Remodeler: Scott McClurg, McClurg Associates, Marcellus, N.Y.
Five years ago, Scott McClurg began leaving a “blue book” on the jobsite as a tool to communicate with the client. “Both the clients and carpenter look at the book every day during the project,” McClurg says. The cover of the book has a photo of the lead carpenter and some personal details about his family and hobbies. McClurg also includes his own home number, the office number, and the carpenter’s cell phone and beeper numbers. During the pre-construction meeting, McClurg gives the book to the client, along with a calendar with start dates for all phases of the project.
McClurg gives his clients the same attention at the end of the project, too. When a client calls about a problem, it sets off a structured chain of events. The office staff fills out a “needs attention” form and gives it to the customer’s salesperson. The salesperson contacts the field crew and sets a time with the client to take care of the problem.
“We respond within 24 hours with who will be there and when it will be taken care of,” McClurg says. After the field crew addresses the problem, McClurg or one of his office staff calls the client to make sure they are happy. They then follow up with a formal letter. “The problem is addressed in four ways,” McClurg says. He says his clients are willing to pay a premium for this service and skilled crews. “You remember the quality long after you forget the price.”
Customer: Ann Marie Lozito
As a single woman homeowner, trust is very important to Ann Marie Lozito. She found that out in 1995 when she worked with McClurg Associates on her kitchen remodel. “I didn’t understand the nuts and bolts, but they put me at ease by explaining things to me. Communication is the key,” she says. After the kitchen remodel, she had them build an addition to house her master suite, and now she’s preparing to have them build a deck.
Because she was living in her home during both projects, she really appreciated that the field crew cleaned up the jobsite at the end of each day. She had worked with a contractor on a smaller basement job who left tools and ladders and cigarette butts on the site.
She says she was not home during the day, so the blue book was very helpful in providing an ongoing dialog with the field crew. “They would respond the next day,” she says. Having the personal information about the carpenter helped break the ice at the beginning of the job. “They’re in your house every day, you get to know them –they become part of your family,” she says.
She says the same responsiveness continued in follow-ups. She had a damaged panel door that had to be replaced by the manufacturer. The company handled it right away and she received a call from McClurg making sure she was satisfied. “Scott is very hands-on; that’s what I like,” she says. She calls McClurg Associates regularly for minor repairs. “They are there within the week to fix it,” Lozito says.