Excellence in Customer Service
Going the Extra Mile

Get Out the White Glove

Exquisite Windows is a relatively new company with a really big—yet simple—mission. The Denver-area dealership was founded on an approach to customer service that eventually became known as the “White Glove Experience.”

Just as implied by the age-old connotation of a fussy mother-in-law running a white-gloved finger over the mantle to check for dust, Exquisite’s White Glove Experience is a customer service platform aimed to please even the pickiest homeowners. They pack the buying and installation process with a lot of bells and whistles that other dealers have discovered as successful measures with wary homeowners—professional presentations, follow-up calls at every stage of the game, informative brochures about what to expect and on-site clean-up procedures during installation. But what this growing company has pegged that many others may ignore in their customer satisfaction approaches is how to make sure the employees care about doing right by the customer. Exquisite’s White Glove Experience isn’t just a half-day training program and a banner hanging in the break room—it’s a platform on which the entire business is built. Employees are hired specifically for their ability to fit into the white glove approach and the management team is reporting that customer referrals are growing steadily as a result. “Customer satisfaction starts with employee satisfaction—that’s our concept,” says Pat Curran, production manager. “If employees are excited about our company, it’s going to rub off on the customer.”

This customer-focused culture is stressed to potential employees and new hires from day one. “That’s the whole plan here,” says Perry Scarbrough, lead installer. “Everybody has to make a living and make money, but why not do it the right way? This is not an investment scheme. It’s an actual company that these owners are trying to build. No matter what the cost, even if we lose money on a job, every customer of ours is going to be happy.”

The owners, Bryce Steckler and Mick Lindquist, did not have former industry experience when they founded Exquisite but brought strong business educations to the table. To make up for what they lacked in window and door knowledge, they hired industry veterans, including sales manager Mike Mendes and Curran, who has nearly three decades worth of window and door projects under his belt. The management combination has gotten off to a powerful start, developing a company that strives for customer service predicated on solid business techniques and industry competence. “They wanted to change the lives of the people they work with, not only the customers but the employees,” Curran says of the owners. “They wanted to create an atmosphere for employees that they can be comfortable in. They want us to be excited about this company.”

WHITE GLOVE HIRING
A new company, Exquisite relies on its solid employee team to propel growth. Even one weak link could be a significant challenge for a company of its size. So the management team has put firm hiring practices into place, aiming to attract and hire the strongest candidates in the field—regardless of the position. “We want employees that will grow with our company,” says Curran.

Exquisite puts candidates through a rigorous three- and sometimes four-step process to get on the roster. First are the initial recruitment steps, with the traditional contact and interview. Managers at Exquisite look for candidates who are clean and well-spoken, have a good work ethic and solid people skills to be able to communicate well with many types of customers. Given that the first stage goes well, candidates then complete a questionnaire, indicating to managers their past experiences and level of competency for the position.

Checking references is more than just a passing phrase at Exquisite, says Scarbrough. When he interviewed for his lead installer position, the managers actually went to the sites of some of his past jobs to inspect his work first-hand. They followed-up with work and personal references too, he notes. “At first, I wasn’t sure I cared whether I got the job or not,” says the 25-year veteran of the home improvement industry. “But after the first interview, I wanted this job. It wasn’t an easy process. I really had to work for it.”

Having gotten through an interview, a quiz and a job-site inspection, Scarbrough was finally brought in to meet the owners. In all, the process took about two months, he recalls. The last step was to convince Steckler and Lindquist that he would contribute to their vision for the company. “If you have a bad feeling about somebody, you have a bad feeling, and that’s what they wanted to check,” he explains. “It’s not just, ‘Hey, this guy’s not doing anything right now and he has the tools so let’s hire him.’”

Exquisite and Scarbrough were ultimately a good match and he says he’s glad he learned about the company’s values through its rigorous hiring process. “Simply put, these guys are looking at the bigger picture,” he says. “And that’s the kind of thing that turns me on. These guys are sharp and they really seem to care. I’m old school and I actually care what I put my name on, so this seems to be working.”

Like in Scarbrough’s case, the payoff for folks who join the Exquisite team, the owners hope, is emotional ownership in the goal to grow the company. “All of our employees know our financial information and we try to give them systems to see how the company works,” Curran says. “Everything they do reflects on us and we let them know that. All an installer usually knows is he needs to show up and put a window in. But we want him to feel like an executive of the company.”

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
With the right employees in place, Exquisite takes to homeowners its version of customer service, which essentially stops at nothing short of complete satisfaction. Named the White Glove Experience, the game plan goes far beyond keeping things clean, Scarbrough says. “It’s not just about white and clean,” he says. “There are so many horror stories about contractors coming into people’s houses. We’re trying to regain the public’s confidence.”

While the White Glove Experience starts from the potential customer’s first contact with the company and includes a thorough and informative sales process—which does not include pressure sales tactics, by the way—most of its execution comes when it’s time to get the windows in the holes. Scarbrough and his installation team, all of whom are company employees and not subcontractors, pull homeowners into the process so they feel like they have some control over what’s happening in their houses. “First thing we do when we walk in is put a tarp down,” he explains. “Then we start to ask them questions. Which way would you like us to come into your house? Which window would you like us to replace first? Where should we put the old windows until we take them away? We want them involved, keeping them abreast of what’s going on in their house and being respectful of their property.”

If working on a multi-day project, Exquisite’s crews clean everything up entirely at the end of the workday, give the owner an update on the progress and tell him what to expect the following day and take all tools and materials with them. “We leave nothing,” says Curran. “The house looks just like it did at the start of the day. Home improvements can be a stressful experience and we’re trying to change that to our White Glove Experience.”

Scarbrough says the management gives his team the freedom to do the job right, even if it takes longer than anticipated. “It comes down to my judgment,” he says. “I take the windows out and I see things. If I see damage, I take the time to fix it. I want to be able to leave that job with my head held high and I want to know I’m not going to get a call-back.”

Taking those extra steps to do things right is how the company is steadily building a strong referral rate. “We’re not just trying to build business relationships with customers,” says Curran, “we’re trying to build personal relationships. That’s how you get referrals, and we’re getting them from every job.”

With the installation complete, Exquisite employees walk homeowners through their new purchase, showing them the features of the windows and teaching them proper maintenance techniques. Finally, company representatives send thank you letters to customers and follow up with phone calls to make sure they’re satisfied. “It’s just a whole lot of personal interaction,” Curran notes.

“We were not sure what we wanted and needed advice,” says customer Sandra Paden. “Bryce came out with color brochures and a couple of ideas. He got back to us with a quote quickly on all of our options. He even met us on a Saturday at the showroom to help us decide.”

Currently, the company targets for customers those who own homes 10 years to 30 years old with builder-grade windows. Offering Amerimax vinyl windows and Pella’s wood clad lines, Exquisite serves the greater Denver area and reaches almost out to Colorado Springs, Colo. The team will likely stretch out to the Boulder, Colo., region in 2008, and has long-term sights set on even broader, perhaps eventually nationwide, service. “It’s a small company, but we want to be nationwide and we think we’re really going to reach that,” says Curran. “By the way we recruit, we feel the people in our company are going to be ready to move into the next positions on the ladder as we grow.”

Still, the leaders at the company know the only way to achieve big picture goals down the road is to focus on the important details today. To Exquisite, that means upholding the standards it sets forth in its White Glove Experience, explains Curran. “Right now, our focus is on changing customers’ expectations.”