Jeff is Doing Ride Alongs

Bakeris Roofing is always trying to improve as a company, and we’re constantly training within the shop. I don’t want to be stuck in the office every day just because I’m the owner. (I’m not really an office guy.) I would rather be directly involved in the company. It’s easy to get out of the habit of doing ride alongs with team members to make sure they’re following the procedures and processes that we’ve put into place. This spring I’m trying to do ride alongs with our service techs. I want to show up on the crew’s jobs, talk to homeowners, and receive feedback, which I think is very important. It will also give me the chance to meet more of our customers.

I’ll have the opportunity to share my tips of the trade and give knowledge that the others might not know. I’m a firm believer that you can always teach an old dog new things. I’m that old dog, but I get to pass on some of the things that I’ve learned over the years. I still enjoy getting my hands on shingles and metal products. I’m not above getting my hands dirty, getting up on the roof, and working with the team. That’s one of my favorite things to do.

It’s still what I would prefer to do over the course of the day. I’ve got so many other things that I could be doing, but I’m just not a computer guy. I can sit in front of one for a couple of hours a day, but I’m just not inclined to be in the office all day long. Fortunately, we have great people like Dawn and Stacey, who can handle all the office-related tasks. They can organize and direct while I get up on the roof.

Luckily, I’m still healthy enough to get up there on the roof and work alongside the team. I’ll help them out, give suggestions, work on the actual install, and set an example of how to treat the customer when we’re at their house. I’d probably also be inclined to go and help homeowners out in the yard or on a small project for a few minutes. They appreciate it when we give a little bit extra.