The latest news from GuildQuality.

Third-party data analysis or endorsement is a great vehicle to promote any business or product - think of the annual JD Power awards for customer satisfaction, or endorsements from Consumer Reports magazine. I’m sure the majority of consumers turn to some type of third party to gain knowledge about a product or service they know little about.

With this in mind, we offer the Customer Report to our members. It’s standard in every account and is designed to convey easy-to-understand performance information to both the builder and consumers.

A central feature of the GuildQuality reporting system is the ability to dynamically compare different aspects of your business. People are the front-line of any company, particularly in the delicate process of buying a home, and the customer service delivered by each team member can determine a buyer’s overall satisfaction. To accurately assess the performance of your team members in the arena of customer satisfaction, asking buyers about each is a prime place to start.

Here’s how it works: Each project we survey can be associated with the specific people and places involved in that project. We define these people and places as filters in our system. A production home builder might have filters of salespeople, project managers, and closing coordinators. A custom home builder might have selections coordinators thrown into the mix. With this capability, builders and remodelers can identify their top performers and pinpoint specific areas of improvement for each individual team member. Used consistently, this becomes a vital operational tool, allowing managers to track the quality of day-to-day interactions with buyers.

I would love to see more architects trained in the building arts. How many students finish school without understanding how to draw a wall section? Definitely a small minority. The disconnect between design and practical experience has had significant downstream implications. I think our deterioration in design quality began when architecture students stopped receiving practical training in fundamental construction technique.

I’ve followed the development of the American College of the Building Arts for several years now, and watched as it’s grown from a nascent concept, to the exciting college it is today. If ever there were an educational entity our industry should support, it is this one.

The American College of the Building Arts (ACBA) is dedicated to educating the next generation of building artisans and to preserving the building arts in a manner never before seen in America. Under the direction of our experienced faculty, students will have the opportunity to learn the skills needed to excel in their chosen field, as well as receive a quality education. This combination of education, training, and access to highly experienced faculty is available nowhere else in the United States.

The American College of the Building Arts offers a big step toward ressurecting artistry in our profession. If you have an interest in supporting that mission, I encourage you to reach out to the College.

I’ve had the good fortune to spend the past couple days with dozens of remodelers at the latest Remodelers Advantage conference. Victoria Downing invited us to give a series of talks, and I gave the first one. I am headed home to Atlanta now, and Erin Rosintoski is taking over the reigns from here.

I am continually blown away by the caliber of people that are a part of this exceptional group. The remodelers that participate in these roundtables are dedicated to excellence in their organizations. And they are also passionate about being profitable. They rely on each other to help them make strides in their operations and, when times are tough, to make the right decisions and take the right actions.

I heard from several remodelers here, “I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for my [Remodelers Advantage] group.” These people love this organization, and we’re very pleased to be associated with them.

I wish for every business owner that they have the passion that these folks have, and that, regardless of their line of work, they find the kind of resource that these remodelers have found in Remodelers Advantage.

GuildQuality is pleased to announce our 2007 Guildmaster Award winners. These Guildmembers have a minimum customer recommendation rate of 90% from all customers in 2006 and a minimum survey response rate of 70%.*

We gave out three levels of award:

Guildmaster with Highest Distinction (90% or greater customer recommendation rate and a 90% or greater survey response rate)

• ADR Builders
• Ben Tyler Building and Remodeling
• Carpentry by Chris
• Construction Ahead
• Coral Construction
• Encore Construction
• J-MAR Builders and Services
• Ken Garland Homes
• Phillip W. Smith General Contractor
• S.J. Janis Company
• Structures Building Company
• Whitman Homes

Guildmaster with Distinction (90% or greater recommendation rate and an 80% or greater response rate)

• Advanced Kitchens
• Blackdog Design, Build, Remodel
• Classic Remodeling
• Conner Remodeling and Design
• Cook Bonner Construction
• Eberle Remodeling
• French Brothers
• Harrington Homes of Iowa
• Harth Builders
• Jackson Design and Remodeling
• JD Smith Company
• Konter Quality Homes
• Mosaic Properties
• Nichols and Comito
• Noland Homes
• Oneida Builders
• Passailaigue Homes
• Pilot Builders
• Ravenel Custom Homes
• Revival Construction
• Sabal Homes
• Sopris Homes
• STRITE design + remodel
• The Orchards Group
• Thomas Buckborough and Associates

Guildmaster (90% or greater recommendation rate and a 70% or greater response rate)

• Alison Dailey Properties
• Betenbough Homes
• Bill Easler Builders
• Blue Ribbon Residential Construction
• Buffington Homes
• Byggmeister Associates
• Chastain Construction
• Dienst Builders
• Donny Brook Homes
• Gradison Building
• Harden Tuten Homes
• Ivey Residential
• Jimmy Nash Homes
  
• Jeff Benton Homes
• Loren Construction
• Menold Construction
• Silver Stone Homes
• Simonini Builders
• Southwest Exteriors
• Steed Remodeling
• Talmadge Construction
• Van Deusen Construction
• Windsong Properties

* To be eligible for a Guildmaster Award, GuildQuality must have surveyed all of the member’s customers in 2006 for larger members and as many as the last several years of customers for small-volume members.