Jason Phillips
Plano, Texas
www.phillipshomeimprovements.com
GQ All-time Recommend Rate: 91%
GQ 2020 Recommend Rate: 94%
Number of Jobs in 2020: 1,470
Type of Firm: Full-service Remodeler
CEO: Jason Phillips
1. Demand for services is stronger than ever. Supply delays are widespread. Building product prices are rising. Please name the concrete steps you take to keep customers satisfied as timelines and prices are fluctuating?
Phillips Home Improvements consistently educates homeowners on the value of our products, workmanship and customer service through our transparent, integrity-based Methodology and pricing. Understanding why a company’s services are worth the wait helps alleviate some of the stress of waiting. We also inform homeowners concerning the length of time our quotes will remain valid at currently quoted prices and we make good on those promises. Additionally, we keep homeowners apprised when material and labor prices increase and provide reasons why. We update quotes as needed, once the originally quoted pricing window lapses. We believe that a well-informed client is a client well-armed to make the best buying decisions.
Most clients who have decided to conduct business with us are well satisfied with their projects as long as they are kept in the loop concerning delays and rising prices (on add-ons, for example), when the value promised is delivered. To ensure a well informed client, we provide “”weekly hug”” calls or emails on all projects to update homeowners on projects’ statuses and turn times. We employ the “”sundown rule”” on returning client’s phonecalls as well, to ensure everyone receives a response on the day they contact us with questions or concerns. Swift, thorough and caring communication is key!
2. A good remodeling or home improvement firm knows the limits of its capabilities to take on additional work. What do/would you communicate to clients when you cannot handle their job and must decline their inquiry?
We apologize for being unable to take on a client’s project and if we cannot perform the particular repair or improvement a homeowner requests, we may refer a reputable company who can. This is all part of our Sales Methodology. During the few weeks after the freeze when we received so many calls for repairs that we could not fulfill them all, we referred remote homeowners to trusted partners in the Best Picks Report in their area, explaining that we would love to help them, but due to our many requests and the desire to serve customers in a timely manner, we were declining providing service temporarily to more remote areas, as we felt we could not serve these customers in the most excellent way. And, in order to ensure we were taking care of our current clients well, we narrowed our Marketing efforts/spend as well as areas of service to our own “back yard” (Plano, Allen, Lucas, Richardson, McKinney, Frisco, etc.). We realized we would be doing a disservice to prospective clients in more remote areas by making them endure long wait times for appointments or service. However, we continued to service those clients already in our circle of love.
3. During busy times like these, operational adjustments are needed in order to take on more work, often with the same level of staffing. What steps have you taken to ensure a quality experience despite the added workloads for your team?
Thankfully, Phillips has not needed to turn down much work due to capacity, because of the continual readjustment of our Marketing dollars and the corresponding hiring and work balancing of personnel to meet the Marketing machine’s output. Also, our managers still sell and produce projects when and at the rate needed. And there is always a bench in terms of install crews available to do work at any given time. We are continually gathering resumes from local craftsmen as well, so we always have a repository at the ready to interview, vet and employ when needed. Also, we communicate as a team when and how much each of us needs to produce during a season, keeping in mind individuals’ capacities; and we watch the numbers in i360/Salesforce dashboards daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly in terms of wait times, sales capacity, open projects and project $ and # of jobs by Project Manager, etc. The numbers don’t lie to us. And trends matter. We also conduct weekly departmental and leadership meetings where we identify, discuss and solve problems in real time so we aren’t surprised by many hidden issues. Finally, we survey all of our homeowners to ensure WOW experiences and watch GuildQuality reports religiously to ensure we have happy homeowners. GuildQuality reports are golden!