On Spot with Bruce Lloyd, RNW Senior Estimator and Project Manager

THE SPOT

RNW Construction is pleased to introduce a new feature to our website offering online visitors the opportunity to meet a variety of influential industry participants and consumers through a series of in-depth interviews that will be posted each month on the RNW site. The first such interview is with industry veteran Bruce Lloyd who recently joined the RNW team following a 17-year stint at cross-town contractor Mayta & Jensen.

Lloyd’s involvement in the construction industry dates back to 1967 when he joined San Francisco based John Coudon Construction - a firm he would leave and re-join twice before ultimately taking over the business in 1985. During the two decades in between, Lloyd moved between the Bay Area, Portland and Washington blending traditional construction with retail distribution working with several leading retailers including Sears where he was the head of their Installed Home Improvements Division and California Cooperage where he was the Director of Retail and, ultimately, the Vice President of Sales.

So it is with that diverse background and a long standing focus on the customer experience and customer satisfaction, that Bruce joins RNW as a senior estimator and project manager.

RNW: You’ve been in the construction and home improvement business for over 30 years now and have seen a lot of trends come and go, players win and lose and the savvy and expectations of customers deepen over time. Considering this, what do you think is the secret to the best contractor/client relationships?

BL: Without question, it’s communication. And, I don’t mean just keeping in touch if something’s gone awry. You have to keep in mind that when you are doing work for someone you are right smack in the middle of their creature comfort zone and that, by its very nature, makes people nervous. So closely managing and communicating upfront about those things that will affect a client’s comfort becomes as important as those issues surrounding money and budgets. Keeping your client informed on what to expect on any given day and for that matter, every day, is critical, In this business, surprises aren’t, typically, a good thing! At the end of the day, the smoothest running jobs and the happiest customers are those where an open and honest flow of communication existed between the client, the foreman and the project manager. Typically, once you’ve achieved that, you also experience a mutual respect between the client and their construction team.

RNW: What do you think is the most important thing that a client should consider when selecting a contractor?

BL: Well, as with most great relationships, it usually gets down to chemistry and trust. Given that, a client should have no doubts whether the contractor they are working with is truly an expert. That not only means that they’ve got the experience and understanding to turn your dreams into reality (e.g., what are the best material choices, who are the best subcontractors, what is the right level of investment), but perhaps even more importantly, they need to have the resources available to accomplish these goals. Unfortunately, many contractors are good at making promises, but not as many are good at fulfilling those promises.

RNW: How about building a budget…what’s the best way for a client to go about building a budget?

BL: I can’t emphasize enough the importance of involving your contractor up-front to get the best estimate on what a project is likely to cost. During the design development phase all the variables that can affect the end price aren’t immediately obvious or sometimes even available to your architect and/or designer so the result is clients are often left with the impression that a job will cost less than the actual amount required to realistically deliver the proposed vision. So many of the key budget drivers are in the finishes a customer selects and that’s not just because of the cost of the raw materials, but also the complexity and time required to install those finishes. And while designers are often well versed in the expense of the recommended raw materials, understanding the construction costs associated with the installation of those materials often isn’t a part of their expertise. So, by gaining the input of a qualified contractor while you are still building your budget and deciding between certain materials, design elements and finishes, you are much more likely to build a more realistic and manageable budget based upon your wants and financial considerations.

RNW: What unique point of view/contribution do you bring to RNW?

BL: At the risk of sounding like one of those leadership posters you see in a corporate conference room, I’d have to say my focus on teamwork and providing a complementary set of experiences to the leadership of this Company are likely to help us expand even faster than we already have. RNW is probably one of the most experienced and accomplished contractors in the Bay Area when it comes to residential high rise construction and with the addition of me to the existing leadership team, I bring an equally deep and long-term set of experiences with free standing custom built homes. I truly believe we’ve created a situation where the sum of our parts is greater than any one individual part.

RNW: Have you ever been the client of another contractor and if so, what did it teach you?

BL: I’ve always done everything myself and I’m happy to say that so far I’ve never had a situation where that old adage applies that “an attorney (or in this case a contractor) who represents himself has a fool for a client!”

RNW: What’s your most proud moment?

BL: On a personal level, it would be the birth of my children (there are four in all!), and professionally it came the day one of my clients suggested that I go into business for myself. It was based on the fact that I was leading all the critical activities that were driving the success her project so to her, I was the Company that I was working for so she couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t just open my own shop and do it all for myself directly. The truth is that I did have my own business for a number of years and while that experience has helped to shape everything I’ve done since, having your own business means focusing on a lot things beyond just those that you love and excel at. For me, being a business owner lead to my losing some of the joy that surrounds working directly on the day to day elements of the job—the carpentry, the project management and the daily client management issues.

RNW: You’ve seen a lot of changes over the past 30 years, but what do you think has been the most significant?

BL: The advent of battery-operated tools—specifically, the battery-operated drill. It has cut labor times significantly. No more cord rolling has truly saved customers millions of dollars!

RNW: At a time when many of your contemporaries are choosing to retire and play more golf, you’ve chosen to stay active in the field. What keeps you going?

BL: I simply love this work. I think back to John Coudin (the man responsible for my joining this industry) and he worked until he was 85! There’s nothing better than to see a building you’ve built come to life and become a living and breathing structure and even more importantly, a critical part of someone’s life. That home gives its occupants a sense of pride and belonging which in turn fills me with my own sense of pride and happiness.

RNW: You could have worked for any contractor in the Bay Area, including yourself, so what made you choose RNW?

BL: It’s that chemistry thing again. I really enjoy the personalities of the team and I like that relatively speaking, it’s still a young company that I can be a part of helping to shape and grow. I’m very entrepreneurial and at RNW my input is not only sought, but also acted upon. So, I truly have the opportunity to directly contribute to the success and growth of this company and I honestly feel that when we look back in 10 years, 2006 will have been a defining moment in this Company’s history. Needless to say, I didn’t want to miss out on being a part of that.

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You have to keep in mind that when you are doing work for someone you are right smack in the middle of their creature comfort zone…

– Bruce Lloyd

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