. I had successfully released music that I have produced in this genre over the years under one of my musical aliases of "Cyberpunk.”

What have you learned that you would love to share?

Over the years I have learned many things, so for me to tell you everything would make this a never ending story, so I will keep it simple. I can say that I have learned how systems and appliances work inside and out and what the costs are involving repairs and replacing such items, but these are cooler:

• Having a home warranty is essential when owning and especially buying a home.
• Not everything is "black and white" and there is never a "dumb question" because the only "dumb question" is the one you do not ask.
• There is nothing wrong with failing, only then can you truly know your worth and be able to get back up and try it again.

What does "home" mean to you?

What "HOME" means to me is probably going to sound cliche, but it's "Where the heart is.” I don't think there is anything more true than that. Your heart beats to stay alive, and in order to keep your home alive, there are many different systems and items that help us live our day to day lives. I am thankful that I know about these things because I would probably be lost in that regard of "keeping the home alive" if I didn't. Home is also a place on your map or GPS that is both a start and end point to any one of your journeys throughout your daily life. So no matter how many twists, turns, curves and bends, bumps or holes in the road.... the start and end will be the same, and I am blessed that God gives me chance to call Platinum a destination in between and even more blessed to work with such wonderful people along the way.]]>