Small Business Today Magazine MAR 2016 AMERICAN SERVICES | Page 11

Tony & Larry make sure that the entire leadership team and technicians are on the same page when it comes to providing excellence and total client satisfaction. Photo courtesy of American Services. and have never had a disagreement. Many partnerships can learn a lot from their example. From the get-go, they established a clear division of their responsibilities. Tony takes care of the marketing, sales, and business development and Larry takes care of the day-to-day operations and management. Always on a quest for ways to improve and grow their business, five years ago, Larry and Tony bought the Galveston based ARAMCO Outside Blinds Company that has been in operation since 1938. Larry explained, “ARAMCO was going out of business when the grandson of the original founder died. They had their own sales force and their own installers. When we acquired them, we established a different marketing strategy to set up dealers and distributors nationwide and then we became strictly a manufacturer.” The ARAMCO factory manufactures accordion shutters, rolling shutters, solar screens, and aluminum louvered blinds. The blinds are a very unique energy efficient product that goes on the outside of the window. They are great for protecting homes and businesses against the hot summer sun, winter cold, high winds, and intruders in a very effective and inexpensive way. Once again, in their ongoing pursuit to add something new and innovative each year, American Services became approved installers by Underwriters Laboratories in 2014 for lightning protection systems and they are steadily moving forward in growing that new business unit. Larry and Tony do business with Daikin Industries, Ltd., a Japanese firm that is the largest air conditioning manufacturer in the world. Recently, Daikin acquired Goodman Manufacturing, McQuay International, and the Amana Corporation. Daikin is building a 4.2 million-squarefoot facility in Waller, Texas to manufacture air conditioning equipment. American Services is one of the few HVAC contractors approved to commission and service their Daikin equipment.” One of the many things that set American Services apart from other companies like them is that both Larry and Tony are committed to excellence, above and beyond. “When we go to take care of our customers, we always deliver excellent work. There is no second best,” stated Tony. Larry and Tony also refer to their customers as clients because they are always getting repeat business. American Services is available seven days a week and even after hours for emergencies. Larry proudly stated, “We do not have one single unhappy customer. All of our technicians are under my personal scrutiny so they put booties on when they go into a residence; they wear clean uniforms; they drive late model, clean trucks; they’re well groomed; they’re respectful; and they don’t do drugs. Our clients are usually housewives and their children may be in the home so our technicians are mindful of where they go. In addition, we stand behind our work. The other part is that we have a very competitive pricing structure and we bring value to the relationship with our clients.” Larry added, “On the commercial side, we do the same thing. I believe that if you give the customer exactly what the customer expects, there is nothing for them to get excited about. If you give them more than what they’re asking for, above and beyond and at a reasonable price, then they’re excited. That is what I call providing the WOW factor. I’ll even ask my technicians, ‘Where’s the WOW here?’ Most of the other air conditioning companies run either a phone bank or they’re outsourced to Florida or Chicago or Cincinnati. Others have an answering service but we answer the phone in person by either Tony or me or by one of our technicians. We start every day at seven in the morning and even if it’s Friday after five in the evening, we answer the phone and our technicians are sent out.” Larry proudly stated, “We have some great people working for us. They understand exactly what our concept is. Most of them have been with us for a long, long [ MARCH 2016 ] WWW.SBTMAGAZINE.NET 9