Wedgewood Plan Sneak Peek!

Great to see so many great people last night for our Wedgewood Plan Sneak Peek.  It's always fun to see our realtor posse, you guys rock!  And how about a shout out to the Silverton crowd, what a great turn out!  Once again, we are so impressed by how much you love your community and the area.

We'll post our plan drafts here over the next few weeks, keep an eye out!  And than you so much for your feedback, we learned a lot.  Together we'll make this a very special community.

Brian Russo...We love this guy!

Meet Brian Russo!  We're calling him "Russo"... which is pronounced RUsso... not like the philosopher RouSSEAU.

Brian is jumping on board to build our homes in Fairfield, Amberly, and Emorywood.  Who knew we would sell so many homes this spring that we would need help?  Let's just say Brian was not in the budget, but we are really happy he is here!  Already we are seeing great results.

Brian is ambiguously ethnic*...you can ask him about it.  He has a thoughtful manner, a warm way with customers, and a great smile.  When you meet him, you'll say, "This is a guy who really cares about the homes he is building and the people who will live in them."  That's why we hired him.

*Credit Alaina Money with this term and also this trait.

WINNING

(Excerpt from my Build Like a Girl blog)

Contrary to what most people might say, I don't agree with the notion that it is an honor just to be nominated. Ok, so maybe if we're talking Nobel Peace Prize, sure, that's an honor...but short of that, and not to go all Charlie Sheen crazy here but I get my honor kicks from winning. (p.s. if you're ever up against me for an award, you should know I'm probably hoping you lose.)

So it's a good thing we won the MAME Award for Best Blog by a Builder last week, huh? MAME stands for Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence and yes, I know, really odd name for marketing awards. Now back to the winning part.

The night would have been a total downer if we lost. Instead it was one of the best nights of my career thus far. It was the kind of night where you have so much fun that people earn nicknames. Really good nicknames that stick. That's right, I'm talking to you, Skittles.

And it was the kind of night when you realize that you get to work with just the coolest people on earth. People who think it's a great idea to carpool together in the swagger wagon. People who ask if anyone's iphone needs a quick charge before we go in to the event. People who will only tag the good pictures of you on Facebook and oblige your request to delete the ones where your arms look fat. Those are good people. I love those people.

I'd like to say that I would write this blog even if no one was reading but that would be a total lie. I write this blog because it allows me to connect to anyone and everyone that reads it. It gives me a platform to spill my guts, air my grievances, confess my sins and move on. It gives me a platform to be better. At anything. At everything. I write it because it makes me feel good and it gives me an opportunity to make other people feel good, usually at my own expense but whatever. If someone reads this and feels good...that is fan-freaking-tastic.

We won because YOU read this blog.

These words. And you like it. Or not.

And maybe you like us. Or not.

Either way. It's cool.

And just because it might not be an honor for me just being nominated, it is truly an honor that you might actually read these words.

So thanks for that.

You're all winners.

From Michael White...Proud Owner of a New Tray Ceiling

I received this note from Michael after posting my last blog entry...

Jim, 

Were you sitting at the table over from us at Revolution tonight while we were at our anniversary dinner? 

The points you raised in the blog entry were verbatim what Em and I were discussing. For example, we marveled aloud how big a deal fixing the ceiling had to have been but yet how small a deal you made out of it. Secondly, we remarked at how classy you and Brian both were at how the job was completed. Lastly, my dad and I had quite a time wondering how someone shimmied under the house with an additional load bearing beam, dodging electrical wires and plumbing pipes.  

I guess what I'm saying is that every point you typed was not lost on us, and we really appreciate your approach. Your customer service is an inspiration to how I hope that I serve my own customers.  

Michael White

Wow!  Thank you, Michael.  Please know we are learning and growing everyday.  I'm afraid we don't handle all situations perfectly, but by sharing stories like these and your reaction we will build a strong culture of customer service.  Thank you.  

Where is the tray ceiling?

Good question.  Very good question.  I was walking with Mike & Emily just as the framers were wrapping up...the roof was on, the house wrap secured, and we were ready to roll on with our mechanical trades...but where was the master bedroom tray?

Oops.  OK sports fans, if you've met me, you've likely heard me say, "We may not make fewer mistakes than other builders, but we promise to handle our mistakes with class."  Here was a chance to show off our philosophy.  

1.  Apologize - The least we can be is sorry!  Some people think this step can be skipped, we believe it is essential.  "Wow, I'm really sorry.  I blew that."

2.  Don't Make Excuses - The customer doesn't care who exactly messed it up...the customer doesn't care to hear how tough our job is...the customer doesn't need a play-by-play of what went wrong.

3.  Don't Try to Talk the Customer Out of it - Here's what I didn't say, "Mike, hey man.  Do you really need this tray?  Seriously, you're not that tall.  It would probably be fine, right?"  No way.  Don't even think about it.  And worse, "What if we knocked $1,000 off the price of the home."  Absolutely not.  We're not going to buy our way out of mistakes. And we are not going to make our customer settle for something less than the house we promised to build.

4.  Say, "No problem, I'm going to get this fixed" - That's it.  Nothing more.  No need to go into all the ugly details about LVL's and point loads, and custom trusses, and coordinating framers, and holding off the mechanical trades...etc.  You may be doing all those things and you may feel like telling the customer about it because it sounds really impressive, but please bite your tongue.  Life is too short.  And there are no medals for fixing a mistake, just fix it.

5.  Get it Done - Quickly and efficiently.

6.  Ring the Bell - Shoot the customer a picture or text...let them know you got it done.  They can now check this off their list of worries and you have regained their confidence.

Here' the picture I sent when the new trusses arrived...

Thanks Mike & Emily for believing in us.  And thank you Garman Homes team for believing in such an unusual approach to customer service.

That reminds me...More Cool Stairs

The last post reminded me of how cool Bruce & Tina's stairs were in their Matthews.  They came to Garman Homes with this idea...and it really turned out great!

Cool Stairs...Tricky Gate

Great to see Dave Exley yesterday, one of our first Amberly customers.  I couldn't help laughing when I saw the baby gate! Those beautiful stairs in the Hampton make for tricky baby-proofing!

Corner Lot Identity Crisis

Who knew there could be so much confusion over an address?  Well, we found out.  And our customer, Brian, was very patient as we muddled through the resolution with the Town of Holly Springs.  

Turns out that the address of a home on a corner lot depends on which direction the home faces.  And to further confuse things, when the house faces one direction and the garage another (as is the case with Brian's side load home), everyone seems to have a different opinion of what the address should be.  

The lesson we learned...we need to take the time to be sure everyone is on the same page.  And not just the town and our vendors, but also the gas company, the electric company, and even the mail man.  And more importantly, we learned that we should take this on OUR shoulders...rather than hope the customer figures it out on his or her own.  

Thank you Brian for sticking with us and for asking for help.  You were right, it's our job to figure this out.  

PS.  Congratulations on your closing today!  Garman Homes is lucky to have you for a customer.  

Check out the back of this home!

We are so excited to be building such a beautiful home in Fairfield!  Thank you Bobby & Niha for the opportunity.  I can't wait to hang out on that screen porch.  

Bridgewater Towns...Dan's Art Project

Dan busted out the scissors and tape to help us visualize how the building would look...
Dan, we were impressed!  Who knew you and Martha Stewart had so much in common?

Btw, we took "the best" and made it even better.  Just you wait...

Did Jim get out of his car?

Mike couldn't believe I bought lots 142 & 143 Bridgewater.  He said to Alaina, "Did Jim get out of his car?  Did he see how these things drop off?"  Tasked with running Garman Homes last spring while I was starting Go Realty, Mike was not so happy to find I left him with two super-steep lots.

Mike's decision was immediate and clear...put these lots on the market and sell them to some other poor smuck.  OK, got it.

When I returned to daily operations last fall, I was as scared as Mike to start these lots.  I had no idea how the grading would work or if we could control our basement costs.  I admit, I was chicken.  And I admit, no, I didn't get out of my car.

Then, the craziest thing happened.  Dan Morse (our new Dir. of Construction) stepped up and said he and Gerry could figure these out.  Boasting 10 years of Toll Brothers experience and hundreds of basements under his belt, Dan appeared confident.  In fact, Dan relished the challenge of proving me wrong.

And boy...wrong I was.  These two homesites turned out to be gorgeous.  The basement foundations went in perfectly.  The house plans that Dan & Gerry chose were just right.  And best of all, both homes were sold before we hung the drywall.  Wow.

I'm lucky to work with people who step up and prove me wrong...on a regular basis.  Thank you Dan & Gerry!

Clearing in Wedgewood!

Our newest community, in Cary off Evans Road. 27 homesites. Can't wait to get started!

Good Attitude Addendum

I will fire you for a bad attitude.

When you start at Garman Homes this is one of the first things you will hear me say.  And I mean it.  Just ask the Employment Commission.  A few years ago, when I wrote "Bad Attitude" in the box for the "Reason for Termination," they called me.   They couldn't believe that attitude rather than job performance was the basis for the termination.  I gave them an earful.

When we sat down over the holidays to rewrite our purchase agreement, we wanted to include the "Good Attitude Addendum" to be clear with our customers how important this is to us.  Quite simply, it's not enough to want to build a home with us, we also ask you to have a good attitude.  Seriously.  Can a company ask it's customers to have a good attitude?

Absolutely.  Read our Good Attitude Addendum, decide for yourself.

We get by with a little help from our friends...

Last week each of us at Garman Homes got all dressed up for the 25th annual MAME Awards. Don't let the name fool you, MAME stands for Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence...we didn't (and wouldn't) attend a ceremony where they might give out awards for hurting people. Ironic name for marketing awards, no? I digress.

So we got all dressed up, piled into my swagger wagon and headed on over to North Ridge Country Club. We were really excited about the venue because one of our very favorite Garman homeowners (and very first buyer of our best-selling Edenton plan), Brian McEnteer, is the General Manager at NRCC. Brian & his wife, Mary are like Hall of Fame Garman Homes Rockstars. They're on our website. We adore them.

And the night lived up to all of our excitement and then some.

First...we got the best table in the house. The very back table right next to the bar. Our visibility was second to none. Key at awards ceremonies.

Second...we won! Build Like a Girl took home Best Blog by a builder.

Third...Brian made us feel like total Rock Stars. MAME is a cash bar event. So you can imagine how we were the envy of the room when after our win for Build Like a Girl we had a bottle of champagne sent to our table in celebration.

Such a great night...here's to all of you...here's the us...here's to many more nights like that!