ACROSS THE BOARD

Bravery and hope

Tand past year have been interesting is an understatement. I had my article for this month written and finished. Ready to turn in and be done. hat would have been the easy thing to do, and perhaps, I should have.

Perhaps I should have ignored the things that I was feeling as I saw protesters turn into terrorists in this great country of mine. From Portland to Washington in the past year, I watched as my fellow Americans raged. Perhaps I should have ignored the constant stream of posts and shares and retweets of half truths from my “friends” on both sides of the aisle, all while safe behind their eyboards and yet, when we are face to face, those conversations never come up because it would be “rude.” Perhaps I should forget about the sacrifices that those who came before us made, and with us and ahead of us will ma e in exchange for this thing we call America.

Perhaps I should but last night, I watched as our nation again transitioned to a new administration peacefully. ne side was happy, the other not. ne side was hopeful, the other in despair. And before the night was out, the tide of battle shifted degrees and some channels declared war while the others called for peace. And in all of that, I happened to loo over and see my children and it made me cry. hey were watching all of this, and listening, and studying, and processing. Not as ing uestions, but nevertheless absorbing it all.

As I ve traveled the world, I ve seen other cultures. I ve seen what happens when what adults rage about translates into the perceptions of children. In some regions, we call it “radicalization” and once these children grow, there is no reversing it. My daughter came home from school and, at years old, said a group of ids ept pressuring her to learn who their parents voted for and proceeded to go through a very gruesome list of things that our new President apparently supports. As much as for some of us, there is nothing that would have us turn on our family or denounce our God, there is a growing list of things that apparently hold the same weight.

So as I write this, I m as ing myself why this weighs so heavy on my heart It s because I love my family and I love this country. I don t say those things lightly they are what give me life and part of my very being. It is easy to sit behind a eyboard and rage about things that may or may not be convenient truths. It s easy to complain about the beliefs and policies of one administration versus anoth-

Patrick S. Adams

Publisher President padams mediagroup.com er. It s easy to do nothing. But I ve never ta en the easy road in life and as a result, I ve been blessed.

It ta es bravery and hope to ta e the tough path. o be an example. o lead. It s easy to tear down others, but tough to build up everyone regardless of whether you agree with them or not. It s tough sometimes to see the bright side of things. It s tough to be a role model. It s tough to put in the wor behind the statement, “I want my children to be better off than me.” But that s what brave and hopeful men do.

So today, I choose to focus on the that we all have in common with each other our hope for a better future, our love for our family and our dedication to this country. oday, I choose to try to be brave for my children, my wife, and my friends and neighbors regardless of the things we might not have in common. If we can all sit together and root for a “good game” in spite of supporting rival teams, can t we do the same in life for the good of this country When we are typing, can t we first as ourselves if we would scream this in a crowded room or our neighborhood corner before we share it Can t we hold ourselves first to a higher standard before we choose to udge others to that standard

Perhaps I should have turned in the other article this month and let this feeling pass. Perhaps I should ust eep my opinions to myself. But perhaps, I should try to be an example for the sa e of my children that our “gang” is not left or right, but America. ur life has been blessed under both administration s leadership, and we have seen hardship under both. But regardless, our destiny has been at our hands and our willingness to ta e the tough path.

I wish all of you the very best in family, health, life and business as our country begins this new chapter. As always, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve this great industry and all of you.

MOST DECK builders aren’t shopping every job—they have a favorite lumberyard they turn to whom they trust to give them a fair price. There are more important criteria for selecting their favorite.

What deck builders want from their go-to supplier

Priorities change in the age of COVID

T“Availability is the best ability” has never been more true for dec ing suppliers, at least according to their builder customers loo ing to navigate recent material shortages. aving what a dec builder wants in stoc or being able to uic ly get it has become the most important criteria in selecting a supplier, according to a recent Instagram poll of dec builders by our sister publication Deck Specialist.

Availability was deemed most important by . of respondents, besting Service . , Selection , Price . , and Product nowledge . . ther factors, including Location, Credit erms, and Loyalty Program, totaled . .

“ uring C I , availability is now and all else is secondary as we ust can t get product,” said Pete Ciraldi, Professional Building Services, Salem, N. . “We spend four times the administrative time trying to ac uire stoc , usually have to get from multiple suppliers, and they are short on stoc , as well.” he change is a recent one, according to Ciraldi. “PreC I , we never had availability issues we weren t able to wor around, so we would always loo for multiple factors. Never ust one. Price and service were e ual in our boo it didn t matter how cheap the products were if they came in damaged, wrong, short count, etc. If I had to send a truc and an hourly employee, the lost additional productivity of pulling someone off the crew would be a chaser. Because of the volume we would do during our busy season, we d use multiple suppliers that carried a wide selection instead of ust one with a larger footprint. Most of the larger companies do not stoc all product lines and would have to bring things in anyway.”

oe agen, All ec ed ut, Cincinnati, h., proposed that the top two criteria are related. “ he main reason we use our supplier is customer service and product availability,” agen said. “Not having products on the ground results in special order items that can result in ma or ob delays. We also get free deliveries and pic -ups due to our large volume we do with them. Suppliers that off er per s li e that for their loyal customer base will always be successful in my opinion. Even though they are a bit more expensive, I would rather use them than shop around. With a busy schedule, we don t have time to clip coupons for materials, so using a company that values us li e a partner is very important.”

As an added benefi t, agen said, “we also have our clients use their showroom when selecting materials and have an outside sales rep that deals directly with our clients. his helps in the event the guys at the counter that wor there ma e commission and we could lose a ob if a client went in there and then they recommend another builder that buys directly from them.”

A good supplier is understanding when things don t go according to plan. agen explained, “ here have been many times that we were short on materials due to errors in estimating on my end or even from our sales rep accidentally eying in the list incorrectly but they always step up and ma e it a priority to get us what we need right away to eep the pro ects moving forward. We also li e the fact that they stoc the full line of our favorite dec ing brand, ec orators oyage, and they have a large selection of other uality products, as well.”

Looking for a Partner

om ac ues, ic ory ic ory ec s, undas, nt., has also found that nothing is more valuable than nurturing a partnership between supplier and customer. “Most important is having a good relationship with the supplier,” ac ues said. “We realize they have to ma e money, too, so they have s in in the game. When issues arose this summer, we were the ones that still got product. We loo long-term, rather than s ueezing them for a penny or two.” is company, the largest dec building franchise in Canada, rarely changes suppliers because they wor so hard to provide everything he needs from them. “We have a fairly complicated formula for whom we choose as suppliers,” ac ues said. “ f course, price is important, and service. hey must off er a good warranty, and a manufacturer s labor warranty. here must be a good color selection the product easy to wor with, but not easy to scratch. So it s a combination of factors, some weighing more than others.”

Favorite suppliers can be relied upon not only to have product, but to have answers. “What I value the most and it seems li e a dying art is the supplier s nowledge of what they re selling,” shared Lance Sniat ows i, ec Innovators, Midlothian, a. “I have found that in my mar et people ust don t now the product, which leads to mis-ordering and timely mista es that have been a problem lately.” ec builders are construction professionals and they expect their suppliers to be experts in what they do. “In my line of business time is money,” said im uigley, uigley ec s, Madison, Wi. “When I have a uestion on a particular product and when I call the lumberyard, the salesperson has the answer. When we need materials delivered on short notice, in most cases the lumberyard can get it out to us. he lumberyards have an ongoing relationship with manufactur-

What Niagara Falls dec -building franchisee Peter Secord most appreciates about buying through ic ory ic ory ec s lumberyard is “they do an excellent ob of eeping us informed on pricing and supply issues prior to changes and shortages.” eith Fry, Amazing ec s, Ambler, Pa., echoed a familiar refrain “ ne-hundred-percent service is fi rst. hey must be able to handle a few fi re drills throughout the year. Product availability is second they need to be able to supply material with a day or two notice.”

Lumberyards that can chec all the boxes will have customers for life.

ers reps, where the rep calls on the lumberyards on a regular basis and eeps the lumberyard personnel up to date on new or upcoming products. It s a whole relationship thing where it s e ually as important to the local supplier that my business survives and remains profi table, as it is to their business surviving and remaining profi table.”

A Two-Way Street

Builders are willing to go the extra mile if they feel their lumberyard will do the same. “We try to eep it a one-stop shop as much as we can,” said Michael Scott, Simcoe ec s, Barrie, nt. “We wor with a lumberyard that is roughly one hour away, because we receive the best service from them. ur contractor manager goes above and beyond to eep everything organized. Not everything is perfect, but if something isn t right, it s dealt with uic ly. We price-chec a couple times a year ust to ma e sure we are paying comparable prices. Most of the time pricing is on point, but the odd time we will have to ad ust things.”

Deck Builders’ #1 Reason for Choosing a Supplier

Product Knowledge Service Price

Selection Other

Availability

– Courtesy Deck Specialist