Diamond Certified Video Reports

Diablo Valley Cabinetry in 5 Useful Answers

• Play from Beginning
• How does your company keep its customers during the COVID pandemic?
• What does Helpful Expertise mean to you and your team?
• How did you get into this industry?
• What’s your favorite book that you’ve read in the past couple of years? Why?
• What’s the favorite thing you enjoy about the work that you do?
• What are some of the key things your company does to deliver high quality?
• What are the handful of questions shoppers should be asking companies in your industry before they b

Diablo Valley Cabinetry - Diamond Certified 5 Useful Answers - video transcript

The protocols that we're following in the showroom are customers are required to wear masks inside the showroom. Our employees are required to wear masks inside the showroom, and we're still mindful of spacing. We've got air purifiers; we continue to use sanitization, and we're washing our hands frequently. You know, going into customers' homes, our team is instructed to continue wearing masks as they go in. Again, making sure that they're mindful of space while conversing and dialoguing with customers, and also continuing sanitization protocol as well. Helpful expertise really means practical expertise that's meaningful to the customer. It means educating customers on what to expect, what to understand so they really can make the best possible decisions for themselves, and it sets them up for a successful overall project that's as stress-free as possible. I graduated from Cal Poly down in San Luis Obispo. My degree was in environmental engineering. I did achieve a minor in business as well. After graduating, I spent six years in the technology consulting industry. You know, my primary focus was working with larger companies planning and implementing software solutions that helped with their internal communications. The projects were challenging, but, you know, after a number of years, I found it really wasn't as rewarding as I was hopeful. And it was at that time my father and I started conversations and dialoguing about the possibility of going into business together. You know, he had a small business, Diablo Valley Cabinetry, which he started in 1982. And after about six months of dialogue and really making sure this was going to be a good fit for both of us, we went into business together in 2005. You know, it's really been a wonderful change. You know, we really enjoy working together. We have a great relationship. We really appreciate our team here. And what I appreciate most about Diablo Valley Cabinetry is that what we do is really real. You know, we interact with real people. We get to know them. We get to experience their lives. We're invited into their homes. We really appreciate that. And at the end of each project, you know, the results are tangible. You know, I get to see the results and the effects of the work that we've done, our team here, that they will appreciate and enjoy with their family really for years to come. And that was a big difference from where I started my career out, and I really enjoy it. And that's really what I appreciate day to day. One book that's at the top of my recommendation list is a book called "The Slight Edge," and it's by Jeff Olson. The general premise is that big changes really don't happen right away. You know, long-term success requires a commitment to making lots of small changes with intentionality day after day over time to really add up to big changes and results. So the book is really easy to read, and the power is really in its simplicity. I try to keep a couple of them on my bookshelf in my office, and I look for opportunities to give them away. It's been a really powerful book that I've gone back to over the years. You know, the favorite thing about what we do that I enjoy the most is experiencing our own customers really appreciating and enjoying the space and seeing the months of planning, you know, the months of waiting, going through the ups and downs every project has its ups and downs, but at the end knowing that really they're going to enjoy their space with their families for years to come. The kitchen really is the central hub in the life of most families, and I feel a lot of gratitude when customers and contractors continue to refer us to their friends and families. That means a lot. It means that what we're doing people appreciate, and it's enjoyable to see that really palpable result of what our company does. There's a couple of things that we do to make sure that we're consistently delivering high quality. You know, the first one is our company aligning on what our mission statement is. Our mission statement's on our website, so I invite somebody to go check out our website and see what that mission statement is, but it really drives the overall company approach to each customer. We do have a process that we follow, and although each project is different, we take the same general approach. And that's, you know, we meet with each customer to discuss their project and really understand the goals and vision that they have. You know, we'll schedule an appointment at the customer's home to measure the space and get a first-hand view of their lifestyle, and if that project is a good match for both of us, you know, we'll prepare a preliminary design along with a budget, and usually that takes a couple of days to a week for us to put together. And we'll schedule an appointment in our showroom to review the preliminary design along with the budget. We'll look at the product, customers will get an opportunity to open and close doors and drawers and really get a feel for what we've proposed. We'll discuss any questions there are, and if there are any changes, we'll walk through those. If everything looks good and the customer is ready to proceed, we'll ask for a deposit, and we'll begin the process of placing the order. After that, we monitor the order through production, we communicate and partner with the general contractor, and we continue to be involved all the way through completion as stuff's being installed. There's always questions again, unforeseen things tend to come up. We're always prepared to dialogue and work through solutions all the way through the end. You know, there's a number of good questions that each customer should be asking, you know. The first one is, you know, how long has the company been in business? Diablo Valley Cabinetry has been in business for almost 40 years. There's a sense of longevity there commitment, you know, we've been here and we're not going away. Another really good question is, you know, is the company Diamond Certified? You know, an independent third-party verification is important, and that really demonstrates that that company is doing what they are committed to saying that they're doing. Another good question, especially in our business of cabinetry, is warranty, you know, what's the warranty on the product, how long is that warranty going to be in effect for, that really establishes, you know, the companies that we work with, the manufacturers that we work with really standing behind their product, and knowing that we have a good partner standing next to us, and feeling confident about the products that we are proposing to customers for their project. Another good question is, you know, from a customer's perspective, what should a customer expect over the duration of the project? You know, what's the process, how do you work through those. Another great question is, when an issue or something unexpected comes up because every project will have some sort of issue or unexpected circumstance in construction, it's just a reality, how does your company respond to that? I think that's really an important one, because it really tells how a company is going to respond when issues do arise, you know, are they going to stand behind it, are they going to work through it, are they going to come up with solutions. And one of the indicators of our success and our longevity is we see projects through, stuff comes up, you know, we understand that mistakes happen, errors happen, but we're committed to seeing it through.

Diablo Valley Cabinetry is presented in these Diamond Certified Resource Category Reports