As such, we want to know how our customers truly feel about us.  We cannot get that simply by asking.  We live in Minnesota-we are all nice here.  That is why we hired Guild Quality.  They are like JD Power and  Associates for builders, remodelers and real estate professionals.  A third party company will get the unvarnished truth so we can find out areas in which we need to improve.

When we are finished with a project, Guild Quality contacts our customer (we let the customer know about this service prior to their even hiring us) and asks them 25 questions regarding our  performance.  Questions like:  Did TCSP have the necessary expertise to perform your job? and, Did the crew care about their work on your home?  Customers then respond with “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” on a “0-4″ scale. 

According to Guild Quality reports, we consistently finish higher than the average Guild Quality contractors.  I want to add that only the best, most professional contractors in the nation use Guild Quality.  So I am very proud of this.  In areas regarding Construction Quality, Communication, and Value the rate of customers putting down 3′s and 4′s is over 97%!

The most important question in the survey is number 17:  “Would you recommend TCSP to a friend?”  The answer every single time has been, “Yes”.  The industry average, according to Qualified Remodeler, a trade magazine with over 25,ooo contractor subscribers, is just 50%.  (That is obviously not very good.)  Our quality of work and commitment to excellence speaks for itself.  We truly do care about our customers’ satisfaction.

Until  next time, Terry

We were nominated for the Better Business Bureau Integrity Award last winter from a past client. We went to a class at the BBB regarding the award. There we, among about 20 other companies, were told what we needed to prepare to be considered to be a finalist. We found that the BBB looks for how Integrity permeates an individual company. This runs from marketing to sales to production to how our customers and vendors are treated. We spent approximately 100 hours researching and interviewing employees, vendors and customers and submitted the application in July.

We found out we were finalists in early September and were understandably excited. The BBB’s annual awards banquet was October 25 and we invited a number of our employees to come along with my parents and my wife’s parents.

We were thrilled later that evening to find that we were honored with the Integrity Award for 2009! It was almost like winning the World Series. Kristen and I have worked very hard on our business since opening up in 1995. We know that doing business the right way is the only way to be truly successful. (You know, doing things the opposite of guys like Tom Petters and Bernie Madoff.) We clearly couldn’t have done it without our valuable employees. And not just the current employees but people from years ago who have done the right job for our customers.

So, here is a shout out to all of our current and past employees. Thank you for keeping our customers first, going the extra mile, and doing the right job.

We recently finished a retirement community in Bloomington, MN.  Josh Lynch, one of our crew chiefs wrote a great article for our company newsletter that, once I figure out how to do it, I will submit for this blog.  It is very well-written and speaks to the core of what our company is all about.

Last weekend, we hosted our first showroom event on Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18.  It was a great success and a lot of fun.  We held demonstrations on installation techniques, had experts from various manufacturers present and had a lot of people come.

We even had past clients like the Steeles from Lake Elmo come in and say hi.  One of the things I am most proud of is how many people stop by our home show booths and say how happy they are that they chose us as their remodeling contractor.  They know many people that have had such negative experiences with their contractor of choice.  Improving the lives of our customers is one of our core missions.  This is obviously not possible if we are doing poor work on their homes.

Other homeowners that were considering us came in to see our operation and made the decision to hire us.  I highly recommend to all people who are considering a contractor to visit the contractor’s place of business before they make their decision.  If a contractor has no place of business, that should raise a red flag.  Or, if their business place is less than professional, that is indicative of the type of work they will perform.

I look forward to submitting Josh’s newsletter article soon.

Our party started early so that we could have a private buffet dinner before the polka band arrived.  The food was excellent and the service was great.  The relaxed atmosphere is perfect for our company.

We gave out a lot of recognition to our employees on the production side of our business.  Mike Burgess was awarded as the installation specialist that most exemplifies what our company is all about.  Congratulations to Mike.  We also recognized Mark Zeck for his outstanding customer satisfaction skills and Bill Gardner for his work ethic.

What stood out the most to me, however, was the gratitude that was communicated to me throughout the evening.  So many of our team came up to me to thank me for providing a job that offers a living wage with benefits.  In this economy  and especially in our industry they realize they are very fortunate. 

My wife and I take our responsibility very seriously.  We have 35 employees with wives and children that are counting on us to help them thrive in the worst economy any of us have ever experienced in our adult lives.

When all of our competitors sub out 100% of their work, we are gainfully employing the best of  the best and they are able to raise families.  We know that we offer the best work to our customers because they are getting their remodeling done by workers who are not incented solely on getting the job done as fast as they can with the cheapest materials as possible.

Our customers understand when they hire us that we are promising a bigger and better job than any of our competitors.  Those words would be mere noise if not for the amazing job done by our crews.  Congrats to my entire production team!

Starting in 2006, we noticed a quantum shift in their focus on the sector of the market we work in: remodeling of existing homes. We were assigned a new rep, Eric Bohner, who took an active interest in our company. His advice and developing interest in our company was very helpful. Eric is very familiar with our core values, future projections, and short-term goals. He has given us great marketing advice and motivated us to grow our business at a higher rate than we had originally planned.

Eric obviously reports to his superiors at James Hardie and they were interested in how we have achieved our success. They flew in to visit us in 2008 to check out our operations. We had good conversations with them as it was a mutual learning experience.

The gentlemen that came were John Dypske, Paul Jentzel and Martin Whitehead. They told us that they were developing a program to better attend to what they term as the R & R (repair and remodel) segment of Hardie’s business. They let us know that they were going to ask approximately eight contractors from across the nation to be a part of an advisory council.

We were thrilled to accept. The proper installation of Hardie products (like all other construction products) is critical to its long-term perfrormance. Twin Cities Siding Professionals has been recognized for years as the market leader in volume, but more importantly, quality of installation, in the Twin Cities market. Our competition is merely content with putting it on as fast as they can and getting their checks so they can move on to the next job. In contrast, we aim to provide the best project for our customers, not just a project.

Anyway, membership in James Hardie’s Inaugural National Advisory Council is a great honor. Only the best companies that have earned Hardie’s trust and confidence were invited to come to Chicago in November. While there, we were able to share our ideas and learn from other market leaders from around the country. It was a great education. Too often contractors are in their own little cocoon and learn only one way: through trial and error. And that happens at the homeowner’s expense!

That honor, along with being awarded the very first “Qualified Installer of Artisan” by James Hardie in May made for quite a year for our company. It is nice to be recognized for being the industry leader for quality from such a large manufacturer. We have worked hard for a lot of years compiling an employee team of the best, most consistent installers of HardiPlank in the country. We have also worked hard educating homeowners on the need for properly vetting contractors to make sure they are installing products the right way – not the fastest way. It has been worth it.

Hello World!  This is Terry Stamman, President of Twin Cities Siding Professionals based in St. Paul, Minnesota.   This is my first Blog.  See pic below of me and my wife.

Terry and Kristen Stamman

 The purpose of this Blog is to share with you my thoughts, concerns, my victories, my challenges about my business and the home improvement industry.    And maybe sometimes I may write about something unrelated like why the Vikings can’t win a Super Bowl!  

Below is my first post. I hope you like it!

What Your Contractor Should Know

Because if you actually take the time to ask the questions it suggests, you can almost assure yourself of having a very positive contractor experience. And after all, isn’t that what every homeowner wants out of their home improvement project? As a matter of fact, our entire website is dedicated to informing homeowners about what we do and things you should know before you make such a big investment. We try to cover all of the details because we want you, the homeowner to understand that paying attention to all of those details makes for a good project because the product you pick only contributes 20% of your ultimate satisfaction, the contractor you choose contributes 80%.

But then it occurred to us…

…rarely do you hear a contractor share with a homeowner some things that he, the contractor, must know when giving an estimate and installing a roof.

With this said…We would like to offer…

The Four Things Your Contractor Must Know BEFORE Giving You an Estimate.

1) The contractor should know how important it is to protect the property of the homeowner and properly clean up after each day and especially after the job is done. The contractor should know that this is extremely important to a homeowner. Do they make sure that the landscaping doesn’t get damaged or destroyed? Is he picking up every nail and piece of debris at the end of each day?  A contractor should know that if they take care of your property and clean up so that it is almost impossible for you to know they were there…you will almost surely recommend that contractor if all else goes well.

2) A contractor should know that you are going to ask for references. A reputable contractor should have a book of references and many happy customers in hand when he gives you an estimate. A contractor should know that it is very important for a homeowner to check these references so you should be able to pick and choose any ones you wish. It is not enough to just ask for references. Pick at least 5 and then you need to actually call them. Every time we don’t check references on people we hire, we always regret it! It takes a little time but if you really want to make sure you’re covering all the bases, then make the phone calls and make sure the contactor you are considering is the real deal. Ask the referred homeowner if they would hire the contractor again. That is the #1 thing you need to know. If the homeowner says yes than you have got yourself a potential winner.

3) Your contractor must know the importance of proper communications between them and you. Ask about what “proper communication” means to any contractor you might want to hire. How will you find out about your warranty, what’s covered and how to maintain it? Does the contractor inform you at the end of each day what was accomplished, what’s happening next and when? Delays in your project can happen. How will you learn about such delays and when to expect them to return? Will they tell you as soon as they find something outside the original scope of work or will they just do it and tell you about it when they present a higher final bill?

4,) Your contractor must know that you’ll appreciate “Good – Better – Best” solution options, along with the benefits and any drawbacks of each, so that you can easily determine your best deal for price AND value. And once an option is selected, your contractor should know that you would like several options on how to pay. If your credit is good you may want a no interest payment plan. At least you’ll want the option to pay by credit card and want your deposit amount to be no more than 33%. If your contractor needs more than 33% than that tells you he may be having financial problems. And if the contractor is having financial troubles, that could spell big potential trouble for you at some point. What if he can’t finish your job because he can’t pay his crew or buy the materials called for in your contract? What if he isn’t around to make repairs on items covered by your warranty? What if there is a leak? Who do you call if the contractor goes out of business? Sometimes you can tell a lot by a little information.

CONCLUSION:

The above covers the things we believe a contractor should know when working with a homeowner.   Some of these seem obvious but you would be surprised how many contractors will show up to perform a project, or even conduct an estimate, and not take the time to make sure that you are protected and informed. We hope this Blog helps you to make sure that you have a very successful contracting experience, soon or in the future.

If you have any questions of comments please feel free to
Contact me:

(James Hardie Siding, Roofing, Windows, Doors)