It always makes our day when we hear back from our customers – in this case our new homeowners Kyla and Derek O’Rourke who built a semi-custom home with us. Here is what they had to say:
“Words cannot express how happy we are with our home in Woodland Creek. You will not find better quality. The support we received before, during, and after construction was outstanding. They took the time to explain everything in detail and were more than willing to accommodate any and all of our requests. We felt the whole team wanted us to love our house and went the extra mile to make sure it happened.”
Our relationship with Kyla and Derek started when they visited our showhome and met our wonderful hostess Cecile. Cecile introduced them to our homes, plans, amenities, and different finishing options. Working together with our design team, Kyla and Derek created their new home complete with all the finishing details, paint colours, cabinets, flooring and room modifications they wanted. Using our “Bedroom Plus” program they added an additional 4th bedroom to the 3 bedroom Fir plan . From their initial design meeting with us to the occupancy of their new home, the entire process took about 6 months.
How does this ‘pre-sale’ / custom home process work?
In Kyla and Derek’s case, construction of their new home started about a month after the contract was signed. The building plans are drafted to incorporate any customer modifications and the building permit application is made. As construction progressed we stayed in touch with Kyla and Derek and often saw them visiting the site, excited to see their new home take shape.
Customer Experience — It’s important for us that the home buyer is part of the realization of the design and construction process. We are not ones to take the deposit and say “see you 6 months when the house is complete”. Once the framing is complete and all the doors and windows are installed (what’s call “lock up” in the industry), homebuyers are invited to conduct a walk through to confirm the location of electrical switches and media / internet connections and make any last minute changes. Throughout the entire building process the buyer is connected through a cloud base construction management system that allows the buyer to stay up to date on progress with their own personal website portal that includes recent photos, change orders, and direct contact with the construction manager.
Prior to occupancy, in this case just 5 months after the start of construction, an inspection and familiarity tour of the new home is conducted. We check in with the new homeowner shortly after occupancy as well, to ensure that everything in the home is functioning as it should. Every new homeowner receives a binder with all relevant new home information and we have a Homeowner Web Portal that contains warranty, operation, and special deal information. And we don’t stop there!
We believe in continual improvement and the importance of customer feedback so we subscribe to a 3rd party Customer Experience rating system called AVID Ratings. 30 days after occupancy, AVID ratings conducts an independent Customer Experience survey to get the homeowners feedback on everything from the sales process, to the new home features, and after occupancy service. They conduct this process once more at the 1 year mark. We also follow up before the 1 year mark to review any issue that are covered under the new home warranty and we have a handy Service Request form on our site should you have any issues in your new home that we are responsible for.
So as you can see, we believe there is a lot more to a new home purchase than just handing over the keys. Customer Service is the key to our success and we are honoured to be ranked #1 in Canada by Avid in 2014 for customer satisfaction in the Custom Build / Small Volume category in the residential building industry.
Thanks again to Kyla and Derek for their kinds words – you made our day!
Blair Robertson – co-owner Totangi Properties.
About Totangi Properties Ltd. and Woodland Creek
Celebrating their 45th year in business, Totangi Properties is a locally-owned and operated award winning property development and land management company established in 1968. In 2014 Totangi was ranked #1 in Canada for Customer Satisfaction by Avid Ratings. Brothers Warren and Blair Robertson and their team work closely with the 2012 Built Green Builder of the Year, SC Smith Building Company, in the creation of Woodland Creek and are committed to creating affordable, high-quality residential properties with lasting homeowner value.
2012 Gold CARE Award winner for Best New Subdivision, Woodland Creek is a residential neighbourhood of new homes in the heart of Sooke, British Columbia – a waterfront community near Victoria BC. A planned residential community, Woodland Creek was designed with the objective of providing a wide range of new housing opportunities for the community; close to schools, parks and the Sooke shopping and service core with the fundamental commitments of quality construction, lasting value and the long term commitment of an established local developer.
For more information, visit www.totangi.ca .