Fort Worth, TX, June 20-- It was a price war: Whoever had the lowest price got the job, and by the end of 2002, Jeff Bennett knew he had to quit. Going to work wasn't fun anymore, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Bennett, the Fort Worth branch manager for a carpeting company, had been unhappy for some time and even joked with the top sales rep, Dale Walton, that they should quit and start a business together. Even though they made good money selling carpet and other flooring to businesses and other institutions, such as schools and hospitals, the job had become a fight to cut corners.
It was a daily battle to get the lowest bid and constant pressure from the parent company to increase sales.
A co-worker, Judy Brannon, knew something was up. They had certainly been spending a lot of time together and started closing their office door when they met. She walked in one day and asked, "So, where are we going?"
The three turned in their resignations on the same day.
In April 2003, Business Flooring Specialists became a reality with Brannon as office manager.
The difference between the new business and the old employer was to simply "do what you say you're going to do," Bennett said. "You aren't necessarily getting the best deal when you get the lowest price."
They got $500,000 worth of orders in their first month, and by the end of the year, they had done $2 million in sales.
"Not bad for the first nine months," Bennett said.
They also became the 41st-fastest-growing company in America in 2003, according to Entrepreneur magazine. And this year, they made the Hot 100 list in the June issue as the 49th-fastest, with $4.9 million in sales for 2004. They hope to be on the list again next year.
But growth has never been a priority. The three were confident that if they sold "service, quality and workmanship, everything would take care of itself," Bennett said.
Rather than try to be the cheapest, they'd rather focus on the back end, the installation. Installation is crucial in "closing the deal and retaining customer loyalty," Walton said.
"Underpromise and overdeliver," said Bennett, sitting at the conference table in their Fort Worth office.
A simple thing, like returning phone calls, is important, he said. "Be punctual. Do it now. Don't procrastinate," Bennett said.
"Jump through hoops no matter how small the job is," he added, "because that is going to get you the $700,000 project."
Walton tells how he once got a call from Alcon, which needed two small carpet tiles replaced. He said, "I grabbed some pieces, a glue gun and hauled it down there."
He was hard at work when the manager arrived and asked whether he would estimate the cost of replacing the carpet in another room. It was too small to go out for a bid, but the floor needed replacing. Would he do it? Since then, the company has become a million-dollar account. Business Flooring Specialists installs flooring in offices around the country.
"People do business with people," said Bennett.
"We treat each other like the other person knows more about the business than we do."
Building customer loyalty means having the same enthusiasm for a $25 repair job as a $2 million job, Walton said.
Walton said people can sense, whether face to face or on the phone, whether you are excited about doing the work.
"Make the customer feel like it's the most important job that you have," Bennett said.
Now they enjoy going to work, Walton said.
"We love what we are doing. We love our employees and love our customers."
