FEEDBACK LOOPWhite says Venture Homes takes the home buyer surveys very seriously. After closing, buyers rate the buying experience on a broad range of questions, marking each on a scale of 1 to 4, where 4 is “very satisfied” and 1 is “very dissatisfied.” Every survey that averages below a 3 is sent directly to White's desk. The staff is then probed to find out
“Our people know that they will have to explain to me why a customer was dissatisfied,” says White. “While I'm not so overbearing to say that the customer is always right, I still need to know if we were wrong and if we could have fixed the problem,” he says.
Even with all the emphasis on process and TQM, White says, corporate culture can have a stronger impact than any program. “If you study all the great companies, what set them apart was values,” he says, adding that all great companies have excellent processes, but a strong corporate culture comes first.
VENTURE HOMESMarket: Atlanta
2005 closings: 406
Price range: $170,000 to $350,000
Average square footage: 2,400
2004 J.D. Power score: 122
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT J.D. POWER & ASSOCIATES AND THE COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THIS STORY, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.BUILDER ONLINE.COM, CLICK ON “THE MAGAZINE” TAB, AND THEN CLICK ON “BUILDER ARTICLE LINKS.”
ATLANTA RAVESVenture Homes was ranked No. I by J.D. Power in 2002 and 2003 and tied for No. 3 with Pulte in 2004.
SOURCE: J.D. POWER