My Dad has always been fixing stuff – it’s in his blood. He can fix broken watches, lawnmowers, cars (although he struggles at times with his composure here), and houses. He always wanted his boys to be fixers too (though we often skipped out on his lessons if something good was on television!).

My Dad emailed me a link to the website he designed for his remodeling business. But before I reveal that, let me tell you what I appreciate about him – he understands what it means to treat customers with respect. He works in a business where the ethical police would be busy all the time if they existed, yet he keeps his head above water and relates to his clients with integrity.

I clicked on the “about” page and read the ten commitments that he and his partners agreed to. I thought they were well-worth noting. In fact, they make for a great strategy for any business, church, or organization that is in the people business. They are…

We have made a list of at least 10 things we knew would make the process go much smoother.

1. Answer the phone, good news or bad.
2. Do a good assessment of the project to begin with.
3. Listen to our clients, and try to understand what they want the first time.
4. Look for potential difficulties.
5. Do it right the first time.
6. Keep the work area as clean as possible.
7. Show up when we say we will, or at least call when we cannot.
8. Complete the project as soon as possible.
9. Work with the client when changes have to be made (and sometimes they do).
10. Listen, listen, listen, answer the phone, answer the phone, answer the phone, and if we can’t answer, at least call back as soon as possible.

Now that’s a human touch! They spent time identifying the problems that existed among their client base and addressed them. They found a need and fixed it. Fixing is what they do anyway – why not fix the customer relationship while you’re at it?

And here’s the site you’ve all been waiting for… check out New Again Remodeling. The code isn’t standards-compliant and some features may seem outdated to professional designers who read this blog, but hey, for a guy who is used to swinging a hammer – I think it’s pretty good stuff! And it addresses the client well, which is the point of a business website to begin with.

Addendum: Shortly after completing this post, I read an incredible post about ethics over at Seth Godin’s blog. Check out Good Guys Finish.