December, 2004

Craftwood Invests in Extreme Loyalty from Remodelers

Craftwood’s approach to serving its customers in suburban Chicago is simple; "Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.

By Craig A. Shutt

"There’s no magic” to thriving on sales to remodelers, says David Brunjes, president of Craftwood Lumber in Highland Park, Ill. "The concept is simple—give them excellent service all the time. The problem is actually making it happen on the floor.”

Craftwood’s approach to serving its customers in suburban Chicago is simple, he says: "Treat others the way you’d like to be treated. Go the extra mile, do whatever it takes, make sure the customer is happy.” The key is to ensure every manager and employee accomplishes just that.

Its service approach can be seen in such activities as replacing any lumber a remodeler isn’t happy with in a delivery. "If he doesn’t like two boards, we’ll send out two to replace them,” he explains. "We want to totally eliminate objections to our products.”

That costs the company time and labor, he agrees. "We’d lose some money on that one—but it would cost us far more if we lose that customer. And ten years from now, those lost sales will be in the thousands. You have to look at it as a long-term program.”

Craftwood’s approach is to ask a complaining customer what it will take to make them happy. Often, it’s not that much, and the ability to control it is a key part to creating satisfaction.

That service extends to every aspect of the business, including phone calls, he notes. Recently, he received a call from Iowa asking about the company’s cedar sheds. Instead of telling the remodeler that Craftwood wouldn’t service someone in Iowa, the store called the manufacturer and found a local distributor. "Helping that customer didn’t help us, but we made the supplier happy,” he points out. "So when I need a favor on a job, there’s a good chance I’ll get it.”

Brunjes took over the business 12 years ago from owners who "had to make money on every transaction, and that was awful,” he says. The extreme service isn’t promoted in advertising, he notes. "People are tired of hearing about good service, they want to see it.” Besides, he believes he actually is promoting the company’s service levels. "Word-of-mouth advertising is the best advertising there is. And that remodeler will tell his buddies in the bar that night about what we did for him.”

Ensuring all employees reach this level requires managers stressing it all the time, he says. The extra effort is worth it. "I truly believe we’re still here because of our service. And there are a lot of our competitors who aren’t here.”