Step 1: Chuck Taylor showing his commitment to St. Baldwick’s
It amazes me in today’s commercial real estate market when I hear commercial construction news about companies or people who just phone it in with their commercial construction services.
I understand the word “commitment” can be scary to some people, especially guys. But I was always drawn to the idea of commitment. In fact, I started dating my wife my sophomore year in high school.
So as I get older, I have an even greater appreciation for people and commercial construction businesses committed to something they believe in, whether it’s a strong work ethic, family, friends or a worthy cause.
Granted, when most commercial developers or owners bid out their new restaurant construction project or retail retrofit, a general contractor’s construction costs and experience are a priority, as they should be. But don’t you want to align yourself with a true partner who won’t just do the work, but is committed to completing the project the right way and will go the extra mile?
Response Time. Do your commercial construction vendors respond to your requests quickly or do they keep you waiting? Will they give you a response time in writing? We offer our commercial property maintenance clients one-call dispatching 24/7 and guarantee a response time for emergency services. Your vendors should offer you nothing less.
No cutting corners. We’ve all had clients who veer off plans and ask us to “just put it up on the wall.” But we can’t do it. We have to cut open a wall, inspect it and install wood blockings to make sure the wall can support the materials. We won’t compromise a construction safety program to save construction costs. And no general contractor should. See our earlier blog posts on commercial construction safety plans regarding BP and the Sephora Fire at the Shops at North Bridge for more details on this subject.
Step 2: Chuck Taylor “betting his head” to St. Baldwick’sAccessibility. Does your general contractor’s commercial construction management team make itself available after hours? Is it easy to find a status update on your new commercial construction project? At Englewood, we’ve implemented a paperless construction project management system that houses all documentation for each of our jobs in one electronic folder hosted on our web site. This means that all parties working on a job (us, the client, subcontractors and architects) have access to all job files 24/7, which is ideal when you have multiple projects in different time zones. Your vendors should make your job easier, not harder.
When Lucky Brand Jeans told us we had less than four weeks to complete the build-out of its new store on Michigan Ave. we shifted into overdrive. Anyone in new retail construction knows that’s almost an impossible deadline, but the store had to be open by Black Friday. So we got a hotel room down the street, which allowed us to work around the clock. When people were tired they crashed in shifts at the hotel. To the chagrin of our families, we were still working Thanksgiving morning. But we made our deadline. And I was so thankful that I invited Lucky’s construction manager to my house for Thanksgiving dinner.
Step 3: Chuck Taylor and Josh Crosby raising money for St. Baldrick’sNo vanity. I think one of the reasons I love working at Englewood Construction is because we’re all willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Nobody is “too good” to make copies, “too proud” to walk a construction site or “too big” to get their hands dirty. We’re willing to sacrifice a lot to show our commitment to a client or a cause. And sometimes, we’re even willing to sacrifice our hair.
I’ll admit it. I have a bit of a Samson complex when it comes to my hair. But I knew what I was getting into when I committed to raising funds for St. Baldrick’s, the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. So I bet my head to raise money for children with cancer and didn’t regret it for a minute…well, except for maybe that photo with the lone tuft of hair on top.
Now, would I shave my head just to get a new client? Let’s say I would definitely be interested in entertaining offers.
What’s the craziest thing you or your vendors have done to show your dedication to a project or cause? Let me know at chuck.taylor@englewoodconstruction.com.
Chuck Taylor
