February 26, 2025 • 39 mins
This week Lane and Fred speak with Mike Miller of Toledo Bath Remodeling & Repair and J.P. Lemerand of Frogtown Roofing about how these two young business owners founded their companies and are navigating the world of small business. Contact information is on the links:
Toledo Bath Remodeling & Repair
Frogtown Roofing
Toledo Bath Remodeling & Repair
Frogtown Roofing
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lafever and
along with Lane Mons, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:26):
Better Business Bureau has a Heart for Business. Now here's
Lane Months.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thank you Fred for that heartfelt introduction. Welcome everyone to
the show today. I am Lane Mons from the Better
Business Bureau Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. As usual, we
have two guests today and the first guest is in
the studio right now with us, Mike Miller from Toledo
Bath Remodeling and Repair. Good morning, Mike, Good morning, how
are you?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I'm good?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Are you recovered from Fred's microphone instructions?
Speaker 4 (00:56):
I think I got it?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
He runs you through the gauntlet, but it is a
effective Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
They're pretty explicit because we want everybody to be able
to hear what Mike has to say today about his company.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
If if the listeners don't know, Fred usually tells us
to use the mic like Jagger yep, and that is
his catch phrase and it's it sticks. So good morning
and welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So Mike. Uh, first thing I want to mention to
you and the listeners and to Fred is you are
a relatively new business in the Better Business Bureau, Isn't
that right?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
This is our second year, yes, second, So people probably
don't know. We have the number one market share and
retention in the country among ninety two bbbs and a
lot of those businesses have been with us for decades.
But we love the new members, so we're very appreciative
of that. What caused you to think about joining?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I mean, I didn't see any alternative?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Really, We sent the thugs we're going to kneecappin somebody.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
That terrible thing is something would happen. It's little bit.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
No, but you know, we wanted to do this right
going into it, and you know what better than to
have the Better Business grew behind us.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
So this is not your first job obviously, So what
did you do before that led you to the current
situation with the company that you own so prior.
Speaker 5 (02:18):
To getting into this business, as in the car business
for twenty years.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Really yeah, and in two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We we forgive you anyway, two thousand and eight, my
wife passed away, and my life just kind of changed.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I didn't need to work.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
The kind of hours I was, And I found this
company selling bathrooms and I liked it.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
So did you start out at the bottom.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Absolutely, as a salesperson, learned the business and progressed to
the company, became sales manager and.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I knew that part. Yeah that's cool.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah, And you know.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
I just watched what these companies were doing, these big franchises,
and I thought, man, I can do the same thing better,
a lot more cost effective, you know, and not putting
people off.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Twelve to fifteen weeks.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
You know, is that the typical wait time?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Because I have a new house that we were talking
off there about it and I'm kind of thinking about
doing it, but I have no idea like how long
it would take because most people think I don't want
to get a bathroom remodel going, and it's going to
take me weeks. I'm gonna have to go to YMCA
and take my shower.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
So right right, Usually we're in and out in two days.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Really, yeah, that's hard to believe. I mean, I come
from construction industry. That's amazing.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, And you know, these companies advertise you know we
do it one day, I can't do it one day
and do it right. Yeah, that's the key, Yeah exactly.
So you know my guys aren't rush like that. My
guys look at doing two two a week, you know,
and we've got Friday and Saturday too if something goes
(04:04):
wrong that we can.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So did the business exist in any form at all before?
I guess I guess it did? Or did you start
it completely from scratch?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I started it completely from scratch? All right?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Where did you find your people? That's like the biggest
challenge in construction is where to find the skilled people?
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I stole them, Yeah, the old fashioned way exactly. So
for you see, you shouldn't be offended that we sent
those thugs to the house. Understand how we're seeing that now?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
How did you I'm curious because obviously you're in the BBB.
They've got a reputation for keeping an eye on businesses
and making sure that they're doing the right thing. So
when you went to steal I'm doing air quotes. When
you went to steal these people? What were you looking for? Exactly?
How did you figure out, Okay, Fred's a good guy
to steal from that company? I've heard a lot about him,
(04:56):
He's got a good reputation.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
How did that? How did you go about that?
Speaker 5 (04:59):
I think to me big thing was the quality of
work that they did and how they interacted with the customer.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Why is that important to you? Well, you know, I
mean they hire you to put a bath and what
do you care? You know, if I'm friendly when I
walk in the door.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Well, my guys, they seem to upsell a lot, you know.
So when they're in the house, they make suggestions and
we end up with other jobs there.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, it's a touch point with the customer. It's either
going to improve their their view of your company or
it's going to decline one or the other exactly. And
so that you you don't want people that are personable
as well as skilled tradesmen.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Absolutely, and you know, I want to create a relationship
with them. And I don't want to be this. I
don't want this to be the last time we do business.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Right now, that the two things that you did though,
car salesmen and research has shown and service car sales
people have a really people have a really low opinion
of car sales sharing. How did you transition from that
to this where you want a really high opinion of
what you do so that you do get that extra business.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Well, you know, I think even in the car business,
and you know, as a professional in that business, you know,
you strive to do it right and make customers happy
and satisfied. And you know there's a lot of metrics
that they use to you know, to follow that. So
(06:29):
I think I took that into those business where usually
these companies are run from the installer point of view.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Okay, it's a lot different.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
You know, mine's more customer orient and what's important to
the customer.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
And is that working for you? I mean, it's only
two years.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
We also know that a lot of businesses, you know,
it takes them two, three, maybe even sometimes five years
to become successful. A lot of small businesses go under
within that amount of time. What are you doing to
make sure that that doesn't have happened to you?
Speaker 5 (07:01):
You know, I got to tell you I didn't know
what to expect going into this. Yeah, I'm sure, but
I got to tell you after the first year, we're profitable.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
You know, that's really good.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, And I mean it just the future was.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Obvious and happy customers and happy customer that's a big one.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Yeah, I'll turn your life.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
I just waited too long to do this. I'm sixty
years old.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
You're never too old.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
So when you started, where did you go for al?
Because one of the things that comes up in a
lot of our conversations is that somebody has decided I
want to do this, and we see these failures.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
All the time on a bar rescue. Oh, I used.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
To go to that bar all the time, and I thought, well,
it's up for sale, I'll buy it. So you go
from car salesmen to owning a business totally out of
the realm of cars. Who did you go to for help?
The banks? Somebody else? Who did this business? What was
your first start?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It's just me seriously, no mentor took you through it
from you.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
Know, I just kind of figured it out as I went.
You know, it's slow start, but finally got it off
the ground.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
And because because bathroom remodels, bathroom kitchen remodels are some
of the trickiest in construction there is, it's always easier
to build new than to retrofit into an existing situation.
You're retrofitting, aren't you mine?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Absolutely? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And plus you've got with kitchens and baths, You've got plumbing, electrical,
possibly heat. You've also got regular carpentry, dry wall, painting, flooring.
It's a lot. There's a lot going on there, and
a lot in a small space, a lot can go wrong.
What do you guys do to keep it from going wrong?
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Well, you know, my guys have got lots of experience,
and you know, everybody's older. This is this is what
they've done their entire lives, and you know, nothing surprises
them anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
So when we talk about what you're doing, are we
talking about remodeling because it's Toledo bath remodeling and repair, right,
talking about full remodels of a bathroom. We talk about
those tub inserts and walking showers and walk in tubs and.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
What all do you do?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
We do it all?
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Okay, yeah, Yeah, If you want to complete remodel of
the entire space, we can do that, cabinets and everything,
cabinets and everything. Or if it's just a matter of
you know, just a tub to shower, you know we can.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Do that as well.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So, Mike, when we were talking earlier off air, before
even getting into the studio today, you mentioned that you
do a lot of handicap and Ada accessibility. Absolutely, is
that an intentional focus on your part. It is, let's
educate the audience a little bit, right, So when somebody
is faced with that situation, maybe it's a parent, maybe
(09:48):
it's a spouse, maybe it's a special needs person that
a regular shower today's homes is going to be a
little dangerous and unwieldy for them. What should they be
looking for? What should they be thinking about? Because that's
a big deal, right, It's not just making it look nice.
They want people to be safe.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Yeah, so you know, we take things like grab bars,
and we talked about the shower seeds. You know, we
we take measures to reinforce those within the wall while
we're installing them.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Those kind of fold down ones you mean, yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
Yeah, so you know everything's rated up to four hundred
and fifty pounds.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Why did you look at me just then? Is that
a shot way?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I'm going to press the cough button? So nothing I say,
but Mike, what what From the customer standpoint, I know
that's what you're doing. But from the customers, help educate
the buyer out there, because people want to learn things
that they you know, and this this was something that
people will want to understand what's going to separate, you know,
the good company from the bad or one that what
(11:03):
should they be looking for and thinking about when they're
considering a projects. What's a typical budget, what kind of
permitting problems are they going to have? Who's going to
design it? Help us out?
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Well, I think that's what's made this business kin of
an easy transition for me. These franchises have set the
bar so high price wise. You know that in a
lot of cases, I'm the third of the cost of
what they're charging for the same thing, same material, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
But I think I'm going to paying for the name.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
They're paying for the name, they're paying for the advertising,
you know, and they're paying for the convenience.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
So are you recommending that people will get more than
one estimate? Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Absolutely, and consider the small guy?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, well yeah, local business is always and that's why
we do this show, because the local business has a
passion for what they do. Now, you did sales and
automobile for twenty some years, you said, and then decided
to get into this. Have you noticed yourself over the
last two years you've been in business now doing this,
(12:09):
have you noticed yourself really getting a grip on it
and enjoying it as much as you did car sales.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Oh absolutely, absolutely. The interaction with the customers they enjoy,
you know, I mean, you're revitalizing a space in their
home that they've just had to deal with for so long.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Where can people go to learn more about an ADA
or handicap accessible bathroom, tubber shower? Are there places that
you go to that's a go to website or a
trade organization?
Speaker 5 (12:41):
The ADA does offer some some material that you know,
we've used as reference. You know, most of most of
the recommendations come from you know, the medical community.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
What they recommend.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, they'll tell you if you need to have bars
or a c or something on the floor, you know,
some kind of things so that you're don't slip, non
slipping surfaces and things like that.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
So you have all of that right, Oh absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
So I've seen these walk in tubs. You ever do that.
They're like a little mini whirlpool. They're like, I don't know,
three feet high.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
That's what I'm interested in. Yeah, that's what I want
to know about.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, I'm curious about that too.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Yeah, i'll talk you out of those in about two seconds.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Okay, why why would you talk? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (13:26):
So I'm a brand new customer and I have my
heart set on a walking tub.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
So the biggest problem with it is in order to
use it. Okay, you've got to go in there under us,
sit down, close the door, and turn on the water.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I can't. You can't open the door with the water
already in there, and that'll make those.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
I never thought of that. You have to be you
have to undress in the tub. Yes, you're never cross
my mind.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
You have to and you have to wait for it
to fill up, don't you exactly? Yeah, I never thought
of that either.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Actually, So how does what you do operate? So it's
just a walking shower? You turn on the water, it
heats up right away. Okay, and there you go.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And is there a certain size?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
The door still opens, but I can aim the shower
head like at the wall or something, so when I
open the door, it's not coming out right right? Oh yeah,
hell's bells. Does it still need a shower curtain?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
A lot of people use shower curtain. The shower curtain.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Falls withinside the Uh okay, the shower pan itself, got it?
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
And how tall are the walls on those things then
of the like the walking shower.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
So I can go all the way to the ceiling
with the walls.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Really yeah, and I think it's a new modern look.
It gives it a real finished look.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
I've never seen one of those.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Are the thresholds that you step over? Are those lower?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
These are only two inches?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Okay, so that's definitely that's perfect. Yeah, that's lower than
what I've got at home.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
So it's more like something that you would see like
in a hotel and you and you say, I need
a handicap shower.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Yep, exactly, it's like that exactly.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Okay, all right, I have seen those and they work
great because we've had to use one before. I see,
I didn't realize. I never thought about having to get
into the tub and taking your clothes off.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
So in most people don't realize it takes a lot
of water to fill those.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
It might take a while to fill up.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
Well, yeah, and if you've got a forty gallon hot
water heater, you're in trouble.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
How much does that thing home?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
One of them hold about fifty sixty yallens?
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Oh see again, I never yeah, I never realized. I'm thinking,
you know, you get in one of those, you put
in the amount of water you would in your normal tub,
but you're not sitting down on the floor of that
tub because you've got the seat.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Do they have a propensity to leak, By the way,
the seals.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Are usually pretty good on those.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
For a while, for a while, Yeah, for a while
down the road, it may be.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
It may be a different story.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
But the other side of that, too, is now that
you're done with your bath, okay, they get to wait
for that thing to drain.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, I'm learning a lot from Mike Miller here today
because those are things I never even thought of.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
And most people haven't.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
Yeah, you kind of go over that with them, you know,
and all of a sudden, Wait a minute.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
But I think you know, in my mind, I'm thinking, oh,
walk in tub. That's like having a jacuzzi in your kitchens,
in your bedroom, basically af your bedroom, and that sounds
pretty awesome. You kind of took the you kind of
took the romance out of it for me, Mike, it's
not doesn't Yeah, well, no fooling yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
Wait to ruin our dreams.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Mike appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
So I'm curious because we're talking about the passion for
business and the heart for business.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
How many employees do you have right now?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
So, right now, I've got two installers.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Right, two installers, and they're working on a pretty regular basis.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
I try to keep them with Usually we have two
jobs and my guys if they if everything goes well,
they work for days a week.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Excellent. All right, and you've been at this two years.
Where do you see yourself in the next couple of
years do you think, I mean, now that you've got
to handle on it and you're being successful at it,
do you see yourself growing and expanding?
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, looking at hiring you know, some new people,
younger guys. I would eventually like to find somebody to
take this over and run it.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Wait a minute, you're ready to get rid of.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
It already, Well, my dud, that's not happened for a while.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
You've got sixty years old. I mean I want to
retire to.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Well, we all want to retire, but I'm seventy three
and I'm still doing it. So right now, what do
you cover all of northwest Ohio southeast Michigan.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Where's your range?
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Our footprint really covers northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan. It goes
far southeast Finley. Oh okay, yeah, we've gone over like
towards Sandowsky and on the other side over towards Brian
and so.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Mike, one of your one of your edges then, is
a fast turnaround time?
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Is that absolutely?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So? Give me an example. Uh, if somebody's let's say
somebody broke a hip, or somebody broke a bone, got injured,
whatever car accident, could be anything, and they're going to
I think they call them step down facilities or or
short term care acute care where they're being rehabbed. Do
you have situations where you get the call and the
(18:33):
family says, hey, you know, such and such is going
to be coming back in two weeks. Do you do
that while they're rehabbing? Can you do it that fast?
Speaker 6 (18:42):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Yeah, I'm glad you asked that, because you know we're
going to call every once in a while, you know,
from somebody in a facility, Hey can you meet my
son at my house? I need to come home and
I need this, you know, before I can come home.
They won't let me home until I have you know,
until I met some of the changes in my home.
(19:02):
You know, and I carry the material in stock.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
We're ready to go.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Yeah. And again, speaking from experience, most construction companies, remodeling
or whatever, it's really a hardship to pivot quickly like that.
They've already got job scheduled out, shit, got the schedule built,
people committed. So for a company to want to focus
on that quick turner, on that quick pivot, that's that's
(19:28):
an intentional choice. That's not going to happen by accident.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
So if people want to get a hold of you,
let's talk about phone numbers, websites, social media presence that
you have.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Give us the rundown on that.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Well, social media has been kind of a new animal
for me.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
Well, you're an old man you just admitted to exactly.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
But I do have a website, Toledo bathremod dot com
where you can always call me at area code four
one nine four six for six zero sixty three oh
three okay, or you can email me at toledobathreemod at
gmail dot com.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Sounds good, Yeah, and they can get a hold of you.
You've got a couple of guys waiting to do the
jobs all over Northwestern Highland, Southeast Michigan. Uh is Mike
Miller Toledo Bath Remodeling and Repair.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yep, thanks Mike for educating the audience. We appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Four one nine four six zero six three zero three
toledobathremod dot com.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Did you know our area has over forty thousand businesses.
Some are old, some are new, but they all have
a story to tell about why they sell, How someone
took a chance once upon a time, someone with a
heart for business. Hi, this is Lane Monts, the host
of the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We
know a thing or two about our area's companies. After all,
(20:55):
we've been keeping tabs on them since nineteen nineteen. Join
me in Toledo Radio Legend Red La Fever every week
as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and share
a few industry secrets along the way. Welcome back everyone,
This is Lane Monts. You're back with us here on
a Heart for Business podcast by the Better Business Bureau.
We've got our second guest today, the lovely and talented
(21:16):
JP Lemron from a frog Town Roofing and Jp, the
first thing I want to say is I see your
vans and that distinctive Frog logo all over town.
Speaker 7 (21:26):
Well, I'm happy to hear that one.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah, did you come up with that? Who came up
with that?
Speaker 7 (21:30):
We did, We came up with it. It pretty much
was a culmination of the fact that we I'm the
fifth generation of a tiledo one here in the local area,
raised here, born, and we really wanted to pay tribute
to our generations have been craftsmen, small business owners, things
like that, and we know that we're going to carry
(21:51):
that tradition on, and we wanted something to reflect where
we're from, right and frog Town. Many people don't even
know this, right, it's actually a nickname for Toledo. And
you know the reason why, I sure do. Yeah, I
mean obviously you know, we're right by the water and
it was actually a swamp at one point. And when
they started developing Toledo, lots of frog noises, lots of frogs,
(22:15):
and it was coined the people are the frogs outnumbered
the people at one point, so until we ate them all? Well,
you know, I mean some like that. I don't, so
don't eat the frogs anymore.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
It was the frog. It was the frog lady eating
frog leg eating capital of the world. Oh yeah, oh, Yeah,
Oh you didn't know that, Fred, that's a real thing.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I didn't know the other stuff I knew. So you said,
you've been here for generations. The generations before you were
tradesmen and stuff. What did they do if you go
back great great grandfather, what were they involved.
Speaker 7 (22:49):
Yeah, it's really cool actually in Monroe because you know,
part of this area we actually have our limeron as
a road right to the hospital and Mason's. That's what
they were, and they were known for that up there,
and you know, obviously we had a lot of tradesmen
from that generation. And then really cool, my great grandfather,
great grandmother also owned a corner when they had corner stores, right,
(23:12):
and so they owned a little small business corner stores,
So not exactly part of the trades part, but definitely
smarter part of the small business. And uh, you know,
I just love all of that because we were just
more focused with hard work and just customer service. Right,
that's those two things common combined really kind of made
who we are.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
It's the hallmark of a good small business. It's one
of the reasons that the BBB even exists. It's one
of the reasons that they do their torch awards every
year to.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Honor small businesses.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Maybe talk a little bit about that, because I know
that Frogtown Roofing got a Torch Award this year.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Right, that is a fantastic segue, Fred, It's like you,
that's true. Frogtown did win that. You know, every year
the Better Business Bureau has the Torch Awards, and I'll
talk a little bit about that. So most people don't know.
But you have to be nominated, so we start advertising
that pretty soon. We'll start doing it again this year.
(24:08):
You have to be nominated, so you were nominated, and
then not everybody that's nominated chooses to compete, but most do.
And then you submit a package and that package is
scored on a variety of criteria, not by the BBB.
We have outside independent judges like Julia Bates was won
last year, the Lucas County Prosecutor, and many others over
(24:28):
the years, and so it's pretty hard to win one.
So you know, when you think about all the businesses
that are out there, and it really is about are
they demonstrating high moral character, high ethics in the way
they conduct their business. It's for ethics, right, It's not
a lot of people think it's customer service, and that's
clearly a component of it, Fred, But there's more to
(24:50):
it than that. I mean, you have to be honest, ethical,
a bide by the BBB Code of Ethics, and be
committed to resolving disputes because you know, no business is perfect.
If you have a problem, it's how you handle the
problem that sets you apart from other businesses.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So when Frogtown Roofing got theirs this year, do you
attribute that to that history that we touched on a
little bit earlier, going all the way back to grandma
and grandpa and great grandma and grandpa as ethical small
business people.
Speaker 7 (25:18):
I absolutely do. That's how I was raised and that's
who I am, right, that was our goal all along
when we developed and founded Frogtown Roofing.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Right.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
So the riffing business, the contracting business can be all
over the place, right, there's small, medium, large companies. But
I owned, I actually still own a real estate investment
company that we invest in properties, you know, improve them
and then sell them. I also have rental properties. So
in that process over twenty five years, I've had that.
(25:49):
In that process, I've dealt with a lot of contractors, right,
and I've dealt with a lot of different really good
experiences and really bad experiences. And you know, a matter
of fact, my parents actually went through when I was
a kid, being one of those victims that maybe the
BBB report on right, and they were unfortunately ripped off.
Give him half down. He tore off the roof and said, oh,
(26:12):
I need more material, so I'm going to charge another
twenty five percent to get the material. And they never
showed back up. The roof was tore off and they
had to buy another roof very quickly.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
It's a pretty common story too. I've had neighbors who
wanted to get new roofs and the first step for
them was getting an estimate. And always with the estimate,
there are some things and they said, Jesus, sounds kind
of hinky. What do you think how does the process
work for frog Tone roofing?
Speaker 7 (26:39):
And that's a great, great question, Fred. So you know,
we do a great job on the upfront, right, So
it's a full you know, our hub is communication, so
when folks reach out to us, we come out. We
answer the phones all the time. We always are manding
our phones make that appointment. Our guys come out and
we do a full inspect right from the top down, right,
(27:03):
So a twenty four point inspection. But the first thing
we do, we actually want to sit down with the
customer and find out what their needs are. You know,
we never want to assume this is one price, one shingle,
one process, this is what you're going to pay, okay, right,
So we sit down and listen to them, find out
what their needs are.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Like you, I got to believe you're asking do they
plan and staying on the home in the home for
a long time or are they going to sell it
within the next five years. That's that probably drives some
of the scope of the job. Yep, that's part of that.
That that uh, you know conversation that we have initially.
Then we get up and we get into the attics. Now,
bread and Lane, you would think that, well, that's a
common thing to do, that makes sense, Well, the majority
(27:40):
of these contractors do not. So we're looking for a
lot of different things up there, right, We're looking for
the ventilation, we're looking for the sinsilation. Why is the
attic so important.
Speaker 7 (27:49):
It's it's so when you breathe in and out, your
house also has to breathe, right, And a lot of
folks don't understand that that ventilation is a key point
for your actual roof life as well, but also the
health of your home. Right, So, if you have condensation
building up in your home, we see so many times
where the bathroom vents are being vented inside the attic.
(28:12):
Not good. That's condensation, moisture, mold.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
You might remember last week's guests, We us had something
to say about that from talk.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
We talked about mold last week and how it can
destroy not just your health but the structure of your house.
So you guys are actually up there looking for that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 7 (28:29):
And we share photos what we see up there. We
educate the customer, and I think that's the biggest thing.
We're experts at doing what we do, and our customers
are not roofers, right, they don't know that they're experts
in what they do for a profession. So it's important
that we share that information with them. And then we
get out of the house and get on top of
the roof, right, and we really look at, you know,
(28:50):
what issues they may be having up there, or potential
issues or things that we need to address. Skylights, flashings,
all kinds of different things. And then we also look
at the water management system, right, and that's your gutters.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Oh okay, so fancy name for it.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I'm writing that down water now, JP, when you write
down water management system on the quote?
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Is that?
Speaker 4 (29:12):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Are you just charging the war Let's be honest. Is
that a fancy way to up charge?
Speaker 4 (29:17):
He's not the city.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
We're pulling back the curtain on roofing there. We're pulling back.
Speaker 7 (29:22):
Hey, I love it, And that's exactly what needs to happen,
because often it's not right. It's just hey, let me
give you a quote for a shingle, and all roofs
are not created equal. I just want to make sure
that people know that because when we take that time,
it takes a lot of time and effort to get
up there. It's very risky to get up on the
roofs and things like that and in the attics. But
we think it's worth it because customers need to know
(29:43):
what they're buying and they need to know why they're
buying it.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Right, Well, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Want them to be informed. A good customer is really
a well informed customer. He knows what he wants, he
knows what he's paying for, he knows what he's going
to get at the end of the day, whether it's
soffets or new drain spouts or new roof, what color
the room will be, how long the roof will last.
All of that kind of stuff goes into a good decision,
doesn't it.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
That's that's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
If there's one thing I could impress upon my business
members and the BBB, it's sell what you want, do
what you want product service. That's your business. Just educate
the buyer and let them make an informed decision. If
they choose lower quality, that's on them. That's fine. They
might need to do that, right that let them choose,
(30:26):
but they can't really choose unless they've been told, unless
they've been educated. And that stuck out to me about Frogtown,
and it has since I've connected with you here at
the BBB. I already knew about your business before, but
is that you do take that time and I know
for a fact that not every business does that.
Speaker 7 (30:45):
Yep, And you're exactly right. And going back to Fred's
statement about where how we have grown this business and
developed this business is all about the integrity. That's why
we were so proud to have that Ethics award, because
you know it gives us, the the validation of doing
what we're doing, right. I mean, it's so important for
us to make sure all those things are happening, and
(31:07):
then on the back end that we're here for the customer, right.
It's the customer experience is what a lot of people
don't understand, right until you actually go through.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
It, Right until you've had a bad experience, like you said,
your relatives did, you don't understand how important it is.
Do you use he brought the actually brought the award
with him because we thought we were going to be
doing video. Do you use that in promoting the business?
Is that a selling point at this point?
Speaker 7 (31:30):
I yeah, we like to put it more like, hey listen,
here's the why behind choosing Frogtown. Because it's so much
misinformation out there in this in this industry that it
helps validate why they're doing business with us and what
we do and why we do it. So yeah, we
definitely want to share with our customers that, hey, listen,
we are an award winner, because we're very proud of that.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Right.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
The BBB, I think is, you know, growing in popularity
now again. I think it was a very strong thing
back and the day and now you know, technology took
over for a while, but I think BBB is bringing
it back to Hey, listen, what's important is the integrity
of a business, right, not the advertising of the business,
but the integrity of the business.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
It kind of helps you cut through the clutter too,
because with social media, everybody is on social media, so
you're going to see ads for you know, forty fifty
different roofers, some in the area, some not, some big
like you mentioned earlier, some national, some not. And if
you really want to support your community, I think it's
key to support the local businesses that are here. And
(32:36):
you're established right here in northwest Ohio. Now, how long
have you done this? How long has Frogtown been around?
Speaker 7 (32:43):
So sixteen years we've been around now we're very proud
of that one as well.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
And are you the founder of it?
Speaker 7 (32:48):
I am the founder of it?
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Yeah, So how did you get to this point?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's a grecause you seem really you can't see them
because we don't have the video in it, but you
seem really excited about the whole deal. I've never seen
anybody excited about roofing.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Jr JP has a pretty good energy level.
Speaker 7 (33:07):
I do, So what gives you that I'm really the
passion of what we do. Like, I don't get up
just to sell roofs. I give get up to sell
a system, a product, a service, and to back that up. Right,
So I told you that over twenty five years now,
I've been running a residential investment company that you know,
we do very nice remodels and things like that for
(33:29):
my own and resell them and do a great job
with that. But you know, really the purpose of me
getting my I'm a general contractor license general contractor. So
I went for that about sixteen years ago because I
seen that, you know what, we can make a change
in this business. Right, rooping was kind of somewhere all
over the board. But we're making a change to bringing
(33:51):
service to a quality product and equality installation. And that's
really where my passion comes from.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
I get it.
Speaker 7 (33:57):
I've been in sales all my life, I mean, and
in sales is a big part of customer service. Do
what you say you're going to do, right, and it's
a boy follows.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Boy my own mentor. That was his favorite phrase, JP
so important. Don't promise it if you can't deliver it,
And if you promise it, deliver it.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
That's it.
Speaker 7 (34:13):
And that's how I grew. That's why I grew this business,
and everyone that works with me has the same attitude.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
Right.
Speaker 7 (34:19):
We do not leave people astray, We do not misguide them.
We give them the straight story and the importance of
why they should consider what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Would you consider yourself a small or a medium sized business?
How many employees do you have right now?
Speaker 7 (34:32):
So we have eight employees, right, and so I would
say small.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Should customers ask questions like that from their roofer because
I mean, we have good roofers intolo. There are good
no ones, not just frog Town, but a number of
them that have been around a long time, But then
we have some that are not.
Speaker 7 (34:49):
That's correct. I mean I think it's a very very
valid question. And at the end of the day, it's
how those crews are managed is what's most important.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, now you mentioned manufacturer twice, Yes, sir, how important
is that? I mean, so I'm getting whatever, I don't
know fred La fever shingles, and I have a certain
way I want those done or the guarantee doesn't work.
And so your guys are adept at all of that.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (35:15):
Absolutely, we actually have the highest certification of one of
the shingle manufacturers today, and it requires constant trainings, updates,
the crews being trained.
Speaker 4 (35:27):
Just like a mechanic on a car.
Speaker 7 (35:28):
Yeah, exactly so, and it is I mean, shingles change,
the technology changes, believe it or not. With a shingle,
there's technology involved now.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
So yeah, a number of nails and all that kind
of stuff and how they're supposed to be laid out
and everything.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Or does that training include going back to your first
issue that you brought up about ventilation, is it? Yeah,
thank you, thank.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
You for that.
Speaker 7 (35:48):
I mean the matter of fact, every single manufacturer's warranty
requires proper ventilation. And that doesn't only mean the can
vent to the ridge van on the rip. It has
to have the intake. So that's what creates that flow
of air. Your flow of air, The temperature in your
attic should be ten to twenty degrees ambient temperature outside, right,
So if it's not, we talk about ice damming, right,
(36:09):
I mean ice daming is a big.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
One right now.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
I think people are going to see it over the weekend.
Oh yeah, and it's going to freeze up and then
next week it's going to fall back out.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
Yep.
Speaker 7 (36:16):
And what happens is it's also with the insulation. The
heat goes up, right, the heat goes up, it melts
that snow down and it gets to that cold point.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
The water management system.
Speaker 7 (36:27):
The water management system, the whole thing. So if you're
not having that intake to create that ambient temperature outside
and matching that, then you're going to have all kinds
of problems.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
You can have all the vents on top of the roof,
on the back side of the roof you want. If
your soffits aren't clear, air can't come in, so then
air won't leave. If it doesn't leave, it's not helping
the water evaporate on the underside of the roof deck.
That's correct, and then what happens to the shingles.
Speaker 7 (36:51):
The shingles age very quickly because in the heat, right,
it gets very hot in an attic if it's not progressia.
And it's the same for the summer as is the winter.
We want to keep that ambient temperature pretty system as
it is outside, right, so it'll cook it from the underside,
and you see some bad decking, you see bad shingles,
they'll age you a lot quicker. And you know, at the.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
End of the day.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
If you don't have proper ventilation, right, the manufacturers void
that warranty. You can talk about fifty year, lifetime warranties,
you can talk about all that, but if the contractor
didn't do their job to make sure that ventilation was correct,
it's out the window.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
When if you don't have the ventilation, you can get
the mold growing on the underside of the deck and
that's when you call mold medics.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
So when you do your job and you're losing using
le fever shingles and I require a certain amount of
ventilation and stuff, how do I know as le fever
shingles that you did that? Is there a paperwork to
be filled out and everything that your guys handle for
I don't have to as a customer, I don't have
to do that, right.
Speaker 7 (37:48):
That's correct. We handle all that for you, Fred. And
then also being a select manufacturer or a shingle you know,
select applicator, they actually have a random inspections so they
can just pop up do an inspection because we already
submitted for the warranty, they can just do an inspection randomly.
They never tell you where it's going to be. The manufacturer, yes, sir,
(38:09):
I know that so well. And that's being the select right.
So you know, if you have a lot of these
guys aren't really certified, they don't know that you install
their lots. Okay, so we you know, like you said,
we register the warranties and then they know and then
they come out and they will contact the customer and
say we're going to come out and do a random
inspection on your on your on your roof. You've been chosen.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (38:31):
So it keeps everybody honest, It keeps everybody making sure
we're doing what we say we're going to do. And
that helps us. And we're not too We're not concerned
about that at all because that's what we do.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
Are you big enough right now or do you have
plans to grow?
Speaker 7 (38:44):
We definitely have plans to grow, friend. You know, we
we feel like we don't want to be massive, but
we definitely have room to grow and we definitely have
a lot of room to service other uh customers now
and we're excited about that.
Speaker 4 (38:56):
Excellent.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Where can people contact you by phone and Facebook and
and all that kind of stuff, Well, we.
Speaker 7 (39:01):
Got a really easy phone number. It's going to be
for one to nine new roof right so, and then
they can also contact us at Frogtown Roofing dot com.
They can actually make an appointment right on online, or
they can message us and we'll give them a call back,
or just give us a call and we'll take care
of you.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Track them down on Facebook and at Frogtown Roofing dot com.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
Four one nine new roof all right.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Thanks a lot, JP, thanks everybody for listening today. Here
from Mike Miller of Toledo Bathroom Modeling and Repair and
JP Lemeran from Frogtown Roofing.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Thank you for Lane and our guests. You've been listening
to a Heart for Business sponsored by the BBB, the
Better Business Bureau. This podcast is available at iHeartRadio and
where of their podcasting foul. We'll be back again next week.
New episodes drop every Sunday. Be sure to watch for
them on the iHeartRadio network.
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lafever and
along with Lane Mons, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:26):
Better Business Bureau has a Heart for Business. Now here's
Lane Months.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thank you Fred for that heartfelt introduction. Welcome everyone to
the show today. I am Lane Mons from the Better
Business Bureau Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. As usual, we
have two guests today and the first guest is in
the studio right now with us, Mike Miller from Toledo
Bath Remodeling and Repair. Good morning, Mike, Good morning, how
are you?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I'm good?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Are you recovered from Fred's microphone instructions?
Speaker 4 (00:56):
I think I got it?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
He runs you through the gauntlet, but it is a
effective Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
They're pretty explicit because we want everybody to be able
to hear what Mike has to say today about his company.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
If if the listeners don't know, Fred usually tells us
to use the mic like Jagger yep, and that is
his catch phrase and it's it sticks. So good morning
and welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So Mike. Uh, first thing I want to mention to
you and the listeners and to Fred is you are
a relatively new business in the Better Business Bureau, Isn't
that right?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
This is our second year, yes, second, So people probably
don't know. We have the number one market share and
retention in the country among ninety two bbbs and a
lot of those businesses have been with us for decades.
But we love the new members, so we're very appreciative
of that. What caused you to think about joining?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I mean, I didn't see any alternative?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Really, We sent the thugs we're going to kneecappin somebody.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
That terrible thing is something would happen. It's little bit.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
No, but you know, we wanted to do this right
going into it, and you know what better than to
have the Better Business grew behind us.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
So this is not your first job obviously, So what
did you do before that led you to the current
situation with the company that you own so prior.
Speaker 5 (02:18):
To getting into this business, as in the car business
for twenty years.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Really yeah, and in two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We we forgive you anyway, two thousand and eight, my
wife passed away, and my life just kind of changed.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I didn't need to work.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
The kind of hours I was, And I found this
company selling bathrooms and I liked it.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
So did you start out at the bottom.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Absolutely, as a salesperson, learned the business and progressed to
the company, became sales manager and.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I knew that part. Yeah that's cool.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah, And you know.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
I just watched what these companies were doing, these big franchises,
and I thought, man, I can do the same thing better,
a lot more cost effective, you know, and not putting
people off.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Twelve to fifteen weeks.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
You know, is that the typical wait time?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Because I have a new house that we were talking
off there about it and I'm kind of thinking about
doing it, but I have no idea like how long
it would take because most people think I don't want
to get a bathroom remodel going, and it's going to
take me weeks. I'm gonna have to go to YMCA
and take my shower.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
So right right, Usually we're in and out in two days.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Really, yeah, that's hard to believe. I mean, I come
from construction industry. That's amazing.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, And you know, these companies advertise you know we
do it one day, I can't do it one day
and do it right. Yeah, that's the key, Yeah exactly.
So you know my guys aren't rush like that. My
guys look at doing two two a week, you know,
and we've got Friday and Saturday too if something goes
(04:04):
wrong that we can.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So did the business exist in any form at all before?
I guess I guess it did? Or did you start
it completely from scratch?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I started it completely from scratch? All right?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Where did you find your people? That's like the biggest
challenge in construction is where to find the skilled people?
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I stole them, Yeah, the old fashioned way exactly. So
for you see, you shouldn't be offended that we sent
those thugs to the house. Understand how we're seeing that now?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
How did you I'm curious because obviously you're in the BBB.
They've got a reputation for keeping an eye on businesses
and making sure that they're doing the right thing. So
when you went to steal I'm doing air quotes. When
you went to steal these people? What were you looking for? Exactly?
How did you figure out, Okay, Fred's a good guy
to steal from that company? I've heard a lot about him,
(04:56):
He's got a good reputation.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
How did that? How did you go about that?
Speaker 5 (04:59):
I think to me big thing was the quality of
work that they did and how they interacted with the customer.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Why is that important to you? Well, you know, I
mean they hire you to put a bath and what
do you care? You know, if I'm friendly when I
walk in the door.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Well, my guys, they seem to upsell a lot, you know.
So when they're in the house, they make suggestions and
we end up with other jobs there.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, it's a touch point with the customer. It's either
going to improve their their view of your company or
it's going to decline one or the other exactly. And
so that you you don't want people that are personable
as well as skilled tradesmen.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Absolutely, and you know, I want to create a relationship
with them. And I don't want to be this. I
don't want this to be the last time we do business.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Right now, that the two things that you did though,
car salesmen and research has shown and service car sales
people have a really people have a really low opinion
of car sales sharing. How did you transition from that
to this where you want a really high opinion of
what you do so that you do get that extra business.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Well, you know, I think even in the car business,
and you know, as a professional in that business, you know,
you strive to do it right and make customers happy
and satisfied. And you know there's a lot of metrics
that they use to you know, to follow that. So
(06:29):
I think I took that into those business where usually
these companies are run from the installer point of view.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Okay, it's a lot different.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
You know, mine's more customer orient and what's important to
the customer.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
And is that working for you? I mean, it's only
two years.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
We also know that a lot of businesses, you know,
it takes them two, three, maybe even sometimes five years
to become successful. A lot of small businesses go under
within that amount of time. What are you doing to
make sure that that doesn't have happened to you?
Speaker 5 (07:01):
You know, I got to tell you I didn't know
what to expect going into this. Yeah, I'm sure, but
I got to tell you after the first year, we're profitable.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
You know, that's really good.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, And I mean it just the future was.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Obvious and happy customers and happy customer that's a big one.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Yeah, I'll turn your life.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
I just waited too long to do this. I'm sixty
years old.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
You're never too old.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
So when you started, where did you go for al?
Because one of the things that comes up in a
lot of our conversations is that somebody has decided I
want to do this, and we see these failures.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
All the time on a bar rescue. Oh, I used.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
To go to that bar all the time, and I thought, well,
it's up for sale, I'll buy it. So you go
from car salesmen to owning a business totally out of
the realm of cars. Who did you go to for help?
The banks? Somebody else? Who did this business? What was
your first start?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It's just me seriously, no mentor took you through it
from you.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
Know, I just kind of figured it out as I went.
You know, it's slow start, but finally got it off
the ground.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
And because because bathroom remodels, bathroom kitchen remodels are some
of the trickiest in construction there is, it's always easier
to build new than to retrofit into an existing situation.
You're retrofitting, aren't you mine?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Absolutely? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And plus you've got with kitchens and baths, You've got plumbing, electrical,
possibly heat. You've also got regular carpentry, dry wall, painting, flooring.
It's a lot. There's a lot going on there, and
a lot in a small space, a lot can go wrong.
What do you guys do to keep it from going wrong?
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Well, you know, my guys have got lots of experience,
and you know, everybody's older. This is this is what
they've done their entire lives, and you know, nothing surprises
them anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
So when we talk about what you're doing, are we
talking about remodeling because it's Toledo bath remodeling and repair, right,
talking about full remodels of a bathroom. We talk about
those tub inserts and walking showers and walk in tubs and.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
What all do you do?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
We do it all?
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Okay, yeah, Yeah, If you want to complete remodel of
the entire space, we can do that, cabinets and everything,
cabinets and everything. Or if it's just a matter of
you know, just a tub to shower, you know we can.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Do that as well.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So, Mike, when we were talking earlier off air, before
even getting into the studio today, you mentioned that you
do a lot of handicap and Ada accessibility. Absolutely, is
that an intentional focus on your part. It is, let's
educate the audience a little bit, right, So when somebody
is faced with that situation, maybe it's a parent, maybe
(09:48):
it's a spouse, maybe it's a special needs person that
a regular shower today's homes is going to be a
little dangerous and unwieldy for them. What should they be
looking for? What should they be thinking about? Because that's
a big deal, right, It's not just making it look nice.
They want people to be safe.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Yeah, so you know, we take things like grab bars,
and we talked about the shower seeds. You know, we
we take measures to reinforce those within the wall while
we're installing them.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Those kind of fold down ones you mean, yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
Yeah, so you know everything's rated up to four hundred
and fifty pounds.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Why did you look at me just then? Is that
a shot way?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I'm going to press the cough button? So nothing I say,
but Mike, what what From the customer standpoint, I know
that's what you're doing. But from the customers, help educate
the buyer out there, because people want to learn things
that they you know, and this this was something that
people will want to understand what's going to separate, you know,
the good company from the bad or one that what
(11:03):
should they be looking for and thinking about when they're
considering a projects. What's a typical budget, what kind of
permitting problems are they going to have? Who's going to
design it? Help us out?
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Well, I think that's what's made this business kin of
an easy transition for me. These franchises have set the
bar so high price wise. You know that in a
lot of cases, I'm the third of the cost of
what they're charging for the same thing, same material, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
But I think I'm going to paying for the name.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
They're paying for the name, they're paying for the advertising,
you know, and they're paying for the convenience.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
So are you recommending that people will get more than
one estimate? Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Absolutely, and consider the small guy?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, well yeah, local business is always and that's why
we do this show, because the local business has a
passion for what they do. Now, you did sales and
automobile for twenty some years, you said, and then decided
to get into this. Have you noticed yourself over the
last two years you've been in business now doing this,
(12:09):
have you noticed yourself really getting a grip on it
and enjoying it as much as you did car sales.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Oh absolutely, absolutely. The interaction with the customers they enjoy,
you know, I mean, you're revitalizing a space in their
home that they've just had to deal with for so long.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Where can people go to learn more about an ADA
or handicap accessible bathroom, tubber shower? Are there places that
you go to that's a go to website or a
trade organization?
Speaker 5 (12:41):
The ADA does offer some some material that you know,
we've used as reference. You know, most of most of
the recommendations come from you know, the medical community.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
What they recommend.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, they'll tell you if you need to have bars
or a c or something on the floor, you know,
some kind of things so that you're don't slip, non
slipping surfaces and things like that.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
So you have all of that right, Oh absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
So I've seen these walk in tubs. You ever do that.
They're like a little mini whirlpool. They're like, I don't know,
three feet high.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
That's what I'm interested in. Yeah, that's what I want
to know about.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, I'm curious about that too.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Yeah, i'll talk you out of those in about two seconds.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Okay, why why would you talk? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (13:26):
So I'm a brand new customer and I have my
heart set on a walking tub.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
So the biggest problem with it is in order to
use it. Okay, you've got to go in there under us,
sit down, close the door, and turn on the water.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I can't. You can't open the door with the water
already in there, and that'll make those.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
I never thought of that. You have to be you
have to undress in the tub. Yes, you're never cross
my mind.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
You have to and you have to wait for it
to fill up, don't you exactly? Yeah, I never thought
of that either.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Actually, So how does what you do operate? So it's
just a walking shower? You turn on the water, it
heats up right away. Okay, and there you go.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And is there a certain size?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
The door still opens, but I can aim the shower
head like at the wall or something, so when I
open the door, it's not coming out right right? Oh yeah,
hell's bells. Does it still need a shower curtain?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
A lot of people use shower curtain. The shower curtain.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Falls withinside the Uh okay, the shower pan itself, got it?
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
And how tall are the walls on those things then
of the like the walking shower.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
So I can go all the way to the ceiling
with the walls.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Really yeah, and I think it's a new modern look.
It gives it a real finished look.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
I've never seen one of those.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Are the thresholds that you step over? Are those lower?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
These are only two inches?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Okay, so that's definitely that's perfect. Yeah, that's lower than
what I've got at home.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
So it's more like something that you would see like
in a hotel and you and you say, I need
a handicap shower.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Yep, exactly, it's like that exactly.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Okay, all right, I have seen those and they work
great because we've had to use one before. I see,
I didn't realize. I never thought about having to get
into the tub and taking your clothes off.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
So in most people don't realize it takes a lot
of water to fill those.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
It might take a while to fill up.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
Well, yeah, and if you've got a forty gallon hot
water heater, you're in trouble.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
How much does that thing home?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
One of them hold about fifty sixty yallens?
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Oh see again, I never yeah, I never realized. I'm thinking,
you know, you get in one of those, you put
in the amount of water you would in your normal tub,
but you're not sitting down on the floor of that
tub because you've got the seat.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Do they have a propensity to leak, By the way,
the seals.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Are usually pretty good on those.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
For a while, for a while, Yeah, for a while
down the road, it may be.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
It may be a different story.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
But the other side of that, too, is now that
you're done with your bath, okay, they get to wait
for that thing to drain.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, I'm learning a lot from Mike Miller here today
because those are things I never even thought of.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
And most people haven't.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
Yeah, you kind of go over that with them, you know,
and all of a sudden, Wait a minute.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
But I think you know, in my mind, I'm thinking, oh,
walk in tub. That's like having a jacuzzi in your kitchens,
in your bedroom, basically af your bedroom, and that sounds
pretty awesome. You kind of took the you kind of
took the romance out of it for me, Mike, it's
not doesn't Yeah, well, no fooling yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
Wait to ruin our dreams.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Mike appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
So I'm curious because we're talking about the passion for
business and the heart for business.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
How many employees do you have right now?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
So, right now, I've got two installers.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Right, two installers, and they're working on a pretty regular basis.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
I try to keep them with Usually we have two
jobs and my guys if they if everything goes well,
they work for days a week.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Excellent. All right, and you've been at this two years.
Where do you see yourself in the next couple of
years do you think, I mean, now that you've got
to handle on it and you're being successful at it,
do you see yourself growing and expanding?
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, looking at hiring you know, some new people,
younger guys. I would eventually like to find somebody to
take this over and run it.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Wait a minute, you're ready to get rid of.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
It already, Well, my dud, that's not happened for a while.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
You've got sixty years old. I mean I want to
retire to.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Well, we all want to retire, but I'm seventy three
and I'm still doing it. So right now, what do
you cover all of northwest Ohio southeast Michigan.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Where's your range?
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Our footprint really covers northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan. It goes
far southeast Finley. Oh okay, yeah, we've gone over like
towards Sandowsky and on the other side over towards Brian
and so.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Mike, one of your one of your edges then, is
a fast turnaround time?
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Is that absolutely?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So? Give me an example. Uh, if somebody's let's say
somebody broke a hip, or somebody broke a bone, got injured,
whatever car accident, could be anything, and they're going to
I think they call them step down facilities or or
short term care acute care where they're being rehabbed. Do
you have situations where you get the call and the
(18:33):
family says, hey, you know, such and such is going
to be coming back in two weeks. Do you do
that while they're rehabbing? Can you do it that fast?
Speaker 6 (18:42):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Yeah, I'm glad you asked that, because you know we're
going to call every once in a while, you know,
from somebody in a facility, Hey can you meet my
son at my house? I need to come home and
I need this, you know, before I can come home.
They won't let me home until I have you know,
until I met some of the changes in my home.
(19:02):
You know, and I carry the material in stock.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
We're ready to go.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Yeah. And again, speaking from experience, most construction companies, remodeling
or whatever, it's really a hardship to pivot quickly like that.
They've already got job scheduled out, shit, got the schedule built,
people committed. So for a company to want to focus
on that quick turner, on that quick pivot, that's that's
(19:28):
an intentional choice. That's not going to happen by accident.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
So if people want to get a hold of you,
let's talk about phone numbers, websites, social media presence that
you have.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Give us the rundown on that.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Well, social media has been kind of a new animal
for me.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
Well, you're an old man you just admitted to exactly.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
But I do have a website, Toledo bathremod dot com
where you can always call me at area code four
one nine four six for six zero sixty three oh
three okay, or you can email me at toledobathreemod at
gmail dot com.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Sounds good, Yeah, and they can get a hold of you.
You've got a couple of guys waiting to do the
jobs all over Northwestern Highland, Southeast Michigan. Uh is Mike
Miller Toledo Bath Remodeling and Repair.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yep, thanks Mike for educating the audience. We appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Four one nine four six zero six three zero three
toledobathremod dot com.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Did you know our area has over forty thousand businesses.
Some are old, some are new, but they all have
a story to tell about why they sell, How someone
took a chance once upon a time, someone with a
heart for business. Hi, this is Lane Monts, the host
of the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We
know a thing or two about our area's companies. After all,
(20:55):
we've been keeping tabs on them since nineteen nineteen. Join
me in Toledo Radio Legend Red La Fever every week
as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and share
a few industry secrets along the way. Welcome back everyone,
This is Lane Monts. You're back with us here on
a Heart for Business podcast by the Better Business Bureau.
We've got our second guest today, the lovely and talented
(21:16):
JP Lemron from a frog Town Roofing and Jp, the
first thing I want to say is I see your
vans and that distinctive Frog logo all over town.
Speaker 7 (21:26):
Well, I'm happy to hear that one.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah, did you come up with that? Who came up
with that?
Speaker 7 (21:30):
We did, We came up with it. It pretty much
was a culmination of the fact that we I'm the
fifth generation of a tiledo one here in the local area,
raised here, born, and we really wanted to pay tribute
to our generations have been craftsmen, small business owners, things
like that, and we know that we're going to carry
(21:51):
that tradition on, and we wanted something to reflect where
we're from, right and frog Town. Many people don't even
know this, right, it's actually a nickname for Toledo. And
you know the reason why, I sure do. Yeah, I
mean obviously you know, we're right by the water and
it was actually a swamp at one point. And when
they started developing Toledo, lots of frog noises, lots of frogs,
(22:15):
and it was coined the people are the frogs outnumbered
the people at one point, so until we ate them all? Well,
you know, I mean some like that. I don't, so
don't eat the frogs anymore.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
It was the frog. It was the frog lady eating
frog leg eating capital of the world. Oh yeah, oh, Yeah,
Oh you didn't know that, Fred, that's a real thing.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I didn't know the other stuff I knew. So you said,
you've been here for generations. The generations before you were
tradesmen and stuff. What did they do if you go
back great great grandfather, what were they involved.
Speaker 7 (22:49):
Yeah, it's really cool actually in Monroe because you know,
part of this area we actually have our limeron as
a road right to the hospital and Mason's. That's what
they were, and they were known for that up there,
and you know, obviously we had a lot of tradesmen
from that generation. And then really cool, my great grandfather,
great grandmother also owned a corner when they had corner stores, right,
(23:12):
and so they owned a little small business corner stores,
So not exactly part of the trades part, but definitely
smarter part of the small business. And uh, you know,
I just love all of that because we were just
more focused with hard work and just customer service. Right,
that's those two things common combined really kind of made
who we are.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
It's the hallmark of a good small business. It's one
of the reasons that the BBB even exists. It's one
of the reasons that they do their torch awards every
year to.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Honor small businesses.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Maybe talk a little bit about that, because I know
that Frogtown Roofing got a Torch Award this year.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Right, that is a fantastic segue, Fred, It's like you,
that's true. Frogtown did win that. You know, every year
the Better Business Bureau has the Torch Awards, and I'll
talk a little bit about that. So most people don't know.
But you have to be nominated, so we start advertising
that pretty soon. We'll start doing it again this year.
(24:08):
You have to be nominated, so you were nominated, and
then not everybody that's nominated chooses to compete, but most do.
And then you submit a package and that package is
scored on a variety of criteria, not by the BBB.
We have outside independent judges like Julia Bates was won
last year, the Lucas County Prosecutor, and many others over
(24:28):
the years, and so it's pretty hard to win one.
So you know, when you think about all the businesses
that are out there, and it really is about are
they demonstrating high moral character, high ethics in the way
they conduct their business. It's for ethics, right, It's not
a lot of people think it's customer service, and that's
clearly a component of it, Fred, But there's more to
(24:50):
it than that. I mean, you have to be honest, ethical,
a bide by the BBB Code of Ethics, and be
committed to resolving disputes because you know, no business is perfect.
If you have a problem, it's how you handle the
problem that sets you apart from other businesses.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So when Frogtown Roofing got theirs this year, do you
attribute that to that history that we touched on a
little bit earlier, going all the way back to grandma
and grandpa and great grandma and grandpa as ethical small
business people.
Speaker 7 (25:18):
I absolutely do. That's how I was raised and that's
who I am, right, that was our goal all along
when we developed and founded Frogtown Roofing.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Right.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
So the riffing business, the contracting business can be all
over the place, right, there's small, medium, large companies. But
I owned, I actually still own a real estate investment
company that we invest in properties, you know, improve them
and then sell them. I also have rental properties. So
in that process over twenty five years, I've had that.
(25:49):
In that process, I've dealt with a lot of contractors, right,
and I've dealt with a lot of different really good
experiences and really bad experiences. And you know, a matter
of fact, my parents actually went through when I was
a kid, being one of those victims that maybe the
BBB report on right, and they were unfortunately ripped off.
Give him half down. He tore off the roof and said, oh,
(26:12):
I need more material, so I'm going to charge another
twenty five percent to get the material. And they never
showed back up. The roof was tore off and they
had to buy another roof very quickly.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
It's a pretty common story too. I've had neighbors who
wanted to get new roofs and the first step for
them was getting an estimate. And always with the estimate,
there are some things and they said, Jesus, sounds kind
of hinky. What do you think how does the process
work for frog Tone roofing?
Speaker 7 (26:39):
And that's a great, great question, Fred. So you know,
we do a great job on the upfront, right, So
it's a full you know, our hub is communication, so
when folks reach out to us, we come out. We
answer the phones all the time. We always are manding
our phones make that appointment. Our guys come out and
we do a full inspect right from the top down, right,
(27:03):
So a twenty four point inspection. But the first thing
we do, we actually want to sit down with the
customer and find out what their needs are. You know,
we never want to assume this is one price, one shingle,
one process, this is what you're going to pay, okay, right,
So we sit down and listen to them, find out
what their needs are.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Like you, I got to believe you're asking do they
plan and staying on the home in the home for
a long time or are they going to sell it
within the next five years. That's that probably drives some
of the scope of the job. Yep, that's part of that.
That that uh, you know conversation that we have initially.
Then we get up and we get into the attics. Now,
bread and Lane, you would think that, well, that's a
common thing to do, that makes sense, Well, the majority
(27:40):
of these contractors do not. So we're looking for a
lot of different things up there, right, We're looking for
the ventilation, we're looking for the sinsilation. Why is the
attic so important.
Speaker 7 (27:49):
It's it's so when you breathe in and out, your
house also has to breathe, right, And a lot of
folks don't understand that that ventilation is a key point
for your actual roof life as well, but also the
health of your home. Right, So, if you have condensation
building up in your home, we see so many times
where the bathroom vents are being vented inside the attic.
(28:12):
Not good. That's condensation, moisture, mold.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
You might remember last week's guests, We us had something
to say about that from talk.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
We talked about mold last week and how it can
destroy not just your health but the structure of your house.
So you guys are actually up there looking for that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 7 (28:29):
And we share photos what we see up there. We
educate the customer, and I think that's the biggest thing.
We're experts at doing what we do, and our customers
are not roofers, right, they don't know that they're experts
in what they do for a profession. So it's important
that we share that information with them. And then we
get out of the house and get on top of
the roof, right, and we really look at, you know,
(28:50):
what issues they may be having up there, or potential
issues or things that we need to address. Skylights, flashings,
all kinds of different things. And then we also look
at the water management system, right, and that's your gutters.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Oh okay, so fancy name for it.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I'm writing that down water now, JP, when you write
down water management system on the quote?
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Is that?
Speaker 4 (29:12):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Are you just charging the war Let's be honest. Is
that a fancy way to up charge?
Speaker 4 (29:17):
He's not the city.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
We're pulling back the curtain on roofing there. We're pulling back.
Speaker 7 (29:22):
Hey, I love it, And that's exactly what needs to happen,
because often it's not right. It's just hey, let me
give you a quote for a shingle, and all roofs
are not created equal. I just want to make sure
that people know that because when we take that time,
it takes a lot of time and effort to get
up there. It's very risky to get up on the
roofs and things like that and in the attics. But
we think it's worth it because customers need to know
(29:43):
what they're buying and they need to know why they're
buying it.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Right, Well, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Want them to be informed. A good customer is really
a well informed customer. He knows what he wants, he
knows what he's paying for, he knows what he's going
to get at the end of the day, whether it's
soffets or new drain spouts or new roof, what color
the room will be, how long the roof will last.
All of that kind of stuff goes into a good decision,
doesn't it.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
That's that's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
If there's one thing I could impress upon my business
members and the BBB, it's sell what you want, do
what you want product service. That's your business. Just educate
the buyer and let them make an informed decision. If
they choose lower quality, that's on them. That's fine. They
might need to do that, right that let them choose,
(30:26):
but they can't really choose unless they've been told, unless
they've been educated. And that stuck out to me about Frogtown,
and it has since I've connected with you here at
the BBB. I already knew about your business before, but
is that you do take that time and I know
for a fact that not every business does that.
Speaker 7 (30:45):
Yep, And you're exactly right. And going back to Fred's
statement about where how we have grown this business and
developed this business is all about the integrity. That's why
we were so proud to have that Ethics award, because
you know it gives us, the the validation of doing
what we're doing, right. I mean, it's so important for
us to make sure all those things are happening, and
(31:07):
then on the back end that we're here for the customer, right.
It's the customer experience is what a lot of people
don't understand, right until you actually go through.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
It, Right until you've had a bad experience, like you said,
your relatives did, you don't understand how important it is.
Do you use he brought the actually brought the award
with him because we thought we were going to be
doing video. Do you use that in promoting the business?
Is that a selling point at this point?
Speaker 7 (31:30):
I yeah, we like to put it more like, hey listen,
here's the why behind choosing Frogtown. Because it's so much
misinformation out there in this in this industry that it
helps validate why they're doing business with us and what
we do and why we do it. So yeah, we
definitely want to share with our customers that, hey, listen,
we are an award winner, because we're very proud of that.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Right.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
The BBB, I think is, you know, growing in popularity
now again. I think it was a very strong thing
back and the day and now you know, technology took
over for a while, but I think BBB is bringing
it back to Hey, listen, what's important is the integrity
of a business, right, not the advertising of the business,
but the integrity of the business.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
It kind of helps you cut through the clutter too,
because with social media, everybody is on social media, so
you're going to see ads for you know, forty fifty
different roofers, some in the area, some not, some big
like you mentioned earlier, some national, some not. And if
you really want to support your community, I think it's
key to support the local businesses that are here. And
(32:36):
you're established right here in northwest Ohio. Now, how long
have you done this? How long has Frogtown been around?
Speaker 7 (32:43):
So sixteen years we've been around now we're very proud
of that one as well.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
And are you the founder of it?
Speaker 7 (32:48):
I am the founder of it?
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Yeah, So how did you get to this point?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's a grecause you seem really you can't see them
because we don't have the video in it, but you
seem really excited about the whole deal. I've never seen
anybody excited about roofing.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Jr JP has a pretty good energy level.
Speaker 7 (33:07):
I do, So what gives you that I'm really the
passion of what we do. Like, I don't get up
just to sell roofs. I give get up to sell
a system, a product, a service, and to back that up. Right,
So I told you that over twenty five years now,
I've been running a residential investment company that you know,
we do very nice remodels and things like that for
(33:29):
my own and resell them and do a great job
with that. But you know, really the purpose of me
getting my I'm a general contractor license general contractor. So
I went for that about sixteen years ago because I
seen that, you know what, we can make a change
in this business. Right, rooping was kind of somewhere all
over the board. But we're making a change to bringing
(33:51):
service to a quality product and equality installation. And that's
really where my passion comes from.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
I get it.
Speaker 7 (33:57):
I've been in sales all my life, I mean, and
in sales is a big part of customer service. Do
what you say you're going to do, right, and it's
a boy follows.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Boy my own mentor. That was his favorite phrase, JP
so important. Don't promise it if you can't deliver it,
And if you promise it, deliver it.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
That's it.
Speaker 7 (34:13):
And that's how I grew. That's why I grew this business,
and everyone that works with me has the same attitude.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
Right.
Speaker 7 (34:19):
We do not leave people astray, We do not misguide them.
We give them the straight story and the importance of
why they should consider what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Would you consider yourself a small or a medium sized business?
How many employees do you have right now?
Speaker 7 (34:32):
So we have eight employees, right, and so I would
say small.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Should customers ask questions like that from their roofer because
I mean, we have good roofers intolo. There are good
no ones, not just frog Town, but a number of
them that have been around a long time, But then
we have some that are not.
Speaker 7 (34:49):
That's correct. I mean I think it's a very very
valid question. And at the end of the day, it's
how those crews are managed is what's most important.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, now you mentioned manufacturer twice, Yes, sir, how important
is that? I mean, so I'm getting whatever, I don't
know fred La fever shingles, and I have a certain
way I want those done or the guarantee doesn't work.
And so your guys are adept at all of that.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (35:15):
Absolutely, we actually have the highest certification of one of
the shingle manufacturers today, and it requires constant trainings, updates,
the crews being trained.
Speaker 4 (35:27):
Just like a mechanic on a car.
Speaker 7 (35:28):
Yeah, exactly so, and it is I mean, shingles change,
the technology changes, believe it or not. With a shingle,
there's technology involved now.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
So yeah, a number of nails and all that kind
of stuff and how they're supposed to be laid out
and everything.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Or does that training include going back to your first
issue that you brought up about ventilation, is it? Yeah,
thank you, thank.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
You for that.
Speaker 7 (35:48):
I mean the matter of fact, every single manufacturer's warranty
requires proper ventilation. And that doesn't only mean the can
vent to the ridge van on the rip. It has
to have the intake. So that's what creates that flow
of air. Your flow of air, The temperature in your
attic should be ten to twenty degrees ambient temperature outside, right,
So if it's not, we talk about ice damming, right,
(36:09):
I mean ice daming is a big.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
One right now.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
I think people are going to see it over the weekend.
Oh yeah, and it's going to freeze up and then
next week it's going to fall back out.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
Yep.
Speaker 7 (36:16):
And what happens is it's also with the insulation. The
heat goes up, right, the heat goes up, it melts
that snow down and it gets to that cold point.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
The water management system.
Speaker 7 (36:27):
The water management system, the whole thing. So if you're
not having that intake to create that ambient temperature outside
and matching that, then you're going to have all kinds
of problems.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
You can have all the vents on top of the roof,
on the back side of the roof you want. If
your soffits aren't clear, air can't come in, so then
air won't leave. If it doesn't leave, it's not helping
the water evaporate on the underside of the roof deck.
That's correct, and then what happens to the shingles.
Speaker 7 (36:51):
The shingles age very quickly because in the heat, right,
it gets very hot in an attic if it's not progressia.
And it's the same for the summer as is the winter.
We want to keep that ambient temperature pretty system as
it is outside, right, so it'll cook it from the underside,
and you see some bad decking, you see bad shingles,
they'll age you a lot quicker. And you know, at the.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
End of the day.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
If you don't have proper ventilation, right, the manufacturers void
that warranty. You can talk about fifty year, lifetime warranties,
you can talk about all that, but if the contractor
didn't do their job to make sure that ventilation was correct,
it's out the window.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
When if you don't have the ventilation, you can get
the mold growing on the underside of the deck and
that's when you call mold medics.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
So when you do your job and you're losing using
le fever shingles and I require a certain amount of
ventilation and stuff, how do I know as le fever
shingles that you did that? Is there a paperwork to
be filled out and everything that your guys handle for
I don't have to as a customer, I don't have
to do that, right.
Speaker 7 (37:48):
That's correct. We handle all that for you, Fred. And
then also being a select manufacturer or a shingle you know,
select applicator, they actually have a random inspections so they
can just pop up do an inspection because we already
submitted for the warranty, they can just do an inspection randomly.
They never tell you where it's going to be. The manufacturer, yes, sir,
(38:09):
I know that so well. And that's being the select right.
So you know, if you have a lot of these
guys aren't really certified, they don't know that you install
their lots. Okay, so we you know, like you said,
we register the warranties and then they know and then
they come out and they will contact the customer and
say we're going to come out and do a random
inspection on your on your on your roof. You've been chosen.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (38:31):
So it keeps everybody honest, It keeps everybody making sure
we're doing what we say we're going to do. And
that helps us. And we're not too We're not concerned
about that at all because that's what we do.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
Are you big enough right now or do you have
plans to grow?
Speaker 7 (38:44):
We definitely have plans to grow, friend. You know, we
we feel like we don't want to be massive, but
we definitely have room to grow and we definitely have
a lot of room to service other uh customers now
and we're excited about that.
Speaker 4 (38:56):
Excellent.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Where can people contact you by phone and Facebook and
and all that kind of stuff, Well, we.
Speaker 7 (39:01):
Got a really easy phone number. It's going to be
for one to nine new roof right so, and then
they can also contact us at Frogtown Roofing dot com.
They can actually make an appointment right on online, or
they can message us and we'll give them a call back,
or just give us a call and we'll take care
of you.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Track them down on Facebook and at Frogtown Roofing dot com.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
Four one nine new roof all right.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Thanks a lot, JP, thanks everybody for listening today. Here
from Mike Miller of Toledo Bathroom Modeling and Repair and
JP Lemeran from Frogtown Roofing.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Thank you for Lane and our guests. You've been listening
to a Heart for Business sponsored by the BBB, the
Better Business Bureau. This podcast is available at iHeartRadio and
where of their podcasting foul. We'll be back again next week.
New episodes drop every Sunday. Be sure to watch for
them on the iHeartRadio network.
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