Delivering Excellence in Every Moment
March 2020

Chris Simerda

Contract & Design Specialist

Nominator: Jason Wacker

For: Putting the Customer First

“Chris arrived to job site on last Thursday too find the kitchen in complete disarray. They were supposed to be conducting inspections that day and the occupants were scheduled to move in on Saturday His equipment had been scattered by the plumber and electrician who had not completed there connections, debris and tools were everywhere. He proceeded to assist the trades with setting equipment back in place after connections were completed and took upon it himself to stay and clean the kitchen and his equipment. The contractors all left at 3:30 and he stayed till 11pm and returned at 7am the next morning to complete.”

Words from our Vice President, Eric Schmitt:

What Chris did is a perfect example of what makes every one of our employees so very different and better than our competition. Chris showed just how dedicated he is to the idea of putting the customer first through his actions. The easy way out here would have been to tell the customer that we are unable to help them get opened when they wanted to do so because of the mess created by others. Chris instead kept his calm, held the trades accountable to help him get everything back into its proper place and then continued to stay on later in order to make sure everything looked in tip top shape for his client. The excellence is made even clearer when you realize that Chris stayed on after the trades which created the problem had left. In the Contract side of Rapids we have a repeated mantra that “If you’re not there then you are the one getting blamed”. We tend to be the last ones on the job site as the trades and GC have been onsite from the get go. This means that they are already well entrenched with the owner and are also about maxed out on patience with anything at the end of a project. Inevitably, we aren’t present, so the easiest way for the trades or GC to avoid problems for the delays or quality of work that they have had throughout the project is to blame someone who is not present. Chris did great work here not allowing the narrative to build against him, instead, he fostered an environment of team work with the construction team on site to have them help address the issues they created. In doing this, he avoided a blame game, helped the customer open their doors on time, and may have created a new base of potential referrals from the trades that he worked with on this as they realize that he is about getting the right thing done rather than fighting.  Putting frustrations aside led to a bit extra work but ultimately it should reap long term dividends.

Prize:

In recognition of Chris’ DEEM honor he will be given a “Mind Your Ping” t-shirt and entered into our Year End Employee of the Year voting. Thanks again, Chris, and all of the incredible Rapids & Affiliates team for the work you do every day to Deliver Excellence in Every Moment!