Whenever we purchase something we have expectations we want to be met.  

Meeting one's expectations is pretty standard these days, but, as a business, just fulfilling an expectation is not enough.  Our goal is to create a raving fan of each and every customer, which takes creativity and getting lots of things right.  All of the photos in this post are from customers who have referred us to friends and family.  This is the best acknowledgement of doing a great job!  Our customers are the best!  

With homebuilding, and just about any transactional business, there is an opportunity to do more than is expected.  Finding out what that is and creating a repeatable system helps turn a business into a brand.  At RW we describe this process by using a baseball analogy.  How to hit a home run, on every project, with every customer.  To score a home run you have to touch all four bases: First, Second, Third, and Home plate.  

Alright, let's play ball!!

First base, arguably the easiest base to get to is represented by Service.  When you hire the right people, provide a great culture, train them to become better at their job and life, the result is service.  In our industry this can be achieved most effectively by being an excellent communicator.  This is the most important thing to get right in every relationship and it is where most people mess up.  For us, prepping expectations, providing solutions to problems and pre-emptive budget conversations are all examples of great service where we work to excel.  Service is an outflow of who we are, which is why it is first base.  

I can't say enough thanks to the generosity of this family. Their referrals, allowing house tours and the opportunity to work together numerous times. 
 

Architect: First Lamp Architecture

Third Base, the triple is timeline.  Managing a project of artists who are working to achieve their personal goals is like herding cats.  Cats that show up at 10, to the wrong jobsite, with the wrong tools.  Add to that the complexity of it being the first time anyone has ever and will ever build this exact custom home and you've got yourself what Stephen King calls a bit of a nightmare...  Nevertheless, having a dependable schedule is a worthwhile pursuit, as having a goal is the surest way to hit the target.  Getting a project completed on time is so important to inspiring confidence. Just remember...herding cats.  

Home Plate, and the crowd goes wild!!  A home run!!  Touching all the bases in one fell swoop, landing on home plate represents the budget.  Few things go as planned, but having visibility and working diligently on the budget is crucial for a customer to have ultimate trust.  So much work goes in making the budget rock solid: planning the initial budget, getting accurate estimates from sub-contractors, working through selections and materials, combing through endless receipts and invoices, dual accounting systems, projections, cost savings tabs, monthly budget recaps and so many other things that are easy to overlook.  This is the final taste in a customer's mouth and the budget needs to meet and exceed expectations.  The budget takes a team of people laboring over every detail with great accuracy and excellent communication throughout the project to be done correctly.   

There you have it, the Home Run.  Not easy to do, but definitely worth the pursuit.  Our goal is to exceed all customer expectations and create a raving fan.  I consider a raving fan to be someone who loves their home, had a fun time during construction and shares about their experience with friends and family.  Again, we have the best customers!!