When it comes to making money in the building industry, reputation is everything. Builders know that happy home buyers enhance their reputation and help build a strong referral base.

Although most builders make customer satisfaction a priority, some of the subcontractors with whom they work don't.

This is potentially damaging to a project's success when the subcontractor is the design center. After all, with what subcontractor do home buyers have the most contact? And what can hurt a sale more than a bad experience with the Designer?

While there are a number of design centers from which to choose, making the right choice for your project should be based on the subcontractor's customers service, field personnel, work quality, bid price and industry reputation.

So how do you choose the right design center? . . . Develop a rating system you can use to score all companies on an even scale and stick to it. Rating systems help you identify the criteria on which you should judge each. They also help you weigh how important each criterion is. Using this method will enable you to identify the alternatives, evaluate each one and predict any adverse consequences that might occur as a result of your choice.

We're sure you will agree, the following criteria is important when choosing a design center:

• BIA member - Is the subcontractor a member of the BIA and a supporter of its programs? Is it recognized as an industry leader?
  
  
• Buyer Satisfaction - What is the design center's ability to retain a high percentage of home buyers to avoid problems with third-party contractors and minimize the administration of the contract?
  
  
• Showrooms - Does the company have showrooms conveniently located to your project with other locations available for your home buyers' convenience? Are they open during evenings and weekends?
  
  
• Timely Completion - Does the company inspect progress and completed work of prior trades to insure that the job can begin as scheduled? Does it ensure that the required manpower is on the job on time, every time? Is there a project management system to help schedule jobs and track progress?
  
  
• Quality of Work - Does the company have a total quality management and customer satisfaction program? Does it have ongoing training programs to continually improve quality? Does it reward zero defects by tradesmen? Does it have a verifiable record of high quality work?
  
  
• Customer Service - Does the firm have a computer system to track and report progress? How about dedicated administrative staff and field personnel to ensure prompt response? Does it have high ratings from builder customer service staffs and effective quality control inspections to identify and correct work before it's a problem?
  
  
• Value Engineering - Is the company effective in working with model home designers and marketing to find the best packages for models?
  
  
• Field Supervisors - Is there field supervision on the job every day? Is a written report on the quality of installation on every lot given to the superintendent?
  
  
• Business Practices - How is the firm's credit history? Is the design center able to avoid or minimize joint checks/material draws? Does it have ethical business practices? Does it have progressive and organized management systems and procedures? Are the employees cooperative and easy to work with?
  
  
• Price - What is the total dollar amount of the contract bid? How accurate is the estimate? What is the frequency of extras and are the prices reasonable? How are the upgrade options priced?

ISI . . . The Builder's Choice - Compare your flooring subcontractors using the above criteria and we are sure you will find that Interior Specialists is THE RIGHT DESIGN CENTER for your project and for your home buyers.