2008 Avid Awards: Blandford Homes

From left to right: Mes homeowner Larry Steele, company owner Jeff Blandford and Project Superintendant Rich Weig. Photo: Mark Peterman/GettyImages

When 100 percent of your home buyers are willing to make referrals, you know you're doing something right in the area of customer service. Blandford Homes is one such builder. In fact, nearly 100 percent of its sales come from repeat and referred buyers, which helps to explain why it has won the 2008 Avid Award for the Phoenix market.

Blandford Homes' relationships are key throughout the home building process. To ensure customer delight, Blandford strives for zero-item walk-throughs and insists that any remaining items are fixed and signed off by home buyers within 10 days. In addition, the builder does not force home buyers to close or walk through a home until they are happy.

“We don't shove it down the homeowners' throat,” owner Jeff Blandford says. “Instead, we'll take the pressure off and say that house isn't going to close this year or this quarter until we know it's ready. And that's OK. It's more important that the home buyer feels comfortable.”

However, to ensure that the process runs smoothly and houses do close on time, Blandford reviews reports on every home each Thursday and intervenes if something looks like it's falling behind schedule or taking too long to resolve. “The superintendents know that it's being watched by the guy that signs their check,” Blandford says. “That alone prevents many problems from ever occurring.”