PR April 2004

While survey firms do big business among big builders, most remodelers keep their customer satisfaction research in-house.

For repeat clients, especially friends, Mike McCutcheon of McCutcheon Construction in Berkeley, Calif., makes an extra effort to accommodate their needs. When psychologist Luli Emmons and landscaper Frank Graetch came to him in 2003 with ideas for a kitchen remodel that cost more than they wanted to spend, McCutcheon proposed a solution: time-and-materials pricing.

Maybe you live or work in a neighborhood like mine. Fifty-year-old homes of no more than 2,000 square feet get sold for $400,000 and torn down. They’re replaced with million-dollar houses occupying every inch of the lot and extending upward at least th...

Using time-and-materials pricing can save repeat clients money.

While survey firms do big business among big builders, most remodelers keep their customer satisfaction research in house. One of the main reasons: cost. If you're looking for a free way to find out what customer surveys can reveal about your remodeling business, visit www.guildquality.com. Atlanta-based GuildQual-ity offers a 17-question survey that clients can take via the Internet.

For Bob Kocis, performance management comes down to scheduling crews and ordering materials efficiently, ensuring regular cash flow and managing profit slippage.

If your clients want a kitchen that's functional as well as flashy, refer them to the revised edition of Donald E. Silvers'Kitchen Design With Cooking in Mind (NMI Publishers, softcover, 87 pages). Silvers challenges the concept of the kitchen triangle and encourages readers to think in terms of flow.

Consulting company Remodelers Advantage is launching a comprehensive business education program that doesn't require participating remodelers to leave home, the truck or the office.

The value of materials exchange programs.

What do you do with items pulled from your remodeling projects?  You can avoid transportation and landfill costs by donating surplus materials to a materials exchange — and receive a tax deduction in return. In fact, you also can increase your profitability and reduce waste.