Service Excellence > Homeowner Anxiety

Contemplating a home improvement project such as window replacement is fun. There is the excitement about the change and the joy of making design and material decisions. However, these projects can also be stressful. There is inevitably a period of time during the project where the deconstruction is complete but the reconstruction has only just begun. As homeowners who have very little experience with construction projects can’t look at things at this stage and feel that all is well. Adding to the anxiety of this experience deficit are the horror stories of family and friends regarding projects gone wrong. Occasionally, this volatile mix creates anxiety and results in second guessing and even demand for mid-course changes.

I have written previously about what happens when we blow it and there are actual problems that need to be addressed. The balance of this post is about how we manage well intentioned homeowners with misdirected anxiety.

I recently was part of one such stress filled, day-long interaction between a homeowner and Jonathan, one of our Installation Services leaders. The homeowner was concerned when she saw the beginning of the replacement process, particularly the preparation for the interior trim detail. This lead to questions as to whether the right product had been ordered and whether the installation was going to result in the positive outcome envisioned at the start. With a calm and steady demeanor, and with a focus on our customer’s satisfaction, Jonathan changed a morning filled with real “heat” and communication challenges to an end of the day expression of satisfaction and gratitude. It turned out that once the customer was able to see the finished result, she found that we had indeed provided a result in keeping with the vision she had when she signed the replacement contract.

As the job was wrapping up, I asked Jonathan about how he managed to keep his cool and work a plan to arrive at our customer’s satisfaction. His reply was a simple as it was profound – managing to that result is the expectation he sets for himself and delivering that result represents his pride of craft. It’s inspiring to know that while we pay competitive wages and are proud to do so, compensation is not Jonathan’s driver of excellence. He is not at SolarGlass just doing a job. We have the benefit of association with Jonathan because our goal of delivering Service Excellence aligns with his internal world view of what excellence means. I have the honor of working with an amazing Installation Services group where stories like these are repeated in big and small ways. This team is an important part of what makes our company special, not infallible, just very special.