There are two frequent complaints homeowners make to the Better Business Bureau about residential roofing companies: poor communication and dirty jobsites. Joel Patzke and Laura Cole, husband-and-wife cofounders of TrueWorks Roofing in Houston, Texas, were determined to avoid those homeowner frustrations when they launched their business. In our podcast interview with Patzke, he shared how the effort has positively impacted their business.
“When Laura and I started the company, we researched the most common complaints to the Better Business Bureau about the roofing industry and decided that is exactly what we want to be the absolute best at,” Patzke says. “That was part of our strategy starting out. And by far those top complaints are poor communication and dirty jobsites.”
Patzke believes excellent communication begins with the first phone call to TrueWorks Roofing. “We don’t have a secretary or an administrative person. We have an educated office manager who answers every phone call,” he explains. “There’s a big difference between the two. It’s not someone who takes a name and a number. When homeowners call, they have a list of questions, and they want answers to their questions. Our office manager, Sara, knows attic ventilation, insurance, what type of shingle will be installed, the various roofing systems we install. Pretty much anything a homeowner will ask, our office manager can answer. I think starting things off initially like that really sets the tone for how the homeowner’s experience is going to be with our company, the level of communication that they’re going to receive, and the answers to their questions provided to them right away.”
Other areas of effective communication that Patzkebelieves are very helpful include appointment reminders. “We send appointment reminders to the homeowner for every single appointment, which includes the initial inspection,” he notes. That reminder includes a photo of the TrueWorks Roofing representative who will be conducting the inspection and a tidbit about the person. “For example, it might be a photo of Thad who will be smiling in the photo, and it might say ‘I like baseball’ or whatever,” Patzke says. “It’s just a short bio about our rep so the homeowner understands it’s a person who is coming to their house.”
Short Videos
Embedded in that appointment reminder message to the homeowner is a link to a YouTube video TrueWorks Roofing created to explain what to expect during the inspection. “It’s a two-minute video showing the highlights of what we do during an inspection, including going into the attic to check the ventilation,” Patzke says. (He notesthat TrueWorks Roofing lands so many contracts because homeowners say very few other roofing companies go into the attic or explain ventilation.)
“If it’s an insurance claim, they’re going to receive an appointment reminder for their adjuster meeting,” Patzke says. “Embedded in that reminder is a YouTube video what to expect during an adjuster meeting. On actual build day (roof install day), they’ll receive an appointment reminder with a list of things to expect and a few action items to take, including moving any vehicles from the driveway.”
“All of these little things add up and help to make an overall good communication experience,” Patzke continues. “You’re keeping the homeowner in the loop throughout the entire process. And honestly, they’re all pretty easy to do. You can do these things manually or you can automate them using software that’s available.”
Patzke says the customer relationship management tool that TrueWorks Roofing uses has a homeowner portal that utilizes CompanyCam, an app that allows contractors to take, catalog and share photos. “At any time, the homeowner can log in to the portal and can see the contract, what stage the roofing project is in, all of the correspondence we’ve had so far, and all of the photos we’ve taken using CompanyCam,” he says.
This open line of communication between TrueWorks Roofing and the homeowner builds trust, confidence, and gives them a tangible way to experience the company’s integrity. “Every roofing contractor is going to say they have integrity. But how do you show it? How do you demonstrate it to the homeowner?” Patzkeasks.
Don’t Ghost the Homeowner
In Patzke’s opinion, the driver of the complaints to the BBB specific to poor communication is often a simple matter of not answering the phone. “I just don’t think roofing contractors answer their phones or respond to emails or text messages in a timely manner. Or they ghost the homeowner for a couple of days. We just don’t have that luxury in this day and age. We have to respond fast,” Patzke says. “If we don’t return the call, they’re going to call someone else. And if we’re already doing business with them, we have a contract with them, but don’t call them back quickly, it’s going to frustrate them. Neither outcome is good. If you want to create a great client communication experience, you have to answer the phone every time whether it’s an office manager, a virtual assistant, or a call center.”
TrueWorks Roofing has a slogan, “We’ll Leave Your House Cleaner Than We Found it.” To live up to that motto, Patzkesays they are meticulous with how they prepare to do the roofing project, how they do the actual work, and how they execute the cleanup afterward. During the podcast, Patzke noted he loves The Catch-All for how easy it makes collecting the debris that falls or is thrown from the roof while simultaneously protecting the landscaping and allowing the grass to breathe for however long the roofing project lasts. “Tarps just don’t work as well. They can crush the landscaping, they can burn the grass on hot days, they’re not going to catch every nail very well,” he says.
“We have homeowners who have written reviews about our work who quote our slogan ‘They left our house cleaner than they found it’ and we’re not even sure we ever told them about the slogan,” Patzke says. “That’s the coolest thing ever for us. How powerful is that?”
Patzke points out that homeowners care a lot about their landscaping. Homeowners spend a lot of time and money on the upkeep of the landscaping, so it means a lot to them if the roofing company takes great measures to protect the landscaping during the roofing project. “I think homeowners see the effort we’re making to take extra care of their property and to leave it extra clean, and they really appreciate that,” he says.
CompanyCam that TrueWorks Roofing uses for taking various project photos also has a “checklist” feature to assist with keeping the jobsite clean A to Z. “You can’t check an item off the list as being complete unless you produce a photo visually documenting that the task was correctly done,” Patzke says. “In general, where checklists go wrong in any industry is people can mark off the various items at the end without really documenting the work was completed. There’s no accountability.”
Standard Operating Procedures
It’s one thing to have as company goals “We not going to leave a jobsite messy” and “We’re going to communicate well with homeowners,” but having all members of the company carry out those standards is another thing. “That’s the harder part,” Patzke acknowledges. “Laura and I spent a lot of time detailing the responsibilities and expectations of each position within our company and establishing standard operating procedures. That took us hours per day for months. This also allowed us to evaluate each position to make sure the required steps were still necessary or how they could be improved. Then we use those standard operating procedures (SOPs) as training tools for the employees. Employees know exactly what is expected of them.”
“We have team meetings every week during which we discuss any concerns someone might have or anything we could do better,” he continues. “We try to keep them fun, too. We’ll read our five-star reviews during these meetings and that gets everyone clapping and excited. It’s a time for us to join together and have some camaraderie.”
TrueWorks Roofing uses Slack as its in-house communication tool, which also helps keep everyone rowing in the same direction. “Anyone on our team has access and can ask a question which then can be answered by anyone. It’s made communication much more efficient and more of a team effort,” he says.
This focus on communication and jobsite cleanliness pays off. “People are mentioning those two items in many of our reviews. It is both gratifying to us and reinforces how important they are to the homeowners,” Patzke says. “We’re not perfect in either one of those areas and we can always improve, but we definitely try to excel in those areas.”
About the author: Paul Scelsi is marketing communications manager at Air Vent and leader of its Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert seminars (airvent.com). He hosts the podcast, “Airing it out with Air Vent,” and is the chairman of the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association Ventilation Task Force. He is also the author of the book, Grab and Hold Their Attention: Creating and Delivering Presentations that Move Your Audience to Action.
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