Message from LeDuc & Dexter

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Custom Homes, Custom Plumbing	RESIDENTIAL

In the custom home market, there exists the custom plumbing market. The new custom or semi-custom homeowner, as well as the homeowner that remodels, is typically involved in the finer points of finished home design, which usually includes the appropriately stylized plumbing fixtures. Manufacturers, such as Kohler, Moen, Grohe and Delta are in the business of rolling out their wares in catalogs, magazines and online to show how the effects of highly appointed faucets and fixtures can enhance the unique design of one's newly acquired or remodeled home.

This custom home master bedroom vanity area is highlighted by Kohler sink and bath fixtures. (Click photo to enlarge.)

It is in the fine line between home construction and home design that LeDuc & Dexter's Residential Manager, Jim Kempers, feels the homeowner can benefit from professional plumbing expertise and guidance. "The general contractor (who built the home) will send the homeowners to us to get the fixtures they want. We sit down with them and go through every room in their house and every fixture." This is a very personal and important part of the home for any homeowner. LeDuc & Dexter's residential department always makes accommodations for these customers by providing an appointment time and the available product resources from the top manufactures in the industry.

Sometimes when a homeowner is making a change, in a remodeling project for instance, LeDuc & Dexter can give advice that is invaluable. "A customer might be replacing tile with granite," suggests Jim Kempers, "in that case we can help them with what fixtures will work and what fixtures won't work. We carry them through and explain why." This education leads to wise, as well as stylish choices, which can also save time and money.

"Some people go to the do-it-yourself box stores to get fixtures, hoping to save some money. Then they find out that the sink they picked out won't work with the plumbing they have or the valve in the faucet they bought isn't the complete valve they need. This usually happens at the end of the job and if they can't return the fixtures they go over budget, plus they don't have our warranty when they do it themselves."

"We do a lot of hand holding when we work with our customers," adds Jim Kempers. Perhaps it's that personal contact that LeDuc & Dexter can provide, backed with industry expertise, that make it the most successful way to go.
 

Tenant Improvements  on the Fast Track	COMMERCIAL

When Mike Gentry, Vice President of GCCI, Inc., thinks of tenant improvements, two words flash in his mind, "fast track". "That's what I like the most about the tenant improvement business, it's on the fast track. You get in and you get out. That's the way it is because the leases are set up for the tenant to move in by a certain date. If the finish date is the last day of the month, you have to be completely done with the project because the tenant is moving in and paying for the space on the first of the month, the next day."

GCCI, Inc. is the general contractor at 401 Healdsburg Ave. in Healdsburg. The patriotic shroud protects pedestrians as the exterior is being completed. (Click photo to enlarge.)

GCCI, Inc. is a general contractor that also does new construction, like the office building at 401 Healdsburg Avenue in Healdsburg. LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department contracted for plumbing of the shell. "We are two months away from completing the shell and then we will do the tenant improvements for the offices upstairs, we will have six weeks to complete it. Someone else is doing the T.I. downstairs. New construction and T.I. are two completely separate markets, T.I. is very creative financially with no rule of thumb because of the lease agreements and the building owner will sometimes give incentives, a certain dollar amount per square foot to tenants for T.I."

Because of the fast pace schedule GCCI must choose subcontractors suited for that type of work. "We like companies like LeDuc & Dexter – they are excellent. They can go in and perform and they're on their own. We can't work with companies we have to baby sit. All the subs have to go in and perform and work together." Many of the retail stores that GCCI does tenant improvements for have schedules of 30 to 35 days for completion. "I prefer the T.I. jobs that are 10,000 to 15,000 square feet in size. They seem to come in waves, in 2001 we did 12, last year we did one, hopefully we'll have more this year."

The fast track T.I. business does have some speed bumps. "Right now we are waiting for changes to be made at 401 Healdsburg Avenue before we start the upstairs T.I. Sometimes while you are working on the T.I. project the tenant is making changes as fast as you can put them in. It's usually less expensive for the tenant to pay for construction than it is to pay for a space that is not ready to move into yet. To be able to complete the changes and make the deadline you really have to be on the "fast track."
 

Residential Customer Service	THE COMPANY

The term "customer service" has many connotations. In every case, though, it should mean, "taking care of the customer" through all phases of a job or project. There are three main phases of all business transactions, sales or jobs – before, during and after. For LeDuc & Dexter, the "before" phase consists of the bidding process that takes place while considering all of the customers needs for the project. The "during" phase is the execution of the job or project, when LeDuc & Dexter works closely with a general contractor or owner to get the desired results. The "after" phase is the longest period of time, when the project is completed and the customer takes possession of the finished product. This is the most important phase and the longest phase. The impression that the customer has from a job well done must evolve into a feeling of lasting satisfaction.

Dave Avilla heads LeDuc & Dexter's Customer Service Department. (Click photo to enlarge.)

In LeDuc & Dexter's residential department , Dave Avilla handles customer service. In most cases he is serving the customer after the sale or job has been completed. Homeowners are generally much more emotionally involved in their homes than business owners are in their business buildings. When there is a problem with a leaking faucet or some other plumbing function or equipment it must be remedied. "Customers can be very agitated, but all they really want is to have the problem fixed," says Avilla, who has been with LeDuc & Dexter for almost six years, the last two years in customer service.

When a plumbing problem or repair needs attention in a newly constructed home still under warranty, LeDuc & Dexter is usually contacted by the general contractor who has built the home. The homeowner generally contacts the builder, who then sends the warranty work order to LeDuc & Dexter. Sometimes the homeowner will call LeDuc & Dexter's service company, Super Service, because they have seen the Super Service sticker on the hot water heater or garbage disposal. Todd McCoy, of the residential department, contacts the homeowner to set up an appointment for Avilla to come out and repair, replace or resolve the problem. "It's really important to respond the same day the call comes in and set an appointment as soon as possible for the customer," explains Avilla.

When Avilla arrives at the home he knows he is about to perform a very important part of his job – listening. "Even if I know what I need to do shortly after the customers starts telling me what the problem is, I wait until the customer is completely done talking. Then I say, 'Let's take a look at it, I'll take care of it.' That seems to have a very calming effect on the customer." As we all know, people tend to remember more about how a problem was resolved than they do about the problem itself. That is the lasting impression that produces customer satisfaction. Avilla adds, "I always look at the customer as a future customer for Super Service also."