2001 Pacesetter Awards: Excellence in Customer Service

Wayne Bopp

Frontier Custom Builders’ Houston territory takes in the headquarters of Compaq Computer and a host of related technology companies, so many of its clients are computer industry professionals. They are a smart, accomplished group, but there is still a lot they can learn from a smart, accomplished custom home professional. Frontier president Wayne Bopp knows the custom home business as well as his clients know computers, and he shares his knowledge with the skill of a natural teacher. “I’ve been pretty much doing this my whole life,” says Bopp, who represents the third generation of builders in his family.

But even among the top ranks of custom builders there are few who make the complex process of building a new home as clear to their clients. The lessons begin with a construction handbook, presented at contract signing, that provides a thorough orientation to the construction process and organizes such essentials as a project timeline, approved vendor list, change order form, plans, and specifications.

But it is at the end of the project, when less-attentive builders are packing up and looking toward the next job, that Frontier really sets itself apart. At punch-out, rather than follow the homeowner around with a clipboard, Bopp takes the lead. His exhaustive checklist structures the process to ensure a complete inspection and demonstrates to clients that Frontier’s interest in a flawless product matches their own. Frontier delivers that product with a customized owner’s manual that covers care and maintenance of all the materials and systems in the house.

“Over the years people have asked a lot of questions,” Bopp says, and every new question goes into the database he uses to build his informational manuals. “We’re constantly revising them.” Bopp finds that providing answers to clients’ questions before they even have to ask creates a lasting impression of credibility and expertise. He considers that kind of service nothing less than his duty. After all, he says, “It’s our profession.”

Frontier Custom Builders, Houston, Texas. Type of business: custom builder; Years in business: 10; Employees: 7; 2000 volume: $9.6 million; 2000 starts: 32

Lee-En Chung

Growing up with an architect mother and a developer/engineer father, Sarasota, Fla., builder Lee-En Chung has been around the construction industry for as long as she can remember. So she’s seen the often-difficult lives of subcontractors up close — the trouble they sometimes have getting paid on time, the wrath they face when something hasn’t been done correctly, the frequent lack of communication between subs and their supervisors. When she started her own construction and development business, Ivy Ventures, in 1992, she decided to make looking out for her subs a top priority.

She calls her system, quite appropriately, “the Chung personal formula.” It involves things like dropping by her jobsites every once in a while with freshly baked cookies or cakes for her crews, or helping some of her former employees obtain their own contractors’ licenses. Sometimes she even uses her own resources to assist employees going through tough times. “A few years ago my electrician needed to put his mother in a nursing home,” she says. ‘I referred him to some of my friends in that industry who were able to tell him what he should look for in a nursing home, and the right questions to ask.”

Showing her subs the respect they deserve translates into sound customer service. If they’re happy on the job and not distracted by personal issues, they’re better able to concentrate on their work. “If my subs are well taken care of, then the goodwill that’s created by my treatment of them will carry over to their treatment of the customer,” she says. “I pay my subs well, I don’t yell at them, and I thank them for their work.” The Chung personal formula makes especially good sense in Florida’s tight labor market; Ivy Ventures has been using many of the same subs for several years.

Chung has a degree in engineering from Columbia University, and she spends a lot of time mentoring girls who are interested in engineering and construction careers. It was a mentor of hers, in fact, the world-renowned engineer Henry Michel, who inspired her unconventional approach to business. “He promoted the idea that it was important for engineers to develop our communication skills,” she says. “He taught me to be proud of working in the construction industry.” – Meghan Dreuding

Ivy Ventures, Sarasota, Fla. Type of business: custom builder/developer/engineer; Years in business: 9; Employees: 1; 2000 volume: $1 million; 2000 starts: 2

Jocelyn and Ryan Dienst

Jocelyn Dienst may be the only custom builder ever to start a construction business so she could enjoy more time with her family. In 1985, with her children off to school and a broker’s license in hand, she chose custom building over real estate for her new career because the latter would involve too many weekend appointments.

Today Dienst admits that building custom homes may not be the best way to maximize one’s leisure time, but a $14 million-per-year business and dozens of happy clients attest that she made the right decision. And after 10 years as a builder she did find a way to spend more time with one of her kids: She convinced son Ryan to become her business partner.

From the beginning, the elder Dienst operated by a simple yet effective customer service policy: “I basically treated each and every house as if it were my own house.” The genius of this mother-and-son operation is in offering the same level of service in a company that starts 15 to 18 houses every year.

The key has been the Diensts’ ability to systematize facets of the business that Jocelyn once handled personally. Every project includes a groundbreaking ceremony. A selections consultant shepherds clients through the maze of products and suppliers. The company’s two-man quality assurance team sweeps through each jobsite at scheduled junctures to find and correct any errors in execution. A handsome newsletter reminds owners of important maintenance issues, and a dedicated warranty team handles any problems that crop up after completion.

The company’s Web site (www.diensthomes.com) includes a password-protected page for each client which offers continually updated account summaries, progress photos, and a weekly report of work completed and work scheduled for the coming week. “It takes all the subjectivity out,” Jocelyn says.

With all their attention to systems, however, the Diensts and their employees are still guided by the individualized philosophy Jocelyn adopted when she founded the company. “On a daily basis you’ve got to make decisions,” she says, “and put yourself in the position of asking what would I do if this were my home?”

Dienst Custom Homes; Cornelius, N.C. Type of business: custom and spec builder; Years in business: 16; Employees: 16; 2000 volume: $14 million; 2000 starts: 17

Robert Rowan

Jackson, Tenn., builder Robert Rowan logged 55,000 hours on his cell phone last year. That sounds like a lot, but it’s not surprising when you consider his approach to customer service. “My philosophy is that we have to care as much or more about the house we’re building than the customer does,” he says. “I’m on the phone all the time with my clients, letting them know what we’re doing now and what we’ll be doing next. I want them to know that I’m available any time to talk to them.”

Obviously, communication ranks high on Rowan’s list of priorities. And its effectiveness shows — in three years, he and his wife, Diana, have built Rowan Fine Homes into a company that does nearly $3 million of business a year. Rowan’s background in drafting certainly helps. Most of his clients bring him plans they’ve bought, and he’s able to make any changes that are necessary. But it’s his ability to be there whenever his clients need him that’s made customer service a hallmark of his business.

Along with his own commitment to his projects, Rowan stresses the importance of the entire building team’s involvement. “Customer service isn’t just my conversations with the customer,” he says. “We make sure that the people we hire hold to the same ideals we hold to. That way, I don’t have to worry when a customer drops by a jobsite, and I’m not there. I know the subs will communicate with the customer just as well as I could.”

Other Rowan Fine Homes touches include a personalized timeline so that the client can see exactly when each part of the job will be finished, and a Homeowners’ Binder containing warranty cards, manufacturers’ booklets, appliance operating instructions, and any other information that the buyer might need. The company also offers touch-up painting after move-in day. Though Rowan isn’t the only builder to offer these services, his system is unusually thorough. “You’ve got a family that’s investing a huge amount of money,” he explains. “It’s where they’re going to raise their children, celebrate holidays — it’s a big deal for them. I have to put myself in their shoes.”

Rowan Fine Homes, Jackson, Tenn. Type of business: custom builder; Years in business: 3; Employees: 11; 2000 volume: $3 million; 2000 starts: 8