A-Series

Customer Service & Shipping

Customer Service

Quality customer service requires a commitment and must be built into a company with just as much detail as the quality that is designed into the product and great customer service is just as important to you as a customer, as the quality of the product. A great product will not perform great if the knowledge and service you need to install or maintain it is not available. There are many steps that Bottom Line Steel Buildings designs into the customer Service process to educate the contractor and customer to allow the smoothest, ordering, engineering, fabrication, and delivery process as possible and is designed to allow a great overall customer experience.

Competition: Very few of our competitors will even mention customer service as a reason to purchase their product. And if they do it is usually empty words and is heard from a sales person who thought you might like to hear it. Unfortunately, it is not something you can just simply say you do. Quality customer service, just like a quality product, requires Capital, commitment and knowledge. A company that is not committed to spend the time, money and effort in providing you a top quality product is certainly not going to spend the time, money and effort in providing you customer service; because to them customer service is after the sale. Need we say more?

Warranty

Is very much a part of customer service because if you do ever have a concern this is where you would start. Having knowledgeable customer service representatives is only the beginning. In addition to the 25 year, 6 month limited galvalume rust through, your building also comes with a 1 year workmanship warranty on welds and materials and a lifetime snow and wind load warranty. With fully integrated plants and engineering we can provide you with an unlimited time frame on the entire steel structure being designed to the snow and wind load requirements requested on your contract for a lifetime of use with these warranties being passed directly to the end customer.

Competition: Wood frame competitors usually only have a 5 year warranty on wind and a 5-20 year pro-rated warranty that reduces each year on snow and wind (even though most collapses from snow are credited to wind) and a 10 year warranty on paint. This results in significantly higher insurance cost. The broker and “frame shop” competitors, which are not integrated plants, can not very realistically warranty a complete building due to the fact that they provide components and engineering from so many different vendors that determining who warranties the entire building is extremely difficult compared to when your building is designed, engineered and fabricated under strict guidelines from our engineering and quality control teams.

10 Step Building Procedure Process

We have designed a 10 step building procedure process that will educate you to the basic steps of your building order procedure. Communication is the key to any construction project and our customer service managers are some of the most highly trained in the industry. They will contact you shortly after your order is received to get familiar with you and your project and to offer you a toll free number that will ring to their cell phones giving you 24 hour access when it is necessary and continue contacting you periodically through out the entire process. They will also mail you a welcome packet that includes the building procedure checklist. We truly believe that too much customer service is better than not enough.

Standard Concrete Drawings & Assembly Manuals

Having a good understanding of the drawings and construction of your building will give you a great boost in getting your project through building departments and completed smoothly. Because of the capital investment into computer-aided design, engineering and drafting equipment and having some of the most experienced engineers in the industry; your erection manuals will be some of the most clear and detailed in the industry. Engineer stamped permit letters (if required) are typically provided in 10-15 days from the time of final verification and revisions, which is typically required to submit for permits on the steel building. Erection Manuals are provided with the delivery of your building and are very detailed assembly procedure manual that gives tremendous step by step assistance in the assembly process. By using the detailed shipping list, the assembly manual and by matching the part number marked on the components to the part number on the table on each page of the construction manual as well as the detailed pages showing the connections, the correct pre-punched and label pieces are easily identified for quick and easy assembly. And Remember, should you ever have a question please feel free to call the toll free customer service number. Even after hours, if they can’t answer your question they will know someone who can. The only stupid questions are the ones we don’t ask.

Competition: Competitors typically provide only an erection manual that is usually outdated and does not coincide with the drawings. Since they are not fully integrated factories with their own engineering, drafting and fabrication staffs and facilities many have only a cad operator who produces’ drawings for them and then send them off without an engineering approval. This creates concern for many building officials due to the fact that the “overall” building is not designed, engineered, fabricated or delivered under the same supervision. In fact, there are many cases know where the components delivered were not even what was reflected or required on the drawings or engineer stamped letter. This is similar to getting a blue print for a product and then purchasing the components to fabricate it yourself. Hardly the “pre-engineered” building you expected.

Verification

Getting your project exactly right in the beginning is very important in getting it exactly right at the end for a lifetime of use and property appreciation. After all this is not a purchase that you use once or twice and throw away. We realize that next to your home this may be the most significant purchase you will ever make. Since many customers are not experienced designers, contractors or buyers in construction projects or steel buildings; we have developed a relationship with a third party company who has experience in most phases of construction and who at no charge to you, will review not only your steel building order but your overall construction needs. They will verify and double check the details of your construction project to assist you in avoiding any costly mistakes and to handle any building revision request. Mistakes in estimating, ordering and fabrication of materials are the most costly and frustrating part of any construction project. We have found that having suggestions or advice on suppliers, vendors or sub-contractors is always welcome and saves the customer time and money.

Competition: Most competitors do not have any type of verification process, let alone a third party company that will assist you with questions or information on your overall project as much as they possibly can. Education should start before the sale and continue through the process. Unfortunately, many companies make their profit on the change orders that are done after you are educated to the mistakes you may have made and this is why some of them “Guarantee” the lowest price. This usually guarantees they are counting on you to make a mistake on your order.

Delivery

For the sake of absolute honesty, delivery of any product can be one of the most difficult phases of any product if not communicated properly. To avoid costly delays or damages requires very detailed instructions and communication from both parties. With good communication and a clear understanding the delivery process can be one of the final steps in a great, overall customer experience. A detailed outline of this process starts with the purchase agreement and continues through out the customer service, order processing, verification, and scheduling process. By affiliation of ownership, Bottom Line Steel buildings Owners and Management have 3 manufacturing facilities that ship approximately 400 buildings or more every month across the U.S. Due to this many customers will contract community freight which allows the customers significant savings in the total cost of freight by having their building shipped with others going to a certain geographical area. The scheduling and shipping departments will contact the customer to verify C.O.D.’s and give an estimated time of delivery so that they may schedule the necessary equipment for unloading. In most cases we can provide drivers who are experienced in the unloading and inventory procedures to assist the customers who are unfamiliar with this procedure. Each driver is required to complete a detailed inventory of the components, verify the contents and accept the bill of lading and shipping list. This along with fabricating, loading, tarping and shipping the product directly from the factory to your jobsite gives us the best chances of eliminating delays, damages, shortages and missing components.

Competition: Many competitors are accustomed to shipping only to contractors and do not have the customer service or shipping staff to keep in contact with the customers. Many companies simply load the truck and ship the product with out even so much as a phone call due to the fact that most General Contractors are onsite and can accept deliveries anytime. In many cases the “frame shops” and brokers are ordering components from multiple vendors and must use consolidated freight which means that the components are loaded and unloaded many times at relay stations to ultimately get the product to your jobsite. This almost always creates shortages, damages and makes it extreme difficulty in getting replacement parts and you may have up to 3-4 separate deliveries. Trying to get someone to take your call or assist you in dealing with multiple shipping companies can be very difficult.