BBB® | Spring 2023
Carolyn Beard and Bob Strate Callier & Thompson
CHANGE HAS BEEN THE ONLY CONSTANT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
Global-scale issues like inflation, workforce instability and lingering effects of COVID-19 have pushed businesses large and small to rethink their approach.
As an Accredited Business with your Better Business Bureau, you are uniquely situated to handle this ongoing storm.
Your affiliation with BBB means that you value trust. Trust will always be important to your customers, no matter the circumstance. BBB’s Standards for Trust can help guide your decisions as you adapt to a changing market. Abiding by those eight standards – Build Trust, Advertise Honestly, Tell the Truth, Be Transparent, Honor Promises, Be Responsive, Safeguard Privacy and Embody Integrity – has helped make your business what it is today. As a result, your customers trust you.
Communication has become more important than ever these last three years. The BBB standards emphasize the importance of clear and transparent communication with your customers. This means being honest about price increases or the delayed delivery of goods because of the various supply chain issues that have been a problem. Making sure your customers are informed helps you build trust and maintain strong relationships during these uncertain times.
You’ve had to adapt to new ways of operating with things like remote work. Due to worker shortages, business owners have had to rethink how they can recruit and retain their employees. There are employees who also expect a differ-
ent workplace than the one pre-COVID. There are expectations in some fields for a virtual or hybrid workplace to stay in place. Changing your approach has helped you find and retain quality employees.
You’ve also had to adapt to how you deal with your customers. In the early days of the pandemic, contactless transactions were the norm. Many consumers wish to continue to do business that way. Businesses that have shown the ability to adapt to the changing needs of their consumers are more likely to earn their trust and loyalty.
The pandemic proved to be a playground for scammers. Scammers were able to manipulate some systems and preyed on consumers. However, your status as an Accredited Business helped set you apart. Consumers know they can trust you. Right now, it’s more important than ever to demonstrate a commitment to ethical and honest business practices. BBB standards help provide a framework for you to follow. That includes your commitment to integrity, honesty and transparency. You are committed to doing the right thing, even during the most difficult of times.
Keeping things on track the last three years has not been easy, and plenty of challenges lie ahead. BBB is ready to help you.
Consumers have made BBB an important touch point, leaning on us in record numbers last year. Nearly 6 million people accessed information through our website, while another 8 million found BBB at our various social media channels.
SCHEDULE A PRESENTATION BY YOUR BBB
BBB outreach can help get valuable information on marketplace trust to local organizations, free of charge.
Contact us at outreach@stlouisbbb.org to schedule an in-person or virtual presentation for your group.
Consumers turned to BBB to learn about businesses with more than 3.2 million visits to BBB Business Profiles. More than 53,000 consumers utilized our Get A Quote service, which directly connected them with Accredited Businesses. BBB processed more than 18,000 customer reviews and nearly 15,000 complaints. We were able to resolve 80 percent of the complaints received.
We continue to challenge questionable advertising claims, 130 ads last year, and investigate bad actors in the marketplace, with more than 350 investigations recorded. BBB experts were out in the community, making 85 presentations on marketplace ethics topics to various groups throughout the region.
These results reflect the dedication of BBB staff members and volunteers who serve consumers and businesses across the region. We stand ready to help companies and consumers resolve disputes and provide standards for business practices, and other valuable services that promote marketplace trust.
BBB started a new brand campaign, “Sign of a Better Business,” which includes TV, radio and social media messaging. The campaign encourages consumers to do business with companies they trust. Using the BBB Accreditation seal in your advertising and other marketing will let potential customers know that you are trustworthy. We’ve recently added a Job Listing Service to connect employees looking to work for ethical businesses.
It’s work that we could not do without support from our Accredited Businesses and Charities.
Michelle Corey President & CEO, CAE
Board of Directors
Carolyn Beard Callier & Thompson
Kitchen Bath Appliance
Blake Birner
Renewal by Andersen
Don Brown
Don Brown Chevrolet
Angela Courtwright
More for Less Remodeling
Terri DeMent
Nestlé Purina
Jill Falk Schnuck Markets
Joe Fisher
DH Pace Company, Inc.
Holly Francois Maritz
Tom Gershman
Gershman Mortgage
Seth Goldkamp
Design Aire
Heating & Cooling
Katie Hopkins
Truck Centers, Inc.
Carlos Huddleston
Gonzalez Companies
Greg Kendall Commerce Bank
* Chairman of the Board
** Immediate Past Chair
*** Advertising Club President
**** President & CEO
Better Business Bureau
Justin Lee* RubinBrown
Tom Linhares
Dodge Moving & Storage
Ben Lynch Ameren MO
Rose McDaniel Graybar
Stefan Sigurdson
Allen Roofing & Siding
Heidi Singleton*** New Honor Society
Todd Smith
Waterway Carwash
Katie Statler Caleres
Ben Stegmann
Second Mile Service Company
Aaron Windholz McBride Homes
Adriane Yates
Spire
Michelle L. Corey****
Better Business Bureau
Serving Eastern & Southwest Missouri & Southern Illinois 211 N. Broadway, Ste. 2060
St. Louis, MO 63102
Phone: (314) 645-3300
Fax: (314) 645-2666
Hannah Kloppenburg, Editor
Email: hkloppenburg@stlouisbbb.org
Cover photo by Tim Vizer
Torchlight (ISSN 1547-2043 USPS 053-540) is published quarterly by Better Business Bureau, 211 N. Broadway, Ste. 2060, St. Louis, MO 63102. Subscriptions are available to BBB Accredited Businesses only.
“MAKE IT RIGHT”
Callier & Thompson tailors the customer experience to build trust
A remodel is a big deal.
It’s a massive investment, and it requires clients to have the remodel team in their homes, sometimes for months at a time.
Even armed with research and recommendations, clients must be prepared to take a leap of faith — to trust that their remodeling company will respect their home, time and money.
Carolyn Beard and Bob Strate have taken this reality to heart over the past decade as co-owners of the Ballwin, MO kitchen, bath and appliance company Callier & Thompson.
“We recognize it’s a stressful time for the homeowners, and everyone handles that stress differently,” says Strate — especially when they’re working with a client who may have had a poor experience with a contractor in the past.
“We try to be sensitive to that and do what we can to accommodate them and make them feel better,” he explains.
“Gaining that trust with the customer is huge to let them feel at ease,” Beard says.
Beard and Strate were longtime Callier & Thompson employees before they and a third colleague purchased the company from its original owners, the Callier brothers. They’ve been in business since 1955, and the team possesses over 160 combined years of experience.
Since they became co-owners, Beard and Strate have tailored their project process to build trust at every point in the journey.
Strate explains that setting expectations early and often is key to establishing trust. “We explain to homeowners early on that things are going to change — it’s construction,” he says.
A spirit of clear communication drives the team’s process for projects from start to finish.
Multiple touchpoints before construction help ensure customers are completely happy with the plan and can meet the staff members with whom they’ll be working closely. Once a job is sold, the team uses an app to share daily updates with the homeowner, keeping them informed even if they’re at work or traveling during construction.
“There’s a lot of trust that has to be in place for somebody to say yeah, you can hang out in my house all day long while I’m not here,” says Strate.
“We have to make sure we treat their home like it’s our own,” says Beard.
While Callier & Thompson has a tried-and-true method for building client relationships, it’s not always easy to stick to the plan when you’re
Bob Strate, left, and Carolyn Beard, right, pictured in the Callier & Thompson showroom in Ballwin, MO.
faced with global-scale issues that are far outside your control. COVID-19, supply chain issues, workforce instability and inflation have thrown curveballs at small businesses over the last few years.
At the height of supply chain delays, it took a year or more to get appliances. Volatile timelines made it difficult to set realistic expectations with customers. In response, Callier & Thompson amped up its dedication to transparency and good communication.
“We had to keep on top of it, give them updates and be proactive rather than reactive, and that seemed to help,” Strate says.
While there were still some inevitable snags, they found customers to largely be understanding.
More recently, labor shortages have made it difficult to hire carpenters. Subcontractors are stretched thin, making scheduling difficult. Inflation has increased the price of labor and materials at an unprecedented rate. “All of this trickles down, unfortunately, to the consumer,” Strate explains.
However, the team is cautiously optimistic about the coming year. Pent-up demand for remodeling caused interest in projects to soar after COVID-19 restrictions began to lift. Callier & Thompson is booked out through November of this year.
Beard notes that the housing market is also contributing to demand. “With interest rates so high, people aren’t looking at buying. They’re asking, ‘If I can’t move, how can I make this house be what I want it to be and make it work the way I need it to work?’” she explains.
According to Beard, projects have also gotten larger — clients want to remodel multiple things at once. It’s still hard to say how this year will go, Beard and Strate say. More homeowners could decide to hold off on big projects if inflation doesn’t slow.
“We have to make sure to treat their home like
it’s our own.”
- Carolyn Beard
Throughout all this turmoil, though, Callier & Thompson has been there for customers and maintained its dedication to integrity.
For Beard and Strate, integrity frequently translates to strong attention to detail — making sure every aspect of a project is of the highest caliber, and being honest about any issues so the team can fix them.
“The biggest thing is that if it’s not right, we’re going to make it right,” Beard says. “You’re going to see that for the next 10, 15, 20 years, so we want to make it right.”
Making it right is a commitment that extends past the completion of any one project. The team checks in with customers post-remodel to address any questions or issues. In some cases, they’ve offered to redo flawed projects that were completed prior to their ownership for free.
“I’d much rather take a hit on the bottom line and have a happy customer,” says Beard.
“We see the value in building a strong reputation, and BBB is a great way to help build that reputation.”
- Bob Strate
Beard and Strate empower their full team to take ownership and make clients happy. Customer feedback is shared so everyone can see the impact of their work.
Beard and Strate maintain that customer reviews and resources like the ones BBB offers help kickstart consumer trust by communicating a company’s track record. They see their accreditation, which they’ve maintained since 2009, as a valuable investment.
“I try to think about it through the eyes of a customer of ours. I want to see who’s trustworthy and if there are outstanding complaints,” Beard says. “It’s important for people to know that there is a reporting agency that they can refer to, and for us to be on their A+ list means a lot.”
“Or to receive a Torch Award,” Strate adds (Callier & Thompson was a 2020 Torch Award recipient). “BBB has very high standards as far as accreditation goes, so receiving an award from BBB for customer service is huge.”
At the end of the day, the Callier & Thompson team knows that their clients’ trust is a serious responsibility.
“This field is scary if you don’t know anybody. When you’re trying to find a contractor, BBB is a wonderful source,” Beard says.
Strate agrees: “We see the value in building a strong reputation, and BBB is a great way to help build that reputation — of what kind of work we do and how we stand behind things.” BBB
“WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FORESEE FOR YOUR BUSINESS IN 2023...
Our main asset is that we take pride in our quality control and keeping dialogue with our clients to provide high quality work and an open door for any issues that may arise. Our challenges are keeping our cost at a reasonable rate for our customers. With the increase of inflation we hope to provide a stopgap for people that may not be able to afford a new home and may want to upgrade their kitchen, bathroom or basement. We are proud to be a member of the BBB with an A+ rating.
- Greg Marshall, Marshall Contracting
Staffing for growth. As a member of the BBB we commit to giving our guests our very best at each and every touchpoint. We intend to staff for growth from the pent-up demand by continuing to hire quality talent to service their needs and give our current staff a place of nurturing and enjoyment in their career.
- Carolyn Sandgren, Elite Travel Inc.
One important challenge we foresee is one that seems to be on a lot of employers’ minds: finding qualified employees to fill open positions, due to an increase and success of ACIS IT Solutions. We plan to serve our customers with the excellent service that has brought us the success that we have earned over the years and look forward to many more.
- Stacey Claypool, ACIS IT Solutions
One of the challenges we foresee in 2023 is mediating the rising costs of supplies and labor. At BG Cleaning Services, we pay our team members a fair and marketable wage. This, in conjunction with a great work environment, allows us to have extremely low turnover and offer high quality service. Finding ways to make increased costs palatable for our clients, while also looking for creative ways to offset expenses, is one of our current focuses. Our goal is to continue to offer a high quality product and do so on a continuous basis, so that our customers may continue to have trust in BG Cleaning’s integrity.
- Laura Bailey, Owner, BG Cleaning Commercial Cleaning Services
With the ever-changing climate of behavioral health, we anticipate that 2023’s challenges will entail staying present and connected to our community’s current needs. Most recently, we launched a Subacute Program as well as Intensive Outpatient Services for adolescents. To continue our endeavors with integrity, we plan to look at building services for adults, partial hospitalization, and additional opportunities for a full spectrum of services. Because Lakeland’s veteran administration team recognizes the challenges of inflationary factors and staffing shortages, programs continue to grow. Our overall goal is to maximize our community impact, helping others navigate mental health challenges and achieve their highest potential.
- Kaycia Turner, Lakeland Behavior Health System
...AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH TRUST AND INTEGRITY?
Having served St. Charles residents since 1961, we have seen our share of changes and challenges in the HVAC and appliance repair industry! More recently though, the biggest challenges we have faced are inflation. This change increases our cost for parts and equipment, plus there’s also the challenge of the availability of equipment at times. Luckily, we work with some amazing distributors that keep us well stocked! We have also managed to keep our cost as low as possible to provide our customers with fair pricing. We take pride in serving our customers and have gained their trust over the years. We have truly been blessed and have enjoyed providing service to multiple generations of families in the area!
- Tina Solomon, Quality Appliance Service Inc.
To serve customers with trust and integrity in the face of challenges, HVAC businesses can:
- Provide exceptional customer service: Offering excellent customer service can help differentiate a business from its competitors and build trust with customers.
- Focus on transparency: Being transparent with customers about pricing, services, and any potential issues can help build trust and maintain strong customer relationships.
- Emphasize quality and safety: Ensuring that all services are performed to the highest quality and safety standards can help establish a reputation for trustworthiness and reliability.
- Invest in employee training and development: Providing ongoing training and development opportunities can help businesses attract and retain skilled workers, which can help them stand out from competitors and provide exceptional service to customers.
By prioritizing customer service, transparency, quality, safety, and employee development, HVAC businesses can overcome potential challenges and maintain trust and integrity with their customers in 2023 and beyond.
- Bob Smugala, Breeze Heating Cooling & Electrical
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With inflation and rising interest rates being top of mind for many customers, U.S. Bank is here to help with all stages of a customer’s, consumer’s and business owner’s financial journey. We build relationships with our customers through asking questions to discover what they are concerned about and to understand their goals. Our bankers use those conversations to help customers make the most strategic decisions so they can improve their finances and power their potential.
- Melissa Klutts, U.S. Bank
There are several challenges that we expect to see in 2023 but inflation and costs are something that will impact us all. Employers, employees and retirees will all feel this burden together. Our agency will continue to actively quote clients’ insurance policies throughout the year, in hopes to keep them with the most competitive insurance pricing in the market. We will remain focused on customer service and setting the bar high for transparency in the insurance industry.
- Laura Coalter Parker, Coalter Insurance Group
SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT YOU
There have been easier times to be a small business. Many industries are still recovering in the wake of the pandemic, and workforce instability, inflation and economic turmoil have all made for a bumpy road.
Logboat Brewing Company and Café Berlin have both had to adjust their approach — but their longtime commitment to trust won’t be changing anytime soon.
Café Berlin has spent the last 17 years creating a space that’s more than a restaurant. The café provides a tasty, critically acclaimed brunch — but it also hosts live performances, sponsors events and donates its space as a forum for conversations that impact Columbia.
“I hope our customers associate the Café Berlin name with more of a community space than just a restaurant. A space that they can rely on and trust,” says kitchen manager Sam Johnson.
Reliability is the key word for Café Berlin. The team has been there for their customers, business partners and one another, even when workforce instability
and inflation posed challenges. “The restaurant industry is like this engine that won’t stop. What I came out of [the pandemic] with was that even if there’s a large demand, it can never come at the expense of employees’ wellbeing,” Johnson says.
Johnson feels this approach has contributed to the longevity of the restaurant. “You’d think the longevity of a restaurant has so much to do with the money coming in and the money coming out, but really it boils down to the happiness and health of your customer base and your staff,” he says.
Clear, frequent communication with customers made it easier for Café Berlin to weather closures. Johnson notes that communication isn’t just about talking — being responsive to customer needs, like bringing old menu items back or not charging a door cover for shows, is also key to build trust.
He explains that trust goes both ways, and that Café Berlin is grateful for Columbia’s trust. “One of the best things coming out of this pandemic has been this space and trust that we have for our customer base that
if we have to close our doors... the community will understand,” Johnson says. “As much as we try to support them, they give that right back to us.”
That spirit of mutual support is evident in Café Berlin’s community partnerships. They prioritize Columbia- and Missouri-based organizations, performers, and artists — including some staff, whose art they share “to support the people that are supporting this restaurant,” Johnson says.
The café’s commitment to Columbia is perhaps most visible in its menu, which features ingredients from local producers like Patchwork Family Farms, Stanton Brothers, Three Creeks and Stem to Table Farm.
“Supporting local farmers and businesses is what keeps the local economy here going and what keeps us going,” Johnson says. “We wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”
The café’s partnerships presented another opportunity to work with integrity in the face of inflation. “We’re having to charge more and so are our local farmers and businesses,” Johnson
Sam Johnson stands in front of the counter at Café Berlin.
Two BBB Accredited
Businesses are thriving in downtown Columbia, MO, thanks to strong ethics and the trust-based relationships they’ve built with their communities.
says. “Locally, what [integrity] means to me is not compromising on working with them.”
With a well-established track record of trust and high standards of integrity, Café Berlin isn’t going anywhere.
“We are a restaurant for everybody, as long as you’re being respectful of everyone around you,” Johnson says. “We’re here for the community as a whole.”
Logboat Brewing Company has operated in Columbia since 2014, and currently distributes craft beer to over 50 counties. But there can be cons to popularity — Logboat ran out of space for placing new tanks about three years ago, according to co-founder Tyson Hunt.
To accommodate demand and allow for future growth, the brewery is adding a 12,000 sq ft packaging hall to its original Fay Street location, quadrupling its current production capacity.
Logboat Brewing Company is also improving the customer experience with upgrades to its taproom and patio, including an awning for shade during hot Missouri summers, a new container bar and a private event space.
Hunt maintains that this growth would not be possible without the support of Columbians, and the Logboat team is grateful.
“The love this community has for locally owned businesses is second to none,” he says.
Logboat Brewing Company has been accredited since it was founded in 2014. For the Logboat team, living the values symbolized by the BBB seal means
being a good neighbor and giving back to the community that has supported them so well.
“It took many years of relationship building, proving ourselves as a worthy neighbor and someone that our neighbors wanted to see grow in this neighborhood,” Hunt says.
The brewery has worked with the City of Columbia to ensure the expansion will benefit the neighborhood, with improvements to the parking lot, crosswalk and nearby power lines.
Communication and responsiveness have been key during expansion. “As long as you’re transparent and honest, I think that’s where you build trust with people,” Hunt explains. “And that’s how we try to operate in the marketplace.”
Logboat Brewing Company’s support of other local retailers and restaurants, especially along the quickly growing Fay Street,
is another pillar of its efforts to be a good neighbor. The brewery has a longstanding partnership with nearby Ozark Biscuit and Bar, the first food truck to operate at Logboat.
Subheading
“The three of us founders were all raised in small towns with strong family values, the simplicity of treating people with respect and being kind. That’s who we are as people and that’s how we run our business and build culture at Logboat,” Hunt says.
While there’s a lot in the works for the brewery, the team is looking forward to completing the expansion first — hopefully in June, Hunt says.
“When we first wrote the business plan, we didn’t think of the taproom and our physical location becoming what it has become,” he says. “It’s turned into quite a gathering space for the community, so we’re really excited to be able to improve that experience for everybody.” BBB
Tyson Hunt stands by a mock-up of the finished Logboat brewery expansion.
Ethics training benefits workplace behavior
89% of Accredited Businesses and 85% of consumers polled agree
BBB asked consumers:
“To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Ethics training in high school benefits workplace behavior later?”
Nov. 2022
425 respondents in E. & S.W. MO & S. IL
Gender:
Female – 60%
Male – 40%
Age:
18-25 – 12%
26-35 – 9%
35-54 – 13%
55-75 – 55%
75+ – 11%
BBB asked Accredited Businesses:
“To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Ethics training in high school benefits workplace behavior later?”
Primary type of business:
Service – 37%
Home improvement – 25%
Other – 25%
Retail – 9%
Health – 4%
Food – 0%
Nov. 2022
138 respondents in E. & S.W. MO & S. IL
