Customer Service or Customer Care
This customer service verses customer care position may seem trivial, but I have noticed that my customers want to know that we care about them first, then the service that follows is elevated to a higher level. In a recent client conversation I realized this and was able to communicate my intention and commitment to caring about my clients concerns.
How is this any different than service. Well think of it this way, I go to my doctor for care, not for service. I want to know that she is looking after my best interest. In this case it is my health and well being. When I care for my client, I am looking out for their best interest. I want their home built correctly, with good craftsmanship and that my “house side manner” is comforting and reassuring.
If I take this doctor care comparison a little further, then think of your new home as designed for health, toxic free, filled with light and supportive of healthy living. It is what I would want, it is what I want for you.
Michael Grant, Designer, Owner, Care Giver…….
Mini-Seminar & Model Tour
We had a great turnout at the Mini-Seminar & Model Tour this past Saturday. We are grateful to those of you that joined us.
Please use this blog to share your thoughts, tell us what you liked, what you would like more of and ask questions. Chances are, the person sitting right next to you at the seminar has the same question. We will post the answers here for all to see.
If you are ready to get started, give us a call and we will schedule your free new home interview. Remember to bring your scrap books with you to this meeting. We want to learn more about the look and feel that is important to you.
To learn more about next steps, you may want to check out these links:
From Start To Finish – How To Get Started
I Can’t Wait and Want To Buy A Home Now
What Homes Are Available For Purchase
I Want To Design & Build A Custom Home
I Need More Information on Financing
Modern Rustic Homes Web Site Home Page
Lessons from the Atlanta Log Home Show
Interesting how things seem to balance out. The Atlanta Log and Timber Frame Show this weekend drew a smaller crowd, but they had bigger ideas. Not bigger in scale but bigger in scope. People want a lifestyle that is manageable, honest, and affordable. No more “impressing your neighbors”, but more providing for your family, their safety, security and significance. So why a log or timber frame home? Well what you see is what you get. You can hide poor craftsmanship behind drywall but not in a log home. You know the structural integrity of your home because it is staring you in the face, in a beautiful way. We also want something that is permanent, well crafted, and comfortable. If this resonates with you, then come speak with me. We can create your vision into a home you will be proud of for generations. Michael Grant www.modernrustichomes.com
Mini-Seminar & Model Tour (Sat. Feb. 4th. @ 10:00 AM)
Click anywhere on invitation to be directed to registration page…..
Where else but in America
Where else but in America
Saturday morning I watched four “boxes”, which are what we call systems built housing modules roll into Gilmer County on specially designed flat -bed carriers. Waiting at the job site was a 90 ton crane positioned in place to pick up each box to sit it on the foundation we prepared two weeks before. Prior to this day, we spent many hours with our customer to design, and then specify finishes and fixtures for an 1800 square foot cabin in the woods. With two bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, loft space, laundry room, pantry, large kitchen, vaulted ceilings and an open plan design, this cabin is exactly what the clients wanted. The boxes took eight days of production time to manufacture in our Nationwide Custom Homes Plant in Martinsville, Virginia.
The cabin is called “Mountain Cove”, respecting the natural setting surrounding it. By 9:30 a.m. the first box was prepped to be picked up by the crane and positioned onto the foundation. Fast forward four hours and all four boxes are now assembled.
My clients and I walked through the cabin to check it out. What we saw were floors that were level (I mean level, not just sort’a level), plumb walls, square corners, drywall in place, cabinets, bath fixtures, lighting, electrical, plumbing, duct work, all were where they needed to be. Behind the drywall and paneling was spray foam insulation to provide high performance energy efficiency. Needless to say, I also saw a lot of smiles and nods of approval.
Over the next 30 days we added the porches, completed the exterior siding, and mended the mating walls. The painting has just been finished and the result is terrific.
This is America at its best, figuring out a way to do something better and doing it. It is our mission at www.modernrustichomes.com to provide a better solution for our clients. Allow us to show you what we can do that is a better solution for your housing needs.
Michael Grant
Communion
I continue to look for ways to distinguish my business and align myself with like minded people and to provide a service that is above and beyond. At the same time I must keep the cash flowing, satisfy demanding schedules, work within projected budgets and continue to win new business.
The most rewarding way for me to differentiate, to reinvent, to stay relevant is through a process of engaging my client for inspiration. Over the years I have been privileged to have many clients that “get it” and we have become creative partners in the proces of designing their home. It is like communion in that there is a spiritual connection that results in an inspired solution.
Should we have the opportunity to create together, I will do my best to be your design partner, learning from you and guiding decisions that represent the home that represents who you are, what you are about and how you choose to live. To make the end result look good is the easy part.
Oh and by the way, the end of the project is just a beginning for a lifetime of friendship.
Michael Grant, Design Partner
2012…the Beginning is near…
If you have being breathing the past few years you know that 2012 has been a tremendously prophesied year, and according to the Mayan Calendar, time runs out. Notable visionaries have predicted worldwide changes to the Earth’s surface, redefined coast lines and continents divided. Others have interpreted the new year as the beginning of a NEW AGE of enlightenment where we see our place on Earth in a more holistic way, fully connected to ”Mother Earth” and to all of Earth’s population. Whatever you believe 2012 will bring, how you live it is your decision. For myself, I will live it a day at a time, do the best work I can do that day, appreciate ALL that is presented to me as an opportunity to learn, grow and enrich the experience for myself and for the people I encounter that day. So my wish for you is the same. It is your decision, should our paths cross, I will do my best to make it ALL it can be.
2012, I choose to think of it as a New Beginning. Michael Grant
The Average Joe
Confidence Drives The Economy
We meet folks all the time that want to buy or build a new home who are slow to commit because of their lack of confidence in our economy. We have a congress that isn’t doing its job, an uncertain economic future and the average Joe isn’t sure if he will have a job next week. In my opinion, it all boils down to lack of leadership. Lack of leadership in congress (on both sides of the isle). Lack of leadership in the business community and lack of leadership in our society. By this I mean it is about time we all stood up and said enough is enough.
Why do we have career politicians; people that get so far removed from everyday life that they can not possibly understand what the average Joe needs or wants. Well I will tell you. It’s because we keep voting them in! Our founding fathers intended congress to be a cross representation of “the people” they represent. How can a senator or congressman that has never been in a Walmart or Dollar Store possibly understand the needs of the average Joe? They can’t! It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, live well or live modestly. Everyone has had to make changes in their behavior as an adjustment to our slow economy. The paradigm has shifted with all of us EXCEPT a great number of our representatives in congress. They play by different rules. They have their own healthcare program (there exempt from the Obama healthcare program you know), their own retirement plan (they still get paid after they leave office), they are exempt from insider trading, etc. etc. Why should they play by a different set of rules than the rest of us? I think both the House and the Senate should have mandatory term limits just like the president does. This would force them to go back home and make a living just like the rest of us and would bring new representatives into office that understand the challenges of the times.
Just my two cents…..
Reading Recommendation: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney December 2011 Market Commentary
Joe Folsom , Modern Rustic Homes 706-273-7140 Web: http://www.ModernRusticHomes.com
What is Craftsman Style Architecture
One of the most popular architectural styles requested today is Craftsman. Craftsman architecture became popular in the early 1900′s and was developed by architects and residential designers such the Greene brothers in Southern California, Sylvanus Marston, Arthur and Alfred Heineman as well as many anonymous architects. Also called Bungalows, this style of architecture takes much of it’s classical proportions from Greek temples, Japanese and Swiss houses and has blended these design influences into a house the creates intimate spaces inside and out. This is done by the prevalent use of jerkinhead and shed dormers, entrance porches, courtyards, and gardens to manipulate the spaces.
The spin we have put on this style is to use a mix of rustic materials typically found in mountain homes such as poplar bark, fletch board, logs, rough sawn planks and heavy timbers. Add stone accents and you now have a unique look and feel. The following plans are examples of the rustic craftsman look that we have built for some of our clients.
Fire Fly Cabin Buckhead Cabin Raspberry Cabin Largemouth Lodge Smallmouth Lodge
Meet The Modern Rustic Homes Team
OK… this is our first attempt at creating a video, so while it may not be perfect, it does give a good overview of who we are and what we do. Please enjoy and try not to laugh……
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