HOMES BY AVI, LINCOLNBERG TAKE TOP HONOURS AT HOME AWARDS
Homes by Avi continued its winning ways as CustomerInsight presented the 2018 HOME Awards during a gala event at the Hyatt Regency on March 9.
The company won both Builder of Choice in the large volume single-family category, and tied Dolce Vita Homes for the large volume single-family category in the Customer Experience awards.
Lincolnberg Homes was the other Builder of Choice winner from Edmonton, leading the class of builders with five to 49 homes. It was one of two trophies for the company, also taking home the Best Customer Experience honour for small volume multi-family builders.
Honours in the Customer Experience categories are based on how the builders are scored on two customer surveys, one that’s taken one month after possession and another 13 months after possession. The survey explores subjects such as how satisfied the customer is with the overall quality and workmanship of the home, if they feel the builder appreciates them as a customer, and the level of trust they have with their builder. The customer’s willingness to refer the builder to friends and family members is a factor on the survey, as well.
Rounding out the Best Customer Experience winners from Edmonton were City Homes Master Builder for the medium volume single-family category, Lang Built Homes for small volume single-family, and StreetSide Developments for large volume multi-family.
Leading the way in the Calgary division of awards was Stepper Homes and Homes by Avi Group of Companies with two trophies apiece. Homes by Avi’s singlefamily division, and its multi-family division Avi Urban were both honoured.
The Builder of Choice honours recognize the customer surveys, along with feedback on separate surveys from employees and trade partners.
For Builder of Choice, both single-family categories were deadlocks. The large volume class, which includes builders with 150 or more homes, was a repeat from last year, with Cedarglen Homes and Homes by Avi tying for first.
Homes by Avi was “founded on the guiding principle of customer satisfaction,” says Alice Mateyko, president of Homes by Avi Alberta’s single family division. “Being recognized for these awards is a true accomplishment because it comes directly from our customers,” she adds. “And in the case of being recognized as Builder of Choice, we owe thanks to our employees, trades and customers for awarding us with this special honour.”
“The customers, our team, our trades and suppliers, all bought into the program,” says Howard Tse, president of Cedarglen Homes. “We’re all working toward the same goal. We’re turning over product that everyone can be proud of and that homeowners are proud to be in.”
Cedarglen wasn’t done there. Its sales and marketing manager Allison Harvie picked up the Industry Ambassador of the Year Award. This honour spotlights an individual who has made an “outstanding contribution to improve the perceptions of the homebuilding industry by demonstrating leadership and initiative within the area of customer experience,” says CustomerInsight.
For builders with 46 to 149 homes, Stepper Homes and Baywest Homes tied for the prize.
“It means everything to us,” says Wayne Daniels, customer experience manager for Baywest Homes. “We came together as a team and worked very hard to make this award happen. Our customers are No. 1. Everything that we’ve done, all of our decisions, our processes and execution, it all comes down to our homeowners.”
“It’s everybody working together and finding a way to make our customers feel like they’re heard, that they’re appreciated — and we just want their experience to be wonderful,” says Carol Warner, customer experience analyst for Stepper Homes. “We building their dream home and that’s the best thing in the world.”
In the multi-family category for Builder of Choice, Avi Urban came out on top.
“Avi Urban is especially proud to be recognized as a Builder of Choice through the Customer Insight program as the results are based solely on the responses provided by our customers, our trades, suppliers and our employees,” says Avi Urban president Charron Ungar. “Ultimately, the ability to provide an exceptional home buying experience is one that involves the entire team and together we have been named the Builder of Choice because all three aspects of that process are running well.”
For Customer Experience honours, Sterling Homes won the category for builders with 150 or more homes. This follows a tie for the builder at last year’s competition.
“(This award) means our Sterling team of employees, along with our trade and supply partners, have actually delivered on our real goal of providing one of the best new home building experiences possible,” says Bill Bobyk, vice-president of Sterling Homes Group. “Sterling is constantly refining this process and are always excited to discover new and better ways to accomplish that.”
For builders with 46 to 149 homes, Stepper Homes landed its second honour of the night.
Morrison Homes, Cedarglen Homes, and Homes by Avi placed as finalists in the large volume class, while McKee Homes, Baywest Homes, Calbridge Homes, and Broadview Homes were shortlisted for the medium volume trophy.
The small volume category, for companies with five to 49 builds, was a tie between Carstairs-based Gold Seal Homes and Strathmore’s Aquilla Homes. Finalists were Lupi Luxury Homes and Douglas Homes.
For multi-family awards, there were familiar faces in the winner’s circle. Logel Homes won the large volume category, which is for developers with 116 or more homes. This is a new brand by the same company that’s behind Cardel Lifestyles, which won the past three consecutive years.
Logel Homes and Cardel Lifestyles president Tim Logel reflected on his early days in the business.
“In 1982, when I went into my very first show home down in Deer Run ... watching the first customer come in, dealing with that customer and looking at the opportunity that I had to make that customer a happy customer,” says Logel. “It wasn’t just in writing up the agreement and getting the builder to sign in, but all the way through until they moved in and thereafter. Seizing the opportunity to say to myself, ‘wow, what a great business to be in,’ where you can exceed the customer’s expectations and work with a team and a building company to all come together.”
In the small volume multi-family category, Morrison Homes MultiFamily was a repeat winner.
“Morrison Homes Multi-Family is thrilled to have receive this award for the second time in as many years,” says Rob Kennedy, president of Morrison Homes Multi-Family. “We are very proud of our team and our trade partners. At Morrison it’s always been ‘customers first’ and it’s an honour to be recognized by our customers.”
Divine Flooring, with Canadian locations in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, was named Best Trade/Supply Partner at the awards.