Renovating: Excellence vs. Perfection

Remodeling: Excellence vs. Perfection

Famous football coach Bill Walsh was known for demanding perfection from his players during practices, even though he knew they would never attain it. His philosophy was if you don't strive for perfection, you don't have a chance to achieve it.


As professional remodeling contractors, we follow the same philosophy; plan for perfection to attain excellence. Like Coach Walsh, we don't stand a chance of delivering an excellent remodeling project that satisfies a client's wants and needs if we don't set and expect the highest standards possible.


In the pursuit of excellence, we coach our clients about the remodeling process so that their expectations are high but realistic. We want them to push and challenge us to always do better, but it is also our job to define excellence ... and point out the difference between it and perfection.


Our best and most effective method for doing that is listening. Really listening. Not just to find out what changes our clients prefer, but why and how those improvements will satisfy their lifestyle needs. Not just about their desire to lower energy bills, but how they define comfort and convenience and their ability and interest in maintaining high-performance products and systems.


In this discovery phase, we craft a strategy for a remodeling project that truly addresses and justifies our client's reasons for making such a significant investment and sets us on course to deliver it according to those expectations.


It is also critical to maintain a regular and open line of communication during the construction process. As during the planning stage, our first job is to listen to and then educate and inform our clients about the subtleties of residential remodeling that are specific to their concerns.


Responding to a client's question with "that's just the way it is" or "it's complicated" is unacceptable. Instead, we strive to deliver details, demonstrate our methods, and ensure that questions are answered to a client's satisfaction. That approach and level of respect helps build a better understanding of our work process all the way through the end of the job.


Finally, a key component of delivering excellence comes after completion, once a client is able to enjoy their remodeled home. We make sure to communicate our policies and procedures for warranty service -- once again demonstrating the difference between perfection and excellence. Ideally, we've done an excellent job of remodeling the home to the point where service callbacks are kept to a minimum; for those small warranty items that crop up after completion, we work to be responsive and responsible to address them in a timely fashion.


As a homeowner, it's okay to want the "perfect" remodeling project. The best we can do, however, is to strive for perfection and achieve excellence that satisfies the lifestyle needs of our clients and protects their investment now and well into the future.


Warm Regards,

Doug Abbott
Village Builders
3 Caroline St. E.
Creemore, Ontario
Canada LOM IG0
(705) 466-3202 - Phone
(705) 466-3482 - Fax
dougabbott@villagebuilders.ca
www.villagebuilders.ca



 This is an exert from a newsletter that is distributed to all former, current and future clients of Village Builders Inc. It is written by the President Doug Abbott. If you would like to receive this newsletter feel free to email me at www.robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.