And in the rare cases where they can’t be there, Brian says, they will let customers know as soon as possible. Again, he says that kind of communication seems obvious, but in his experience it’s often lacking: “We’ll call the customer and let them know that something has come up and ‘we won’t be there tomorrow, but we’ll be there Thursday or Friday,’” he says. “They appreciate that communication. I feel like with a lot of other companies, no one calls. No one bothers to communicate. Communication is vital for a service providing company these days.” In addition, The Fence Store doesn’t burden clients with what Brian calls “hidden costs.” He believes that’s another important reason clients like working with them. “We don’t nickel and dime clients at the end of a project,” he explains. “When we give our clients an estimate, that’s the number, and that stays the number. That’s the number it’s going to be at the end unless there was some drastic change order that happened. We’re not going to go ‘oh, that extra post is going to cost you more money.’ That’s not how we work.” Over the years, The Fence Stores transparency when it comes to pricing – combined with their reliability, their communication, and their overall emphasis on providing strong customer service – has consistently translated into strong relationships with customers. The strength of those relationships is reflected in their rate of repeat work and the longevity of their relationships. According to Brian, some of those relationships go back over a decade. Of course, those repeat clients are also responding to The Fence Store’s consistency of quality. Brian partly credits that consistency to the calibre of their supply partners. For example, they do a lot of ornamental iron fencing, and they strictly use North American-made products. One of their main suppliers, Iron Eagle Industries, is even based out of Canada – specifically Mississauga, Ontario. “Iron Eagle has been a great manufacturing company for the last 20-plus years we’ve been using them,” Brian says. “Their product is fantastic and they back everything up with an extended 20-year warranty option. We know we can rely on them, and that’s what we look for in our suppliers.” NOVEMBER 2023
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