If you have read my previous postings you will know already that I have had what could be termed a “bad experience” with a contractor,  who did work at my house (I am going to have to deal with said contractor on some things that have come up so stay tuned to see how he deals with that).

We decided to finish the basement which the previous contractor, in our opinion, wanted too much $$$ to do the finish,  so we said we didn’t want him to do it. Although we were going to pay the price and have him come back and finish it at a later date, until things went awry.

Okay, so Twin Builders is the name of the company that we chose to finish our partially finished basement  I already told you that prior to the job they had promised things that I thought were awesome BUT I was being cautious about the whole thing. I mean, once bitten twice shy, right? I thought it all could be too good to be true!

So, they claimed they would have the job done prior to Christmas, in approx. 17 days and that it would cost us $10,000 for the basement and then between 2000-3500 for the flooring if we wanted them to do it. So, about $13,500 on the higher end.  Now, with the other guy we signed a contract for a certain amount but he did the standard act for a contractor and the original $$ amount kept going up, so much so that we had to cancel a few major things..like the complete deck and part of the siding!  Anyway, we were prepared to be disappointed if this company turned out to be like the other.

So, you may want to know what happened, considering I am here and the job should be done! Okay, I will not make you wait any longer.

This company, Twin Builders, in one word is PROFESSIONAL! My gosh they are the BEST I have worked with. You may think my only experience is with the other contractor but it is not!! We built a house also, with a different contractor…so we have some experience and these guys are the BEST! If you live in the Indianapolis area, please call them. They are beyond good! I do not think there is a term in the English language that can express how happy we are with the way they performed! PROFESSIONAL.

This company not only delivered on every promise they went above and beyond the contract and NO we were never charged a penny more! That was the first thing everyone we talked to about this asked….how much did they charge you to do that? Nope..nothing. There were just some things that they looked at and said…”hey, you know that is expected” and they did it. Example…a light in the laundry room…framed the hoses, a light in the utility room ( they were not even doing any work in there) a new light on the stairwell ( there was one there but they didn’t feel it represented the NEW look so they changed it out with our permission) the stairwell…it was already drywalled, but they redid the entire thing because it was not as nice as the rest of the room. These things might seem little or to be expected items, but construction doesn’t always work that way, we have learned that. It is the small things that make a company referable..( is that a word?)  Anyway, they are some of the best people to work with. They are polite and fast and good. The work is quality! And they will not leave a job if it does not meet their standards! They do walkthroughs during every stage of the project and do not expect a penny unless it passes the walk through. We paid each time because it passed!  When we did the finale walk through there were a couple of things we did not notice but the manager did….the guys will be coming back out to finish up on these small items. And these small items are like caulking around a vent… and a couple of other  drywall items, but he could not let the job be finished until they were done! He didn’t expect to be paid….but asked us if it was ok to agree they would come back for those minor items and that we could make the finale payment. IF that was ok with us, that would be great, and of course it was!

SO, YES it is done, on time and it did not cost us anymore than stated!!!  AM I happy? Ummmmmmmmmmm let me think…..YEAH!

We love our basement and we are happy to refer them to anyone.

We want to have them come back to finish our deck and build a pool! 

Twin Builders (317)862-4611

7335 Preamble Ct, Indianapolis, IN 46259                                                        

Ask for Jim Kernodle-Tell him Christine Martin referred you! Maybe he will give us a break on the work to come!  :)  You reading this Jim?

Hey all!

I have started a group in Plainfield, Indiana.  It is though MeetUp.com

The group is for people who believe that you must give to get! It is that simple. I want to meet other people that feel as I do….basically that KINDNESS…I know here she goes again!!! Kindness is missing in our society today and we need to bring it back. I do a few things myself, my current endeavor is to send a card to someone each and every day to make them feel special! Today I sent 7…although Christmas is right around the corner so that is not fair, but they were individual cards all different with different special greetings in each one and I hope they are appreciated and something tells me they will be.

Anyway, if you live near and would like to come to one of our meetings join the group! It is brand spanking new and I am the only  member so far! I hope that changes fast. I like to believe there are alot of like minded people out there that feel the same way as I do and I am anxious to hear what everyone else does to make others feel special and show kindness to people…..even people you don’t know!!!  Or maybe that is easier..maybe I should say to your own family! LOL

Whatever the case. Go to   http://www.meetup.com/The-Plainfield-Give-to-Get-Meetup-Group/  and JOIN today!!!

Hope to see you there!

Hello and Good Day to all!

Have I told you that I am a consumer of dark chocolate. Not just DARK chocolate, but HEALTHY dark chocolate!

Yes, it is true, I eat Xocai Dark Healthy chocolate!  And it is yummy! It also is very good for you.

Have you tried it? Would you like to? I can be persuaded to send you a sample if you ask really nicely! 

There is tons of info on my website www.xocai-healthydarkchocolate.com   check it out. You will read some great testimonies, one of them is mine.  Long story short is that I had BAD…did I say BAD…YES…BAD acid reflux for about 4-5 years, so bad that the Doc felt it was starting to scar my esophagus, well after consuming my lovely chocolate for a week it disappeared! I get the occasional flare up but I do not take my meds the way I used to! WHOOHOO!  Anyway, go to my site and check it out. Click on the links…do some reading or watching, see for yourself!

Happy eating!

You want to follow a construction job from start to finish? Okay here is your chance.

We interviewed a couple of companies for the finish of our basement. The interviews are over and we have picked our company! Now, you know that we have had a terrible experience with a previous contractor so we have been rather shy about hiring someone else.  I am going to let you know what we think from the start and then let  you know how it turns out. Pics and all!

 I will post a pic soon of the way the basement currently looks.

The company we picked is Twin Builders. Not wanting to name names…..as per my policy!!! I will just say that a very nice man came to our house on 2 different occassion and each time said the same things. We met him once and then about 2 months later we met again and asked to go over everything and he was dead on in everything he said the first and second times. One thing that happened with our last experience is that the contractor said things when we met and then they were not in the contract and of course we did not think of them until we were actually NOT getting them. We are being much more careful this time around. We have alos let this company know that we had a bad experience and will be watching them carefully. They had no problem with that at all.

End result is that they won our business and we are very excited to get started. We probably will not start for a few weeks but I will keep you updated as things progress. The entire job will only take approx. 17 days!! We will have it done before Christmas! YAY!  OH and I forgot to mention the price they gave us was 50% LESS then the company that did our previous work estimated for us on the same project. You would think since the last people were doing many, many jobs in our house they would have charged alot less…ya know for bulk work or something! But no, these people offered more work at less cost.

Stay tuned…………………

I have received a few emails from people who have been following along with my blog and, apparently, have been reading my forum but choose not to join! Don’t know what to make of that!

While reading these emails I was struck by how passionate other people are about customer service! I mean, I know there are other sites devoted to customer service related “banter” and they appear to be pretty successful sites, but still, I was pretty excited to find out that so many people share my views on the state of customer service today!

One emailer asked the question ” will you give the business owners a chance to reply if they want to” that would be in response to a unfavorable post by either me or a guest. My response…” of course! I not only will allow it I encourage it!” My site, at the moment, is just a modest attempt, by me, to get out what is in my mind. I would be most honored if at some point it became more then that. For now though, all you have is ME! Christine and her lovely soapbox.

I will blog, daily if need be, about emails that I receive from other consumers or business owners. Eventually, if I warrant it, I will get their permission and start posting them in their entirety. If I think that would be beneficial to my cause.

OH…what is my cause? Mu purpose for this website? True I did entitle this “the purpose of this blog and forum” didn’t I? Sorry, I got a little sidetracked.

Okay, well, let me see……. I ummmm, I like to talk. I really enjoy talking with other people and I have a PASSION for customer service. One day I was reading a book about business success and how to achieve it and it begged an answer to the question, “what is your passion?” it said that in order to be successful you must engage in something that you are passionate about. In order to keep getting up day after day and keep trying you need to be passionate about what it is that you do! PERIOD!

So, I thought about that question and wanted to answer it honestly. I thought, “what is it that I love to talk about and always seem to be passionate about and never seem to get tired of doing?” I could only think of one thing, CUSTOMER SERVICE! It always comes back to the same thing. I LOVE witnessing, giving and receiving great customer service! I have been in the field in one capacity or another for over 13 years!! I worked for the mouse for heavens sake! who knows customer service better the Walt Disney?

And then I thought about it…is that really the key to success? BE PASSIONATE about what it is that you are doing? I thought back to my own subject of customer service and came full circle. OF COURSE it is true, I know that. I know in order to give good customer service that you need to be passionate about helping people. So, if I know that to be true then why is it not true for just being successful in anything that you do? DUH!! Of course it is true. And here I am.

I really didn’t know what to do with my new found knowledge, well, not so new found as it turns out.

So, I thought just start blogging about it and get a forum going. Add interesting stories and do reviews about companies that you have used, write about whether they have consistently given you great customer service or bad customer service. And I could hear that famous line from that wonderful movie……” if you build it they will come”

And here I am.

I want to point out that my desire is NOT to bash any businesses nor cause any problems, what it is that I want to accomplish is to cause businesses to affect consumers by treating them like the valuable assets that they are.

It is not that I think I can accomplish something so magnificent on my own, I just desire to make a minor wave in the great ocean of life! I am but a little fish in a big pond!

“I wonder if there is a corresponding loyalty on the customers’ part for all that extra service?”

Oh yes and there it is…………rears it’s pretty little head, yet again!

If you treat your customers right then they will treat you right and we will all be happy and you will be successful! Now, I know there is that 10%, or whatever percentage it is, of society that no matter what you do they will be HATERS! Oh well! Leave them be and let them hate! You do not have to serve them, we have been over that before. I never said because you are a business owner that I think you should be a doormat!! Never, never did I say that.

v>No, you may refuse service to anyone, go ahead and call security, get them out of your store and good riddance to them if that is the case. But do watch out for overzealous employees who love to call security. I have a funny video down below, in my videos, about a employee who is security happy!

Ciao~

What do you need to be successful? PASSION AND KINDNESS!

What is it that I do? I love to talk and people usually love to listen to me talk AND I have a PASSION for Customer service and hospitality. I like to see people, ALL PEOPLE, treated right! Even further then that, I have a passion to see people, again all people, treated special! I do not see why we should not be treated special when we are out spending our money in your businesses!!! YOU NEED US! Therefore WE ARE SPECIAL! Shouldn’t we be treated as such?

Oh my gosh I feel like screaming it from the roof tops! IF YOU WILL TREAT YOUR GUESTS LIKE GUESTS YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL! Furthermore, if you have a passion for your business, if you LOVE what you do, then you will be successful and I believe that one has everything to do with the other. Meaning? If you have PASSION you will have kindness…I believe it is a byproduct of your passion for your business. If you DO NOT love what it is that you do then GET OUT. Do not move forward, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.00! PERIOD. You need to love what you do and then you will have kindness, consideration and patience for others and especially for your guests who come to you and willingly give you their time and money!!! Get your heads out of your butts people, if you do not realize yet that the key to your success IS YOUR GUESTS then you had better get on the ball! You are missing the boat and if I have anything to do with it, maybe I will maybe I will not, then in time, we the CONSUMERS will have a choice. We will have MORE choices, to patronize businesses that treat us RIGHT! I want to be pampered and adored, I want to be appreciated for what I do for YOU! I do not think that I am asking too much here. You want to be successful and I want to help you get there, I know how we can do that. Do unto others…………you know the drill!

I do not care if you are a 7-11 clerk or the manager of a Ritz Carlton! Treat everyone like THEY matter to your business and treat them as though they DID just walked into the Ritz. Why not? What could it hurt? Afraid someone might talk about your business to others and tell them how awesome it is??? Oh my! How terrible to be known as a cut above the rest! We would not want that now, would we?
Remember this saying? “never judge a book by its cover.” Sales people use this saying all of the time, they use it to say “DO not discount someone as a “good sale” based on what they are wearing! They might dress like they have no money but could really be a millionaire!” Ya know what? If you treat everyone the same and treat them well then you do not have to worry about that old adage! Do you? Treat everyone the same. WHY NOT? I am not saying to lose any money here, let us not be dumb, I am suggesting that you be KIND to people. PERIOD.

Go out there and become known for the way you treat people….. while the others may get known for their poor customer service, you will be known for your outstanding service and your ability to make people feel welcomed and deserving, no matter who they are. Just remember, you can, at any time, be under the scrutiny of a critic, a public servant, someone, say like me, whose job it is to watch you and report to the masses just how AWESOME your business is! OR NOT.
Go get um!