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Look for Signs to Minimize Disruptions
In general, people want to maintain their daily routine without unexpected interruptions. However, we all understand that unexpected interruptions to our routine are inevitable. How “serious” those interruptions are impacting our daily routine is how we each make a final judgment on whether we had a good day or a not-so-good day.
One example of an unanticipated interruption that has the potential to derail your day is traffic. If you are driving to work or an appointment and come to an abrupt, unanticipated stop on your way, your anxiety level immediately increases. This is primarily because, as you come to this stop, you don’t know if this situation will create a 3-minute delay, a 30-minute delay, or a 3+ hour delay. If it takes 3 minutes, you will barely remember stopping. If it takes 30 minutes, you will likely have some minor scheduling issues to deal with, but you will forget about the interruption within a few days. If you end up stuck in traffic that creates a 3+ hour delay, that interruption becomes epic. You will recall (and subsequently share) it for weeks, possibly months. You will also be determined to identify the source of that interruption and will cite that source when you repeatedly retell the epic disruption of your week/month/year/life.
Now, apply this same thinking when something goes wrong during a commercial roofing project and occupants of the building are negatively affected. Examples include leaks during or after the replacement that displace occupants from their normal daily routine. Other disturbances include fumes, excess dust, or other disruptions to the interior. In some cases, the building must be evacuated for some period of time. In extreme cases, the building may need to be vacated for an extended period. Remember, 3-minute interruptions will be soon forgotten. 30-minute interruptions will be forgotten by week’s end. However, 3+ hour interruptions to a building’s occupants will be epic for everyone affected. Everyone will seek out the source, and then the bad news will travel fast, far and wide.
As a building owner, your primary goal is to ensure occupant comfort. And limiting occupant interruptions contributes significantly to comfort. Fortunately, there are leading indicators for the contractors that are most likely to cause unexpected interruptions to your operations. Those indicators include contractors that have a lax safety record (a required Surety letter and EMR rating will reveal this), have a record of providing poor-quality workmanship (as evidenced by their call backs), and provide no better than mediocre service (checking a few references will shed light on this indicator). For a complete list of items you should request to vet contractors before you hire them, click here to access a Prequalification Form/Checklist.
Striving to minimize unexpected interruptions for our customers is the primary reason why we adopted “We’ll never let you down” as our battle cry. At Standard, we will not accept mediocre performance in safety, quality, or customer service. If we strive to “never let you down” in any aspect, including safety, workmanship, and service, we will have gone a long way toward creating an environment that will minimize unexpected interruptions for your facility occupants. It’s simple and speaks to our Core Values. And by issuing the statement, “We’ll never let you down,” we are providing a self-challenge to our project teams—all teams are expected to strive for perfection in every task; nothing less is acceptable.