Ted Brown
During his three-year term on Pella’s Remodelers’ Advisory Board, Ted Brown noticed that the window and door company had a written framework to guide every employee in making decisions. He decided his own design/build firm, Traditional Concepts Inc., should create something similar, and appointed a task force to do so.
The resulting “TCI Excellence System,” an organized pyramid of strategies for dealing with people and reminders about the company’s overall goals, gives Brown and his 18-person business a reliable reference point in any situation. It defines TCI’s mission and values while listing 24 basic principles to remember. “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain,” reads one. “If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically,” says another.
The system has saved many a relationship between TCI and its customers. “Say a set of plans calls for tile to be laid diagonally,” Brown says, by way of example.“It was reviewed in the shop drawings, so we know that for a fact. But the client says it was supposed to be laid square.” According to the Excellence System, the best strategy is to accept responsibility for the problem and re-lay the tile, thus preserving a solid relationship with the client. “It doesn’t make sense to win the battle and lose the war,” says Brown. “That issue may make the difference between our getting a referral from that client or not.”The Excellence System isn’t the only weapon in TCI’s customer service arsenal. The company has what it calls its “101 Steps”—a checklist of the responsibilities that accompany each project, along with a timetable and a list of people responsible for each step. Then there are the Dale Carnegie self-improvement courses that TCI pays for employees to take in order to sharpen their communication skills. And the company has collectively come up with an “elevator speech,” a quick description of its services and identity that every staff member can use when talking to potential customers.
Traditional Concepts Inc. Lake Bluff, Ill. Type of business: design/build; Years in business: 18; Employees: 18; 2002 volume: $4.4 million; 2002 starts: 22
Mark O’Hara
C.P. Berry Construction has been in business for 20 years and plans to be in business for at least 20 more. With that goal in mind, the company has developed a customer service program designed to create not just word-of-mouth referrals, but repeat customers. The company builds homes that range in cost from $750,000 to $1.4 million, and their clients expect information, communication, and a process that is as organized as they are. Director of sales Mark O’Hara delivers on all counts.
The program begins with the company’s “Homeowner’s Welcome Manual,” an exhaustive primer on the process of building a new home. “It really walks you through the whole thing, from the first visit,” O’Hara says. The manual includes sections on legal aspects of the purchase, applying for a mortgage, product selection, the construction sequence, and site-visit safety. The document also provides a new-home orientation, guidelines for the closing, home maintenance recommendations, a list of contacts in the company and for preferred vendors, and an appendix of sample documents for such things as change orders and upgrade quotes.
Product and material selection can be a stress-provoking choke point, even for experienced home buyers. O’Hara eases the process by providing personalized selection sheets, which list every selection the owner must make and the date by which each choice must be submitted to the company. Having an explicit timetable helps owners budget their shopping time. “It also benefits us by keeping the project on schedule,” O’Hara says. A detailed flow chart of the selection process ensures that when clients submit a selection, the company is ready to take the baton and run with it. After the closing, C.P. Berry maintains client contact with a quarterly newsletter that combines home-maintenance articles, company news (such as a piece on recent charitable events C.P. Berry supported), and coverage of C.P. Berry new-home developments. “In total we’re sending out about 3,000 newsletters on a quarterly basis,” O’Hara says.None of what O’Hara does is rocket science. But rocket science is mainly good for rockets. Down here on earth, O’Hara says, “We’re looking for repeat business.” And a steady stream of second-time—and even third-time—buyers attests that C.P. Berry knows where to find it.
C.P. Berry Construction Topsfield, Mass. Type of business: custom builder, developer; Years in business: 20; Employees: 10; 2002 volume: $12.5 million; 2002 starts: 15
2001 Pacesetter Awards Introduction
Excellence in Innovation
Excellence in Management
Excellence in Marketing
Excellence in Production
