The Peninsula Group, Inc.
Designing a Unique Customer Experience
By Kay Wilthew
Integrity: it defines a company's character. The Peninsula Group Inc., personifies this principle. Its corporate philosophy and business style inspire respect from customers and suppliers alike.
Jack Conner, a tradesman and laborer, founded Peninsula Floors, Inc. in 1959. Conner's core values of honesty, service, teamwork and respect have served the company well, and are taken to heart by the team of professionals who today remain committed to the overall customer design experience.
(Photo by Bruce Schneider)
According to Focus Flooring, The Peninsula Group is the eighth largest flooring contractor in the United States. Area home builders recognize Peninsula Floors, Inc., a division with 10 locations throughout Northern California and Nevada, and the first company in Northern California to establish an outsource design center. Its sister company, JPS Surface Solutions, serves Southern California and Arizona. Along with design center services and warranty team, both have an extensive service offering including flooring, countertops, window treatments and closet organizers.
The Peninsula Group's distinction is The Design Center. Kelli Finale, Chief Executive Officer, explains the design center commitment: "We believe in the complete customer experience. We've invested a lot of time and research. We keep our showrooms very design focused, and we set the tone early on. Our philosophy is to make this a positive experience for the client to look back on."
(Photo by Bruce Schneider)
DesignPro, a company-created design center management software system, supports individualized service. DesignPro was built around the residential design center model allowing designers to create accurate, automated quotes with immediate and consistent pricing, regardless of project complexity.
Mike Janes, Director of Sales, describes DesignPro's strength in setting customers' expectations: "The program is very visual. Customers can build different scenarios, make changes; the whole customer experience is unique in the industry. We can proactively engage with the client in real time. A change in one element flows through the entire system and a colored diagram is generated with the buyer selections." Janes appreciates the sophistication of today's homebuilder client. "They do their research. They can go online to find out where products are manufactured, and they know the difference between low- and high-end materials. If you're not prepared to have an intelligent conversation with buyers, you're at a big disadvantage."
(Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Mark Noonan, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, summarizes the model this way: "DesignPro is a complete design center selection and management system, providing project setup and configuration, product maintenance, flooring selection, wall and counter selection, builder option selection, window covering selections, appointment scheduling, sales reporting, and purchase order generation. It really is a complete front-end to back-end system."
(Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Sierra Pacific, The Peninsula Group's tile and stone distribution division, was built to support the needs of the builder and to shorten the supply chain. Finale says, "We now buy directly from the manufacturer and quarry; we sell to ourselves and other contractors. That's been a great benefit to our clients, and it's helped us improve service because we no longer have to wait for material. It's all within our control." In-house labor is another important aspect of The Peninsula Group's business model. The company has standard operating procedures in place, which ensures consistent installation practices among its labor force. This concept is somewhat unique in the industry and highlights corporate accountability, earning The Peninsula Group a loyal customer base. Noonan notes, "Our expansion has not been about trying to be the biggest; it's about being the best, and our clients often ask us to relocate with them." Janes adds, "We're large, yet still privately held and flexible enough to be able to move with the market demand. If it makes sense, we're in a nice position to meet that need."
(Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Noonan believes the company remains true to its mission statement: "Through innovation and teamwork our mission is to enhance the home environment and lifestyle of our customers by delivering value-added solutions. Our team of dedicated professionals is committed to providing the finest quality products, superior service, expert craftsmanship, integrity and uncompromised performance." Noonan states, "The thing that stands out for me is integrity. That's why I joined the company 10 years ago. There is a tremendous respect for our company, and a lot of that is based on integrity, and doing the right thing." Finale wholeheartedly agrees. "If there is any problem, we're right there. We're dedicated to our customer service, from start to finish. People tend not to put enough emphasis on that; they've lost sight of the overall design center experience. To us, that's very important."
The Peninsula Group, Inc. is located at 6465 National Dr. in Livermore, CA 94551. Call (800) 326-1297 or visit dcpfi.com for more information.
May 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue