Slippery Rock Gazette

Jodi Wallace

Monarch Solid Surface Designs

I believe when you show your weakness you are also showing your strengths. More than once I have had people come in saying they were sent by a customer we didn’t do any work for, but who really liked our honesty.

One of the things I enjoy most when I receive my new issue of the Slippery Rock Gazette is looking at the beautiful projects other companies have completed. Our shop has fabricated and installed some kitchen and bathroom projects that we are very proud of, but when I see some of the projects other shops have done, I am truly in awe of the amazing skills it takes to complete these beautiful pieces of art.  

Don’t get me wrong – my guys work hard to make sure our customers are happy, providing a quality product our customers will enjoy for many years to come. But I am realistic enough to know that we aren’t quite at the level of doing the intricate work these journeymen do. That isn’t a bad admission on my part – it’s just a realistic evaluation of our shop’s talent and skill level.

Knowing our strengths as well as our limitations is an important aspect of being a business owner – and not something everyone is comfortable admitting. Many times over the years I remember being told, “You cannot be everything to everyone.” I agree, but would like to add my own caveat to that – you cannot be everything to everyone, but as long as you know the right people, you don’t have to!

My husband is very much a type A personality. That amazing critical and creative part of his brain allows him to read blueprints like they were a book. He can look at something and troubleshoot the problem on the spot. I am definitely a visual girl, and his analytical talent has allowed him on many occasions to draw a 3D view of something to help me conceptualize what it will actually look like. I can call him up while he is driving, and he can work out numeric calculations for material usage in his head. When he was working at our company in a “worker” capacity (visiting job sites and customer homes), he could figure out how to design, build and install something we had never previously attempted to do, or troubleshoot a problem for a customer and provide an idea on how to fix it. I don’t think there has ever been a problem he has encountered that if given time to sleep on it, he hasn’t been able to resolve.

But that is Ken. Over the last year and a half while he has been working elsewhere, I have sometimes chosen to pass on jobs. It’s not that I wouldn’t have liked these jobs, but I knew that as hard as my guys work, their knowledge and skill set level to tackle some of these custom projects just wasn’t there. More than a couple of times I have passed on names of other shops that I thought could provide what the customer was looking for.  And it hasn’t been uncommon for a contractor or customer to pause with a confused look on their face before slowly and skeptically saying, “Wait a minute, are you giving me the name and number of a competitor?” Yep, that’s not something you see happen very often!

I am a firm believer that it’s all right to admit we don’t know how to do everything. Perhaps if my shop was larger I would have the luxury of sending my guys to workshops, or be able to hire someone to come in and spend a couple days working with us to teach the latest “tricks and trends.” 

But Monarch Solid Surface Design is a small “mom-and-pop” shop. Our small workforce means that when one of my guys calls in sick, we definitely feel his absence. But my philosophy is, “We can be and do the very best at what we are best at!”

I have to admit there have been times I haven’t told Ken I have passed on a job, (if you are reading this, sorry honey!), because in his eyes there is always a way. But I have learned (the hard way) that not everyone has his ingenuity and creativity. And although my people may feel they are able to follow directions, like in a game of “Phone,” what is meant and what is heard are not always the same thing. This has occasionally produced what I consider less than stellar results, and that just isn’t the way I want us to do business.

Not everyone thinks that way, and anyone in the construction industry has likely met the “weekend warrior.” This is the customer who feels that after watching a few YouTube videos they can not only tackle their own cabinet installation, but can tell us how we should be making our templates or what we are doing wrong installing their new countertops.  Never mind that the cabinet boxes are incorrectly assembled or hugely out of level. They have watched videos online and now feel they are truly qualified to consider themselves professionals (sigh). 

When I was growing up (I will not tell you the precise years!), most of the guys I knew worked on cars or helped with projects around the house. Guys took shop classes, and most of their dads owned tools so they could work on, or at least tinker around the house. 

It’s a very different world nowadays. Show someone a crescent wrench or a router and ask them what it is, but bring along a chair because it could be a very long wait for an answer! And that is the exact reason people hire us. We are professionals at what we do and the products and services we offer. We sell quality, reliability, and honesty. And I believe honesty includes looking at something and knowing there is no way we can provide what the customer is asking for, with the quality they expect.

Here’s an example. I am not a fan of trough sinks. Although they look pretty awesome I have never seen one that really has good drainage, and in a commercial setting that can definitely be a problem. But many people are looking for them, and I get at least a call or two a month where I am very happy to pass on the name and number of another shop that does beautiful trough sinks. I don’t have the luxury of re-inventing the wheel and going through the learning curve of how to build these, but Frank has it down to a fine art, so why wouldn’t I send a customer to a shop that I know can provide exactly what the customer is looking for? I actually keep a picture of one of his trough sinks on my phone for easy access.  If someone asks, I can pull up the picture and then pass on his name and number. I believe it’s a win-win situation.

The customer gets what they want from a shop that already has the process down, and they see a business confident enough to send them to someone else that they know can build exactly what they are looking for.

It’s not for everyone, but I believe when you show your weakness you are also showing your strengths. More than once I have had people come in saying they were sent by a customer we didn’t do any work for, but who really liked our honesty. I can say I am totally good with that!

Now if you will excuse me, I am sitting back down with the June issue to finish reading about Pete the Miner and his Sunrise Mine Enterprise (and drool over some of those amazing pieces of onyx)!

Jodi Wallace is owner of Monarch Solid Surface Designs in San Jose, California. She volunteers as a Disaster Responder for the American Red Cross.