REV: Responsibly and reliably powering industry
With a focus on the creation of innovative technology and forward-thinking practical solutions, REV offers flexible, durable, reliable
Kramer Mazda: The largest Mazda dealership in Western Canada
The largest Mazda dealership in Calgary and Western Canada, for over 40 years Kramer Mazda has been developing
German-Canadian Care Home: An innovative new vision for elder care
Providing compassionate care to seniors in Vancouver for over 50 years, the German-Canadian Care Home is part of
Hinton Scaffold Solutions: Utilizing innovate technologies to create safer worksites
With many years of experience in the heavy industrial scaffold industry, Ontario-based Hinton Scaffold Solutions provides highly innovative
Alberta Veterinary Laboratories / Solvet: Supporting Canada’s food
Founded in 2009, Western Canadian family-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer Alberta Veterinary Laboratories manufactures and provides efficacious and cost-effective animal
Sodexo Canada: The global leader who believes the difference a day makes
Founded in Marseille in 1966, and now operating in 53 countries, Sodexo provides facilities services that drive positive
Barclay Restorations DKI: The longest running insurance restoration company in Greater Vancouver
Locally owned-and operated and serving Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Barclay Restorations DKI is a full-service restoration
CDW Canada: Helping small businesses use IT security to prepare, defend, and respond
Established in 2003, CDW Canada is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government, education, and healthcare,
Taiwan: key to win-win approach for Canadian Industry
Taiwan’s innovation leadership and significant economic potential in Asia is an opportunity for Canada to stay competitive on
Taking charitable giving to the next level
Empowering employees to support the causes that matter most to them is the best way to maximize charitable
Lots of money seeking company acquisitions – The case of private equity
At this time, there is more money in the system than anyone can imagine. It is estimated that
There’s optimism amid instability in the Canadian construction landscape
The last year has been among the most expensive on record for many Canadians. Families and those on
Washed up elites need to stop lecturing the people
The ramblings of ex-Prime Ministers, Presidents and CEOs is a feature of all political life, history and cultures.
The political timing of Finland’s admission into NATO
It has been a few weeks since the world watched the proverbial ink of approval dry on Finland’s
How to manage the stress of making the right business decisions
It can be stressful when you have to make important decisions regarding your business. We all want to
Reclaiming Canada’s key service export: Tourism
Tourism is an increasingly dynamic sector of the global economy; pre-2019 tourism was a $1.4 trillion industry generating
Pinnacle Group Renovations: Positively affecting families in their homes for Life
Providing design-build renovations and custom homes for over 35 years, Pinnacle Group Renovations believes in serving Calgary’s families by creating homes for a lifetime of living that encourage and support a healthy family dynamic.
Founder and CEO of Pinnacle Group Renovations, Paul Klassen, is an inter-provincial journeyman carpenter with more than three decades in the construction industry, bringing a wealth of construction knowledge, having spent considerable time as a developer in the spec and custom home markets, general contracting, project management and upscale, design-build renovations. Industry-leading best practices continue to positively influence Pinnacle’s customer reviews and satisfaction ratings, along with the consistent delivery on its project cost and completion date guarantee. Mr Klassen spoke with us recently about the services that Pinnacle specializes in, the long list of awards the company has gained over the years, and the commitment to customer transparency that helps it support families for life.
Design-build renovations and custom homes
“We began building custom homes over 35 years ago,” Mr Klassen explains, “in the neighboring province of Saskatchewan, but for the last 22 years have been providing design-build renovations and custom homes to client families here in the Calgary area.”
In addition to renovating upscale homes across greater Calgary, the firm has two specialized services that have been added over the years, the first being the creating of ‘Forever Homes’ for clients who choose to remain in their home rather than moving to a villa or senior care facility, which has increased in popularity in the wake of COVID-19.
“Number two is renovating homes for those living with a disability, to provide maximum freedom and autonomy. It’s a huge passion for us, and we do that through implementing universal design, technology and smart home systems.”
Pinnacle Group’s journey as a company has led it to deliver a long list of outstanding renovations and custom homes in Calgary, which it has achieved by attracting team members with values that resonate with the group’s mantra, taken from its vision statement, to ‘positively affect clients and their families, in their homes, for Life’.
“That vision statement honestly is what drives our entire team of staff, our trades, our suppliers, every single day. We truly do our best, we’re obviously not perfect, but we certainly do our best to affect everyone we meet in a positive way, but specifically as it relates to transforming the way families live and thrive in their homes.”
The firm is involved with a number of industry bodies, prominent among which are the former Calgary Home Builders Association, BILD Calgary, the peer-policed organization for renovators RenoMark, of which Pinnacle is a founding member, and the Better Business Bureau, where it has been an A+ credited business for years.
“[Also] National Kitchen and Bath, we have our own custom shop, so we are members in terms of cabinetry and designs; National Association of Home Builders, we attend the national events; and Houzz Pro is another organization that really helps us market our product, as well as a peer group called Remodelers Advantage.”
Mr Klassen believes strongly in education for both staff and clients, and the firm continues to keep abreast of the latest developments by having memberships with all these different organizations, as well as preparing and educating prospective clients by offering a number of free resources, webinars, open house and Reno Tours, podcasts, and seminars.
“We would much rather educate and provide helpful resources that then prompts a prospective client to call us, than bombard consumers with radio and TV ads. We prefer to provide education resources through blogs, downloadable resource documents and video, all of which ultimately lead our customers to trust our team to serve their family.”
Net Promoter Score
Having participated for many years in Calgary’s main recognition for the residential construction industry (the SAM Awards); over the last decade Pinnacle has focused on direct customer opinions as part of an industry-leading metric called Net Promotor Score.
“We met up with an organization called Client Insight in 2004, very intrigued by their third-party customer interviews. The intense metrics that we discovered that they work with, coming from the first inbound customer phone call, to the last touch up as we complete a project, just really resonated with us. So we’ve been working with them since 2004.”
The firm continues however to participate in awards, and Mr Klassen remains extremely thankful for the many Sam Awards, Consumer Choice Gold, Best of Houzz and others it has received over the years.
“Probably the Award that really sticks out, I think over the years, is the Better Business Bureau Ethics Award. That was the first time a renovator had have ever won that award.
We felt we had finally made some inroads in breaking down the paradigm of shoddy workmanship from dishonest renovators.”
Much of this success has come from earning client trust, which Mr Klassen understands can take time. With over 35 years in the construction business, 22 of which have been in Calgary, Mr Klassen and his wife Elaine have been developing that trust for some time.
“People prefer experience, knowing Pinnacle’s ownership has weathered a lot of economic ups and downs, having renovated and custom-built countless projects here across western Canada. Those years of experience brings our customers a true feeling of comfort and trust.”
Another area of trust comes in the Pinnacle team of design-build professionals in both staff and suppliers, where senior staff member tenure is approaching 10 years and beyond, and trade relationships span almost two decades of working alongside some of Calgary’s best trades and suppliers.
“They also trust the client reviews. We were doing reviews before Google reviews existed. In 2004, when we partnered with Client Insight to improve on our client experience, we never looked back. Clients now having access to over 16 years of reviews, once again that brings that comfort and trust.”
Another key area of the company’s customer offering is its trademarked educational resource known as DNA (Design/Needs/Alignment), which is one of the first documents made available to client families contacting Pinnacle for the first time.
“It’s a 36-page electronic document designed to educate them on how to hire a contractor. We give them nineteen questions to ask everybody they are interviewing. It’s an intense questionnaire, drilling down on how they want to live in their new home through renovations or custom-build.”
That proprietary process has led to design being one of the highest-scoring metrics in its customer reviews, consistently scoring 100%. This is one of the key reasons why Calgary-based clients hire Pinnacle Group Renovations.
“Our trademarked SCC 3-Way Guarantee is part of the questionnaire, and we constantly hear people say they hired us for that. SCC is start-date, completion date, and cost, and we guarantee all of it, which nobody does in this town. When you can take the three main angst points off a client’s head, that’s just huge in my view.”
The company pays a $400 non-complete penalty if it falls short on any of these three major guarantees, giving clients the comfort of knowing Pinnacle’s team is motivated to finish the project on time and on budget.
“Something we don’t share a lot with our customers is the underpinning culture and mantra that we all live by day-by-day, and that’s that excerpt from our vision statement: ‘Our journey is one of innovation, quality, gratitude and pride in our ongoing renovation progress, as we support and affect families in their homes – for Life’.”
Pinnacle continues a lifelong journey with its client families, remaining in a position of support and continuing to positively affect them as much as they allow, for Life. The company has had many opportunities to continue to positively affect client families many years after their renovation or custom home has been completed.
“That customer experience journey that we’ve strived for for all these years is really the crowning metric that defines our success as a company, and that is to positively affect families in their homes for Life. That’s really it.”
With a strong focus on the happiness of clients in their homes, Pinnacle stands out from the crowd in serving Calgary families. Find out more about Pinnacle Group Renovations by visiting www.pinnaclerenovations.ca.
- Read the current edition
- Recent posts
