iNest Newsletter

Great Customer Service No Accident for Quality Homebuilders

Dena Kouremetis
A veteran of the homebuilding industry, Dena Kouremetis is the foremost real estate columnist specializing in new home issues, trends, products and designs. Her columns appear in the New York Post as well as other newspapers throughout the U.S.

Good customer service is important in every industry, but especially important when making a huge investment, such as the one you will make in a new home.

Listening to your concerns, finding ways to resolve issues and misconceptions as a home is being built, and backing up a commitment to take care of their homes after the sale are all the lofty goals of a good homebuilder.

In the Nation Association of Home Builder's (NAHB) 2001 edition of the Cost of Doing Business Study series, called "The Business of Building," designed specifically for its builder-members, 400 large and small homebuilders were polled to help provide others with valuable information on homebuilding company performance. The results of the study prompted the NAHB to urge builders to establish hard, fast policies that benefit both buyer and builder.

Seeing the "insider" frustrations from the business side of things can be eye opening to the consumer, who may assume that homebuilders are constantly out to take advantage of the little guy.

In an overview of the study, however, the NAHB warns its constituency, "Builders without written customer service policies tend to spend lots of time putting out fires, keeping unhappy customers at bay, and achieving less than superior profits."

They illustrate their point by setting up an imaginary scenario undoubtedly experienced by more than one homebuilder during the course of business. In it, the building superintendent receives a call from a less-than-pleased homebuyer at 4:45 on a Friday afternoon, wanting to know why an optional room they ordered was not framed in.

Panicking and rifling through paperwork, the builder does indeed find that the customer chose that option. After a half-hour prayer session in the car, when he should have been on his way home, planning for a weekend respite on his boat, the builder finds himself mentally calculating how expensive a gaffe like this could be to the builder's bottom line, dashing any possibility of any profit-taking from this particular unit.

The nightmare story ends with the superintendent realizing that, after all is said and done, this is a home being built for practice.

The wisdom gleaned by the NAHB research advises builders to conduct three very important meetings with their homebuyers. Looking for homebuilders who routinely offer consultations like these may save you, as a consumer, from experiencing the stomach acid created by home buying disasters like the one illustrated above.

Little Sticks in the Ground: The Pre-Groundbreaking Meeting

Some of most costly and frustrating mistakes made take place in the very beginning. Several months can go by with the home site remaining untouched, while buyers are selecting options, changing their minds, and finally settling on how they want their homes to be built. A pre-groundbreaking meeting with the builder is probably the most important meeting of all, enabling the buyer to review final decisions for how the home will be built with the builder's construction superintendent.

By the time this meeting takes place, here's what you should expect:

1. The home's placement is staked off for you to check out, illustrated in hard copy with an approved plot plan for you to see. This plot plan illustrates setbacks for the home's front, back, and sides from the site's property lines. Any applicable easements should be discussed at this point. (If the homebuilder takes a great deal of pride in this meeting, all unsightly trash and debris should have already been removed.)
2. Any paperwork pertaining to how the home was ordered, down to the last detail, should be on hand for review and explanation.

You may be asked to sign off on your paperwork after this meeting, so be methodical in your review.

Before the Walls Go Up: The Pre-Sheetrock Meeting

This the last and best opportunity to fix any mistakes that may have been made on the builder's part.

All of the plumbing and electrical options you chose (and even those in standard locations you decided not to change) should be in place at this point. You'll be asked to sign off again, with the understanding that no other changes will be permitted from now on. Overlooked items you notice later on MAY be correctable -- but not without considerable costs to you, the builder, and your construction timeline.

The Final Touches: The Pre-Closing Demonstration

This is your builder's final opportunity to impress you; everything is ready and the house should be move-in ready. The pride your homebuilder takes in this presentation/orientation is demonstrated by a spotless house, clean concrete outside, and a neat-as-a pin home site. No Coke cans, burrito wrappers, or construction remnants should be anywhere in sight.

Your appliances should have already been tested, along with any home automation components, lighting fixtures, HVAC controls, and plumbing devices - anything that has the potential to become an embarrassment during the walk-through or affect you during your first few weeks in your new home.

You should be provided with warranty and maintenance information for all systems, appliances and surfaces, along with and contact information for customer service calls.

You'll learn the difference between a true homeowner emergency and a routine customer service call, an important distinction. The various milestones for customer service appointments will be explained; punch lists of remedial repairs will be made.

Some homebuyers engage the services of a home inspector for these meetings. Whether you opt to pay for their services (ask the builder when non-builder personnel may have access to the property well ahead of time) or feel confident to proceed without one, you should feel good about the quality and responsive customer service with which your new home was built.

Knowing that the NAHB recommends that homebuilders strive to establish meaningful customer service guidelines such as these, there is no need to be shy about asking that these meetings take place even if your homebuilder does not routinely offer them.

The study ends with the organization's warning to its homebulders: "If you're still not convinced that customer service is the key to running a more effective business, then maybe you should start to look into that second career as a fire fighter. You'll have plenty of practice."