GuildQuality

Two weeks ago, we introduced GQ Mobile, in which we optimized the most frequently viewed pages in our reporting application for iOS, Blackberry, and Android browsers.

On Friday, we extended the pages optimized for mobile to include the form that recipients use to complete a survey.

To the right is a screen shot from my iPhone of a survey from our test account. As with our regular survey, the mobile version prompts respondents to provide ratings on all the major aspects of the building, remodeling, purchasing, or renting experience, and makes it easy for people to share additional comments on each question.

The final part of this mobile project will be complete in early December, when we add QR codes to our redesigned survey mailers.

Forbes just picked up a story about I’On that was published by MarketUrbanism a few years ago. Real estate development is difficult, and politics make it more so. An excerpt from the original MarketUrbanism post:

It is important to recognize that our society has politicized property rights and democratized land use to the point that most re-zonings now involve a political campaign. Even with great built examples such as the historic area of Charleston and the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant, one should not make the naïve mistake of assuming that citizens or their elected leaders will understand the concept after hearing a lecture or reading a few articles on Traditional Neighborhood Development. Some may take years to understand the concept, while others may never understand it. And there are some who feel that accepting the design principles of TND involves an admission that what has been built over the last 50 years was a mistake. They may be unable or unwilling to make such an admission. Also, one should not assume that if a politician or appointed board member likes a project or thinks it is “the right thing to do” they will necessarily support it in a public forum. Few are those who possess the political will or guts to stand up to an angry room full of NIMBYs, or a well-connected citizen.

It is extraordinarily difficult to win such a political campaign in most areas of the country for several reasons: (1) Prior to World War II people were excited about growth. Their expectations were that what was built would be beautiful and contribute to their quality of life. However, the overall quality of the built environment of the last 50 years has been poor. This makes people distrustful of anything new, and gives rise to a legitimate belief that anything new will, by association with most of what has been built over the last 50 years, will necessarily be bad; (2) the private/exclusive mindset embodied in the suburban mentality (which has spread to many urban areas) leads people to believe that any more development will degrade their privacy and exclusivity; and (3) it is in the best short-term economic interests of existing property owners because limiting supply of new homes, puts upward pressure on existing home prices.

I’ve mentioned I’On a few times in our own blog. Visit our website here. Also, this Forbes post may help to explain why I occasionally rant about how the political and regulatory process is destroying the building profession.

December 7 Update: Steve Kendrick just pointed out to me that the house in the background is an I’On custom home built by Mount Pleasant builder & remodeler, and long-time Guildmember, Structures Building Company!

Mobile is a big deal. In the last 30 days, 20% of visitors to GuildQuality’s reporting application have arrived via a mobile device. Our percentage of mobile visitors has been climbing by about ½% every month. iOS devices (especially iPhones) dominate usage, constituting more than half of all recent mobile visits. Next comes the Android users, then Blackberry.

Mobile devices make the real-time delivery of our survey feedback even more useful. About 70% of customers respond to our customer satisfaction surveys, and GuildQuality delivers their feedback in real-time, via an email notification to our members. People tend to review those responses almost immediately, enabling them to take immediate action if necessary. That, coupled with the high response rate, is a big part of how we help our members reinforce their culture of quality.

[Not surprisingly, we use our own app to survey our members, and I probably use my iPhone to view 80% of the survey responses we receive from GuildQuality's own member satisfaction surveying.]

With all that in mind, I’m pleased to announce that we’ve optimized the GuildQuality reporting app for iPhones, Androids and BlackBerries. Here are a few screenshots from various devices:

We’ve optimized the most commonly visited pages for mobile: Login, Survey Response, and Dash. If you want to use the full-featured app while surfing on a mobile device (to dive into analytics), click on “View Full Web App at the bottom of each page.

With this project under our belt, we’re now optimizing the the actual survey form that your customers use to complete a survey online. So just as it’s now easier for you to view responses, it will soon be easier for your customers to provide them.

Not only are we power users of our own application, but we’re also power mobile users, so we’re especially excited about this little project.

P.S. We engineered this in-house, but Jeff Tow is responsible for the excellent design.

Check out these Guildmember logos on work vehicles. Above is Dexter Builders of Dexter, MI. Below is Construction Ahead of Doraville, GA.

Are you promoting your membership in our community of quality? We’d love to see how — send us a picture, and we’ll share it here!

P.S. You can find print-quality versions of the Guildmember logo in the marketing section of your account.

John DeShazo of FBN Construction passed away last week. Godspeed, John.

Does your work shape the human habitat? Then you’ll probably have an interest in this documentary.

Thanks to Erin Rosintoski for the pointer.