Two contractors best 2007-2008

CGS Electric, Los Angeles
Claudio Sanchez

PAUL POGUE [interviewer]:
[You were one of last year’s winners. How have things been since last we spoke?]

CLAUDIO SANCHEZ:
This last year has been a tough year, with the economy the way it is. I’ve managed to stay steady, but the daily totals are different, which affects the weekly and monthly totals. It’s really difficult to project how the next week is going to be. For the first time in three months I’m in a real lull. With the election around the corner and the stock market and everything, people are apprehensive about doing work. The only thing I have the upper hand on the other guys is that Angie’s List has just been phenomenal for me. It gives a little insight into what we’re about. And when I say what we’re about, it’s basically me. That gives me another leg up. When I come and do an estimate for a customer, and then I do the work – I may have an assistant with me or another journeyman electrician – I do all the work, so they’re getting 100 percent from me. That’s the beauty of my business. I’m not sending out a bunch of flunkies to do my work for me. That’s one of the biggest complaints, and one of the No. 1 questions: Are you doing the work? Yes, I am. I’m responsible for all the work, and it’s going to get the best attention, to no matter what it may be. I think that’s why I’m so busy still.

I always have an open line of communication with customers. They’re my conduit to future work. They tell their friends. I get work sometimes from people and say, where did you get my number? Because I don’t advertise. Angie’s List is my means of advertising. They’ll say, so and so gave me your number. I try to trace where my work comes form, and it seems like it’s always word of mouth or Angie’s List, and many of my Angie’s List customers have passed on to other customers. I’m doing something right, in following up and always being available to answer questions, whether it’s telephone or e-mail. I’m grateful for the way Angie’s List operates. You can’t cheat the system. There’s no fooling it. You’re either on top of the game and honest and straightforward, and a consistent amount of reports shows that. I couldn’t ask for a better niche to be in.

Customer service is everything, and lighting is everything. When I install lighting in someone’s home, they’ll say, “Wow, what a difference!”

PP:
[A lot of our reports give you serious credit for innovation and getting around tough problems.]

SANCHEZ:
The innovation is 18 years of experience. I’ve been an electrician for 18 years, I started digging trenches and working as a helper and apprentice, and over the years I’ve done a wide variety of electrical, from electrical signs to industrial work, and when I decided to go into my own, after a few solid years of residential work, my wife encouraged me to start my own business, and I wanted to focus on residential. I’ve gotten pretty darn good at it, and I don’t say that with any lack of confidence. I’m good at residential. I focused on what I knew best, how homes are built and how to get into walls and all the tricks, and a lot of it was about trying new things and new tools, learning how to cut into a wall and patch it without having to bring in a drywall contractor. I really try to focus on leaving a home as if I hadn’t been there except for the improvement or installation I just made.

PP:
[They like your honesty and dedication, too.]

SANCHEZ:
It took a few previous employers and talking to other contractors and being open to learning — and learning from mistakes — that got me to this point. No job is perfect, but there are days when everything goes right. I put my energy into trying to do the job right and walking away and making sure the customer is satisfied, and no energy into trying to make a fast buck. I promised myself when I started my business that I wasn’t going to be one of those guys. The contracting industry has very a low bar. There’s a lot of guys with no integrity in their work, they just want a quick buck, and they’re doing it, but they don’t get repeat business. And in tough times like this, guys like that won’t be working. I could make more sitting behind a desk and having 20 electricians, but I’m not a manager. I’m an electrician. I’m me.

It’s all the hands on work I’ve done myself and I’ve gotten really good at it. I’m not out to make a lot of money at this. When I’m done paying my insurance, the rent on my shop, the payments on my truck, I’m not making a great deal of money. But what I am doing is, I’m making some decent money and I’m keeping my customers happy and I’m sleeping really well at night, and I don’t have headaches and chest pains and indigestion like I had when I had 4 or 5 employees working for me. My health is pretty good and I like it that way. I tried to be a big time operator, and it doesn’t work for me. We have another family business, my wife and I. We do okay. Not great, but okay. I like keeping things really simple, and I think that’s where I’m successful. I think by keeping things simple all these years and learning hard lessons, I’ve managed to stay successful and keep my AL reports clean. That’s just being willing to go the extra mile for the customer. There’s always going to be that one customer that you just can’t ever please, and fortunately I haven’t had that issue with any AL customers. People who subscribe to AL, I think have already been burned once, and they’re looking for just good service and quality, and I think I’m providing that.

I owe part of my success to angie’s list by sending me those little gold start and giving me the reports. When you’re having a tough day, week or month, at least for this contractor, I learned to go back and read some reports, read what people said about me. I can say, look, I got 84 straight a reports. I’m doing a darn good job! AL gives that to me. These other contractors don’t have that opportunity, or the chance to have work handed to you. Bottom line is, if people read the report and like what they’ve read and you answer the phone and give a fair price, follow through and keep them happy, you’re going to do fine. Collect a decent check and move on to the next one.

Brandon Jhun’s Painting & Drywall, North Las Vegas, Nev.
Brandon Jhun

PAUL POGUE [interviewer]:
[How are things doing since last year?]

BRANDON JHUN:
It’s not quite as busy as last year, but still pretty good. I’ve still got about 20 guys right now – anywhere between 20 and 24.
I was one of the first ones on Angie’s List when it came to town.

PP:
[This has always been a multigenerational thing for you, hasn’t it?]

JHUN:
My grandfather was in the union, and my father was doing it, and now me. And hopefully my son gets into it eventually. He’s only 4, but he goes out there with me on estimates and weekends. Maybe he’ll get into it in about 15 years!

I can remember being as young as 6 or 7 years old, going out with my dad. We got what was called the labor jobs, cleaning everything and the prep work, and as you got older, that’s when you got to hold a paintbrush and stuff.

What I lived [as a kid], my kids are now doing! It’s stuff I remember doing with my dad. My daughter is 7, my boy just turned 4 in September. [I have two children —} one boy, one girl and two dogs — I’m done.

No. 1 thing, of course, is quality. It goes back to me hiring only guys that I know. There’s a couple of guys I’ve hired with no painting experience at all and I’ll stick them with my lead guys and train them in the way I want things done. That’s the way I grew up with my father. Keep people in the loop. Everything comes back to cleanliness and quality.