went with my father and I watched the way he talked to people and handled his customers. He’d just talk to people and, you know, he was always friendly. He would talk to most anybody and you know time wasn’t a priority when he was talking to somebody. He pretty much never met a stranger. In fact, I used to sit and wait for him and sometimes get impatient.

He never was a big contractor, pretty much a one-man operation. He had repeat customers. And some of the customers we still have today. The way he did things and the way he handled things taught me how to handle things.

I don’t have a big secret in the way I handle things or do things. And, you know, I don’t think there’s a big secret. It can be frustratin’ at times, but you have to deal with different people. You know, whatever level they are you have to deal with it and with the different personalities. And it’s not for everybody – dealing with people.

The best part of my job is when I have a repeat customer that calls me up and says, “Hey, I have a building that needs wiring” or “I need so and so done, could you come over and look at it? I just need you to do it.” It’s pleasant. You know the guy calls you and all you gotta do is send somebody to him and take care of it. Make it real, real easy, much easier than having to price work and being beat over the head about the price.

It all starts with the quality of service. We’re consistent and persistent. And we try to give service when the customer needs service. We give 24-hour service in rotating shifts in the service department. If you help people when they need help, they’ll probably remember you in most cases – probably about 80-90% of the time. If I can give quality service and have quality people working with me, that’s basically the only way that I can see that I can grow.

Stories from the Field