Press Release

ServiceMaster Teams with Yahoo! Real Estate to Offer Online Scheduling of Leading Home ServicesDowners Grove, IL -- July 18, 2002 -- The ServiceMaster Company (NYSE: SVM), a leading provider of home maintenance and repair services, today announced it has signed an agreement to provide Yahoo! consumers the ability to schedule and purchase home services through the newly created Home Service Center on Yahoo! Real Estate (http://realestate.yahoo.com).

Through this agreement, visitors to the Yahoo! Real Estate homepage will have one-click access to home services such as lawn care, pest control, heating/AC repair and cleaning services from ServiceMaster's leading partner companies, including TruGreen ChemLawn, Terminix, American Residential Services and Merry Maids. Yahoo! consumers will have access to ServiceMaster's online functionality to manage the maintenance and improvement of their home in one centralized location. ServiceMaster's online network allows users to find local home service providers, get free estimates, and schedule service visits online or via a toll free number.

"Consumers are continually looking for easier ways to find reliable home service providers. This agreement with the most trafficked Internet destination expands the reach of ServiceMaster's trusted brands to the homeowner population of the Yahoo! network," said Charles McCusker, President of The ServiceMaster Home Service Center, a wholly owned subsidiary of The ServiceMaster Company. "Additionally, this agreement is indicative of ServiceMaster's strategy to develop new distribution channels by aligning with leaders in key online and offline markets."

About ServiceMaster
ServiceMaster currently provides outsourcing services for more than 11.5 million residential and commercial customers, with combined customer level revenue of approximately $5.1 billion. The core service capabilities of the Company currently include lawn care and landscape maintenance, termite and pest control, plumbing, heating and air conditioning services, cleaning, furniture repair and home warranty.

These services are provided through a network of over 5,400 company-owned and franchised service centers and business units operating under leading brands which currently include Terminix, TruGreen ChemLawn, TruGreen LandCare, American Residential Services, Rescue Rooter, American Mechanical Services, ServiceMaster Clean, American Home Shield, AmeriSpec, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and The ServiceMaster Home Service Center.

About Yahoo! Real Estate
Yahoo! Real Estate (http://realestate.yahoo.com) brings information and services together under one roof on a wide variety of home-related topics, so that people can easily find and purchase anything they need to buy, sell, rent or improve real estate. Yahoo! Real Estate enables people to view and post property listings; research a neighborhood through features such as home values, school reports, childcare guides, and city comparisons; view properties through virtual tours; make property-related decisions using the online loan and insurance centers, financial calculators, salary comparison tools, and credit reports; review mortgage rates and recommendations; and keep up with the latest industry news.

About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo! reaches more than 237 million individuals worldwide each month, and is the No. 1 Internet brand globally. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo!'s global network includes 25 World properties and is available in 13 languages.

Contact:
Steve Bono
SVP, Corporate Communications
ServiceMaster Company
Phone: 630.271.2150
Email: sbono@svm.com

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