- Award category: Movers & Shakers
- Speciality: Insurance restoration
- 83 years in business
- 2000 volume: $22 million
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Staff: 15 office, 75 field
Credit: Chuck Heinen
It’s not surprising that the 83-year-old Giertsen Co. has its systems down pat. (So down pat that the company has cloned itself twice and opened offices in Chicago and Milwaukee.) But when we’re talking about a company that does $22 million in insurance restoration work each year, you may not automatically think that its customer service systems could rival those of a smaller, full-service remodeling company. However, the family-run business claims that its high-quality service is its secret for success.
The three brothers, Rick (left), Kevin (standing), and Drew (right), who run the company along with their father, Richard (seated, center), don’t just pay lip service to the idea. Along with computerized schedules that go to homeowners each week of their job, clients receive at least three specific calls from the company over the duration of the project. The first serves to introduce the company, to let clients know who the key players are, and to answer any questions. The second call comes in the middle of the job and deals with how the work is going. The caller is able to find out any concerns before they become overwhelming. The third and final call comes toward the end of the project. This one includes billing issues, punch list concerns, and any other questions the homeowner still has. It’s probably a safe bet that at that point, those are not many.