The idea is shockingly simple and seems like common sense. But, in the building industry, it’s not commonly practiced. Because of this, a focus on all relationships can become a builder’s defendable competitive advantage.
Most builders think of customers as people who are buying their homes. Let’s expand our definition. Consider that a customer is anyone who benefits from the work that you do, including builder managers, employees, contractors, suppliers, and local government.
In our seminars we ask people, “Do you believe that the internal customers deserve the same respect as the people who buy your homes?” Most people nod their heads in agreement—but then we hear conflicting tales.
One person in warranty service lamented, “We look like idiots in the customer’s eyes when we go by the book as instructed by management—we say no to customer’s requests. But then someone above us discards the book and spends money in order to make the customer happy. This behavior undermines our effectiveness, credibility, and respect with the homeowner and is a great source of job dissatisfaction.”
The mild-mannered warranty person adds, “You keep kicking me, and if the stress gets overwhelming enough, I can’t help but kick the next person.” Over time this chain reaction will affect the quality of manager, employee, realtor, contractor, and supplier relationships, thus affecting the quality of their work and negatively impacting the homeowner’s experience.
As a consumer, how many times have you been frustrated with someone on the “other side of the counter” who’s giving you the service run-around? Not long ago, I was bumped from a pre-paid flight with a guaranteed seat. Scarcely apologetic, the agent of this major airline was coldly quoting airline policy. At one point I mumbled a complaint. Her reaction was telling. “Yeah, well if you think you’re having a hard time, you should see what it’s like to work here.” I call this scenario “kicking the customer.”
This chain reaction is the same predictable chain reaction that goes on every day throughout the home building business, and it affects every aspect of quality. Treat internal customers well and they will pass it along in the quality of their attitude and workmanship.
There is a potential downside to taking good care of the internal customer. One of our more successful builders who understands and actively practices taking good care of internal customers said, “My biggest problem is turnover—it’s way too low! People enjoy working here to the extent that they continue to stick around when we should be inviting new faces to keep the business changing, fresh, and growing.” That’s a problem we should all have.
Daron Powers is the Senior Associate and Director of Quality Programs at TrueNorth Development, Inc. which is a consulting and training company specializing in residential homebuilding located in Northville, Michigan. E-mail: Daronpowers@aol.com
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