In February of 2018, twelve team members at Foundation 1 were interviewed for some company promotional videos.
While only a few comments made in the interviews ended up in the final video, there were a lot of really strong comments. These were unscripted responses and they give you a glimpse into how Foundation 1 goes about running its business. Here is what the team had to say ….
I think I help people resolve their foundation issues and drainage with a positive outlook and solutions.
I think that people should pick Foundation 1 because they, indeed, have built their reputation on doing the right thing for people, and that’s evident with the referrals and the repeat business.
I have extreme confidence in all of our crews. They do it day in, day out. And they’ve earned the respect of the customers.
We’ve got the best, and that’s evident, again in the thousands of jobs that we’ve done and the reviews. Our crews are the toughest that they make. They prove that day in, day out in the metro.
A homeowner should expect that they are not going to be signing anything to commit that day. They have time to think. And to just relax.
I think honestly is paramount, because if we don’t have the honesty you don’t have the trust.
We do foundation repair, and also the things that cause the water damage, so we get down to the underlying issues, so we don’t just put a patch on the crack, we take the pressure off that caused the crack. For instance, with proper drainage, we service not a band-aid approach, but something we can service with the warranties.
Well, if you see a major fracture in your sheet rock, that’s fairly evident, if you hear a loud crack in the night, and you see a crack in the wall, that’s a sure sign. We’ve seen people wait too long and they have a foundation wall cave in on them.
Well, I think a common misconception in our industry is that people expect to be sold a bill of goods, we just tell them what we would do if it were our own house. Honest assessment on that.
With the three estimators on staff, we have over 50 years of experience.
This company is very honest. They are good to work with. They have done everything they said they would and then some.
The first impression that a homeowner would have of Foundation 1 is the quality of the work and the ability to get the work done, timely.
I’ve been in the industry 28 years, everything concrete walls, footing, flat work, structural, commercial, and residential.
My favorite thing about this job is seeing everything come together, we have multiple crews out in the field and it all works.
What I do is, I’ll go out to a home, and inspect the foundation for either lateral push on a wall, water proofing, or vertical drop, due to expansive placed soils. And write up a remedy to repair the issue.
One of my favorite things to do with the company is to go out in the community and interact with the customers and I already know what the customers are going to say when I get there. The work that we’re doing and how to go about our job. And so driving around to various customer sites, makes me feel like I am on top of the world. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that our team is creating a predictable, positive impact for the customer .
I’ve been about 9 years in the industry; 3 years with Foundation 1. Yeah, I used to be a single family home builder. And the market in 07 took a turn and I had some engineering background and had some engineering repair and was with a couple more companies before Foundation 1, and that’s what landed me here.
I like the hands off approach of management. Do your job, the owner doesn’t really get involved a lot if you’re doing your job. So the hands off approach is what I like about it.
We care, we care about our customers and it shows. With all of the referrals that we get and repeat customers.
The most important thing is integrity, we’re not used car salesmen, we evaluate an issue and we write up a comprehensive program to repair the issues.
Homeowners should use F1 because we do not subcontract any of our work. None of us are contractors. And we back our product. Most other companies are going to use sub contractors. You’re going to go through a middle man. At Foundation 1, we’re the beginning, the middle, and the end.
Constant follow up, constant communication, during and after the job.
We can feed off of one another experience, we ask each other a lot of questions. We have a great work relationship. As far as feed back from a homeowner is that “you are more of an educator than someone who just came in and wanted to sign e up on the dotted line. The experience that I have over the years, I guess it’s a question of maturity. And when you see so many customers and issues, you approach it from a different perspective. You approach it with an honest evaluation, what I’ve found that gives me more success is educating. Why the house is doing what it’s doing, why you need to repair it, what happens if it’s doing nothing at all.
Olathe has issues with drop of elevation. 75% of those homes will need similar repairs. And that takes us to Prairie Village where 70% might need lateral wall push, stabilization and waterproofing. So one is dropping elevation, and one is pushing in laterally. Expansive classic soils, all due to expansive clay soil.
Here in the KC metro area we have very active clay soils. And what that means is extended dry spells, the soil shrinks, when it’s wet it expands. That constant movement leads to foundation issues, whether a house needs to be leveled or stabilized laterally. Those Olathe, is an area we do a lot of peering in. If we peer in one neighborhood that a good amount of those homes will also need that similar repair. PV on the other hand has lateral pressure, leads to water seeping. We do wall stabilization in those areas.
I honestly think people should choose F1 because we are the best and go above and beyond to help in every situation. And I really think other companies, they don’t have as high as standards in F1.
Well, I am the owner, so ultimately, my most important job is to ensure that the company is healthy, that we’re taking care of the customers, that we’re taking care of our employees, making sure that we have the right team. And that the team has the tools necessary to do the job the best that they can.
One thing about F1 is when I worked with different companies in the trades, they really didn’t seem to care too much about your well being, future, but here they care about your future, health. They want to help you grow more than other companies I’ve been involved with.
Once we show up to a house we introduce ourselves, we listen the owner, at that point we go outside and inspect the foundation from the exterior, I will also draw a sketch of the footprint of the home, and then I will go inside and do a visual inspection also. Once I’ve done those things I’ll draw up a repair plan and we’ll get on a foundation accelerator, which will send them the proposal email it’s very detailed, and we leave the home explaining the customer that if they choose to accept us, its a docs-sign contract you hit accept on the proposal online and we get you on the schedule. You’re not signing anything, no pressure, we do a follow up call 2 days after to see if they have questions or want to accept.
They work pretty hard, they’re tough guys, the reviews speak for us, so I think we’re pretty tough guys.
Some of the tools I use, is the plan laser, it’s level no matter where you put it…you take elevations throughout the structure. It is mainly used to establish where your piers need to be put, where the home needs to be lifted.
I honestly think people should pick F1 because we’re the best. I don’t know any other company that can compete with us, with the hardwork, the man power.
The most important thing I do is making sure the customer is taken care of. Making sure they’re scheduled correctly, making sure that all of their info is put on the calendar so the foreman know where they’re going. I lay out for them the project packs, stuff like that. Without me they don’t know where they’re going.
People should choose F1 because everyone here genuinely cares. We aren’t here to sell something you don’t need, a lot of times when they foremen get there they’ve been doing it so long that they know. They’ll get in and maybe see something the consultant didn’t see that they see and they’ll bring that up to a customer. I’ve seen a lot of changes in a project, in the middle of the project, so it’s very catered and tailored to what the customer needs. Not our bottom line or quota, not any of that.
I make sure the customer is happy just by checking in with them. I make all the phone calls, I’m the voice behind the phone. So I make sure that there questions get sent where they need to go, I make sure if they have something I cannot answer I get it to the appropriate person. I just make sure that their needs are met through the office.
I have been in the industry since 2001, and I’ve been in the company since 2014.
Making sure the customer is happy, is an entire process. It starts with the evaluators being able to diagnose the problem. Understanding what’s wrong with the home or the business. Developing a repair plan that the homeowner can have confidence in. Putting together the right team, putting together the right materials, giving the support and again giving support so that they can do their jobs. I’ve got a great team, all I have to do is make that right support so that again they can do their jobs and I know that the customer will be taken care of.
Thousands of different jobs across the metro.
The thing I like most about my job is the freedom, crews, morale, the team ship.
I think people should pick F1 because they’ve been around for awhile, they know what they’re doing, and they do it well.
Being up front and honest with the customer is always the best policy. A lot of times foundation repair salesmen are the last people someone wants to see in their house.
It’s an awesome job. I think we are one of the best at what we do. We are great people with great attitudes and everybody is getting better each day, so we are one of the best companies with what we do, we have all the best people.
I like to be upfront and honest with customer; that makes them happy. I hate to say it but I don’t like to sugar coat much. The truth speaks volumes by itself, and it’s all downhill from there, come in to fix their foundation, and they never have any problems after that.
I’ve been doing this for 11 years, and with F1 for 8 years.
They can ask any questions that they have. Show us where the house is hurting. We can take some time to look at the house and get an accurate footprint take some notes on the area you are concerned with in which to get some measurements. We develop our repair plan to share with you. That’s part of the analysis and the assessment.
The most important thing I do in my job is take care of my customers, my guys, and do a great job.
I’ve been into trades for about 8-9 years. And I’ve been with F1 for 1 year now and I’ve been pretty much going form trade to trade making myself better for when I came here. I wanted to be here for a long time.
What I like about my job the most would be the people that I work with. They are the most hard working most dedicated people I’ve ever found in one company. The most important thing I do with F1 would be my hardwork, dedication, and discipline to get the work done accurately and help the homeowner as much as I can possibly help them out with. When they see us, they don’t, it’s a stressful time in their life having a crew tear apart their house, so I like to make that as easy for them as possible.
I was an elementary school teacher for 8 years. I would go home more tired as a teacher than I would doing this digging holes everyday. The mental fatigue from teaching children is completely different than the tedious stuff that goes along with doing foundation repair.
I’ve been in the industry for 20 years, off and on for 5 years with F1.
The group of I guys I work with a re really good guys, so it makes it easy.
Why should customer pick Foundaiton 1? Because we’re the best at what we do.
I love being a part of foundation 1. A lot of pride, everyone has pride in their work and it’s a good team of guys.
I’ve been doing foundation repair for 5-6 years, and I’ve been doing F1 for a year, but I’ve done general construction for 10+ years.
Most important thing I would say is making sure everyone is safe, making sure the jobs runs smooth, making sure the safety hazards are taken care of. Would say that’s the most important to me. I go over the scope of work, and what we would like to get accomplished. I go over what we did do, and if they have questions they ask me and they get an answer, But I try to communicate on everything we are doing to make sure they’re comfortable.
The crews are very efficient, the guys work their butts off. They dig holes. Quick and efficient and make sure it looks good too.
I haven’t had any complaints since I’ve been here. I’m sure they do but they don’t voice it to us, they get the job done..
I’m a project foreman and a salesmen. I oversee jobs and make sure customers are taken care of.
Our team really cares about each other. That increases the excellence of our company. That’s a pretty rare combination to have a group of people that really care that much.
I’ve been in foundation repair for a little over 8 years now, been with F1 going on 3 years.
It kind of comes together in a fantastic way that the company is better for. As the owner of the business, people will sometime say, ‘Do you worry about what the team is doing out in the field?’ ‘Do you need to look over their shoulders?’ I really don’t. They know they know what they’re doing.
I like F1 compared to the others I’ve worked for. There’s a lot more attention to detail, the people I work for are great, and it’s a lot more established place to be in.
I like being as detailed as we are in what I do and kind of keeping the perfect record.
I like the people I work with, we have fun everyday. Got a really good crew of guys. I like our strive to do the customer the best we can, and that’s the number 1 priority.
The most important thing is to make sure my guys are safe and no one gets hurt. Make sure the jobs done right. The attention to detail is astronomical and everything from the materials we use to the guys doing everything it’s miles above and beyond what other people are doing right now.
Make sure I keep them in the loop, talk, explain things. Not everyone knows what we’re doing so they can understand what they’re paying for. Basically I am the operations manager at F1. I take care of how the crews urn and try to plan out accordingly with trucks, and where everybody is going to be. And then also go around and meet with customers to see if they have comments questions or concerns.
I’ve been in the industry about 10 years and I’ve been with F1 since the beginning of F1.
I’ve been with Foundation 1 for about a year, so I am about the newbie with the group. But I have been involved in managing companies for about 30 years now.
It’s fun, we lift houses, we push walls, we get in the dirt, the comradery around here is laid back. I’ve done this my entire life and it’s not always a bunch of smiles it’s “I hate you, you hate me, I’m not coming into work today because I don’t like you guys” you know, here it’s different. We smile and just get stuff done fast, so when you get a group of guys that love to do what they do it makes everything mess. There are difficulties but we conquer it.
If you can’t be happy with what you’re doing, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it. That’s why we are so successful because we love doing what we do.
We got this thing here at F1 we call the jaw drop factor. This is when the customer will leave and come back home and see what makes their jaw drop in amazement. It can be anything from moving an entire foundation wall, or seeing a non-existing trench on the side, and then they come back and the entire wall is excavated. If there’s anything that can make that happen, it’s foundation repair and the way that we do it.
You stay in a good mood because you don’t have any frustrations. If you have any, you get a jackhammer, you break some stuff and then you feel good about it. And if you’re still feeling bad then you take that and carry it out of a basement. Yeah I think we all love our job.
We are doing the right things for people. It’s an industry where not every contractor always does the right thing, but we take the extra effort and what to make it right like you were working on your own home. The comradery, the customer relations, and being able to go out in the world and be outside. If I had a desk job it wouldn’t be good.
We take a lot of extra care in landscaping and customers property. It’s a great group of guys, we all have fun together, we even hang out after work. Some of our guys are on the same soccer team, they also work all day long and have a soccer game that night together. There’s a lot to be said about that. We are a tight knit group that love to be around each other.
Some of the foreman I have just feed off the knowledge, they are hungry to be better and you don’t get that a lot…we’re here as a family and get it done right and want to be here.
Fitness and nutrition background…if you have a guy that may not be in the greatest health then put him on a vitamin regiment and put him on some supplements.
I’m a believer that you get out of something you put into it. Well, the team continues to amaze me everyday. Sometimes when you spend a lot of time with people, you learn over time what irritates you about them. With my team, it’s like every day you learn more and more about them and I am more and more excited about what they do for the business and for the customers. They’re just a great group of guys and gals and its fun to come to work and see them interact with the customers and it gives me a lot of pride.
They know how to do their job extremely well. I know that they’re going to do what they are supposed to do, and I know that maybe if they do something that they shouldn’t do, that someone else on the team would correct them. So, a high level of knowing what to do, and making sure that they do it. The team will almost manage itself. But, again, a tremendous amount of pride in that group.
I think the most important thing that I do with my job is to see that all of the elements are working together to make sure that the result that the customers want is happening, and when something needs my attention, I divert my attention there. I think that, big picture, we’re operating at a high level of excellence.
I think what’s unique about our company is that we’re a local company. But we’re not a “little” local company. We are a bigger, local business. So we are based in Kansas City. We may actually be bigger than some of the national or name brand companies out there. But we run the company like a STRONG local company with our customers, again with our roots around the Kansas City market and that “allows us to bring forth excellence.” There’s not a big national company that’s dictating how we operate our business . But also, we are not the guy with the truck picking up day laborers at Home Depot in the morning.