Celebrating excellence in customer service

NEW HOMES & CONDOS 41
The Toronto Sun n FRIDAY, MAY 3 & SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013
Celebrating excellence in customer service
HOWARD BOGACH
YOUR NEW HOME
Dave MacDonald and
Mark Klemencic of
Klemencic Homes with
the Honourable Tracy
MacCharles, Minister of
Consumer Services.
Wayne and Tina Parry of Parry Homes with Howard Bogach and
the Honourable Tracy MacCharles.
Tridel staff with Tarion President and CEO Howard Bogach and the Honourable Tracy
MacCharles.
Fusion Homes President Lee Piccoli and staff with Howard Bogach and the Honourable Tracy
MacCharles,
I
recently had the privilege
of hosting a luncheon to
honour the 2013 Tarion
Awards of Excellence finalists.
The awards — recognizing
builders who demonstrate
exceptional customer service — are considered a great
honour in the Ontario home
building industry.
They are after all, based
solely on feedback from the
people whose opinions matter most — home buyers.
The finalists represent 20
of the highest scoring builders and awards are presented
to the top scorer in each of the
four categories. It is no small
feat to be considered as a Tarion Awards of Excellence finalist, as there were 252 builders
eligible for an award.
It had been five years since
we last gathered to celebrate
Tarion’s Awards of Excellence and I’m thrilled to have
had the opportunity to spend
time with award finalists and
some very special guests from
government, the new home
building industry and media.
In those five years, we’ve
seen a number of changes in
Ontario’s new home building
industry and changes to how
new homes are purchased.
Today’s home buyers are perhaps better informed than
ever before.
They often do considerable research before they purchase; attend seminars, read
information packages, and
want to have their questions
answered as quickly as possible.
We’ve seen tools like social
media dramatically change
the way buyers are making
decisions. There are websites
where readers share photos
to document every stage of
progress in a development,
Twitter, Facebook groups, and
forums where buyers can post
feedback about their builder
— whether it’s a compliment
or complaint!
We’ve also seen great examples of how builders are using
these channels to communicate with their buyers to satisfy that ever growing need for
information. After all, buyers
are about to make the biggest
purchase in their life — they
have high expectations!
I was joined at the event by
the Honourable Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Con-
sumer Services, who offered
her congratulations to the
2013 Tarion Awards of Excellence recipients for so capably
representing Ontario’s building industry.
Along with members of Tarion’s Board of Directors, Minister MacCharles and I presented the 2013 Tarion Awards
of Excellence to:
• Tridel, Toronto — highrise category
• Fusion Homes, Guelph —
large volume category
• Klemencic Homes, Trenton — medium volume category
• Parry Homes Inc., London
— small volume category
It’s no surprise to me that
many of the award recipients
and finalists have been recongized in previous years as
leaders in customer service.
Providing exceptional service
takes commitment and dedication on behalf of everyone
involved. For many of these
builders, that means investing
in a culture of customer service excellence throughout the
organization.
The awards are based on
the results of a comprehensive survey sent to more than
40,000 Ontario homeowners who took possession of a
new home between October
1, 2011 and September 30,
2012. More than 6,800 survey
responses were received, representing 17 per cent of consumers who bought a new
home in Ontario during that
time. The results were tabulated by Crunch Research
in partnership with Harris
Decima.
Survey questions covered
ever y stage of the homeowner-builder relationship
beginning with the signing
of the agreement of purchase
and sale, through construction, pre-delivery inspection,
and after sales service.
Congratulations once again
to all of the 2013 Tarion Award
of Excellence recipients and
finalists. Their efforts to go
the extra mile to put their purchasers first has raised the bar
for customer service excellence.
— Howard Bogach is
president and CEO of Tarion
Warranty Corp. His column
appears the first weekend of
every month.
2013 Tarion
Award of Excellence
Finalists and
Recipients
HigH-rise builder
category
(More than 100 high-rise
possessions per year)
• The Daniels Corporation,
Toronto
• Del Ridge Homes, Markham
• Monarch Corporation,
Toronto
• The Tricar Group, London
• Tridel, Toronto
large volume builder
category
(More than 100
possessions per year)
• Branthaven Homes,
Burlington
• Fusion Homes, Guelph
• Menkes Developments Ltd.,
Toronto
• Monarch Corporation,
Toronto
• Pidel Homes, Guelph
medium volume builder
category
(21-100 possessions per year)
• Grimesway Construction
Ltd., Lindsay
• Klemencic Homes, Trenton
• Mirtren Homes of Belleville,
Trenton
• Terra View Homes, Guelph
• Wrighthaven Homes
Limited, Elora
small volume builder
category
(5-20 possessions per year)
• Marlo Homes Inc.,
Tecumseh
• Medway Homes, Arva
• Parry Homes Inc., London
• Southridge Heights Inc.,
Tillsonburg
• Triple T Holdings Limited,
Peterborough