Today, roughly $850,000 of Alpha Contracting's $3.6 million in volume comes from exterior renovations. But much has changed. Originally a separate division, siding's been folded back into the company. Lutes found that because so many contractors were installing vinyl siding, he needed to differentiate on product and quality. Today 85% of his siding jobs are fiber cement, installed under the supervision of an Alpha Contracting lead carpenter. Siding and window salespeople are cross-trained to sell other projects. And a siding job is often sold along with a porch, deck, or windows. More
Someone's on the phone with a complaint about the windows you installed in their addition, what was it, three years ago? Production manager Rob Dagley estimates that maybe one in 20 calls requesting warranty work at Rhino Builders, Kansas City, Kan., have to do with service on a window. More
Great customer service means more than providing a completed project. Read on to learn about the specific practices five remodelers have in place to ensure fantastic service and what their clients think of them. More
Lance Combs (Big 50 1998) and his partner, Terry Skilling, built Rhino Builders to $4.1 million in two years. "So I came home, so to speak." After selling his Rhino share to Skilling, Combs bought Muleshow Investment Co., a firm that does property management, remodeling, and custom trim work, from his dad, Larry. More
