Construction’s Most Underrated Priority: Exceptional Customer Service

With the construction market booming and labor and materials becoming more expensive, construction companies are under immense pressure to do more with less. But alongside investment in talent and business development, construction companies can focus on another aspect of their business to keep their pipelines full: customer service.

“Providing the best customer service to every client really counts in construction,” BEAR Construction Executive Vice President Scott Kurinsky said. “Everyone knows each other in this industry. If you can keep the clients that you already have because they like working with you, and build a reputation that spreads, you can set yourself up for success for decades to come. It’s how we’ve succeeded at BEAR.”

Thanks to technology, customers are becoming choosier and more informed. They expect higher efficiency and a more personalized experience. When BEAR was founded 35 years ago, Kurinsky said, the company prided itself on exceptional customer service, but he says the bar today is set far higher. To be considered exceptional today, clients expect service that involves consistent communication streamlined by technology and a consultative, tailored approach.

While BEAR’s name in Chicagoland has come to be associated with large-scale office projects, the company works in a variety of CRE practice areas, including healthcare and pharmaceutical facilities. Kurinsky said each practice area — and each geographic market — requires a different approach to customer service.

Even though the company bids out around 80 jobs per month, BEAR project managers are encouraged to get to know the executives behind each project and work with them on their goals for the project. Next to communication, demonstrating a mastery of scope and budget and being nimble enough to make changes on the fly throughout the construction process are also key, Kurinsky said.

“Communication isn’t simply relaying information, it’s relaying it well,” he said. “Construction-speak may as well be a foreign language to most of our clients, so we know it’s on us to prioritize key information for them and communicate that information clearly. We stay away from industry jargon, and keep a constant focus on making sure our clients know exactly what is happening on their projects.”

When customers see transparency from their contractor, Kurinsky said, it builds a sense of trust, and when they trust the firm they are working with, they tend to stick around. He cited numerous clients who say they have stuck with BEAR not only due to the quality of the work, but also because of how they have been treated during the construction process.

“I’ve been working with BEAR for over 30 years now,” said John Burjek, president of Whitney Architects in Oak Brook, Illinois. “We’ve done hundreds of projects together, including our own office, and every one of them has been a success story. What really sets BEAR’s team apart is at the beginning of every project, they set the bar high, exceed expectations and then make the rest of us look good along the way.”

Retaining customers pays dividends in any industry — it is far costlier in terms of human capital and time to recruit a new client than to keep an existing one. But, Kurinsky said standout client service also helps projects run more smoothly, it keeps past clients coming back, and it lands the firm new clients, too.

Positive client interactions drive business development, he said. More than three quarters of customers who have had a positive brand experience share that experience with others, and word-of-mouth is a key source of new business for BEAR in the Chicago community.

"BEAR has grown exponentially over the last several years," Kurinsky said. "But we will never be too big or too busy not to service our clients for any size project they throw at us."

This feature was produced in collaboration between Bisnow Branded Content and BEAR Construction. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.