Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: Good morning.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: We are here on the Clear Impact.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: Podcast and we have very special guests with us today. I'm excited that you guys are here today. We are sitting with Dorges Bettencourt and his lovely wife Diana. And you guys are from E D Quality Installs. So I'll let you guys introduce yourselves.
[00:00:41] Speaker C: My name is Doris Betancourt and I work at E and D Quality Install.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: And you just work there?
[00:00:46] Speaker C: I own it too, but I work there.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. And Diana.
[00:00:50] Speaker D: Good morning, Sherry. Diana and I also work at E and D. And George's wife and I started working with him actually about two and a half years ago.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Awesome. And so where is E and D? Where are you guys located?
[00:01:03] Speaker C: We're located in Homestead, Florida and then we service Miami Dade and Florida Keys.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Okay. And is there a specific kind of project that your company does or just whatever people want or like, do you have a focus?
[00:01:18] Speaker C: We do a lot of residential construction, a little bit of commercial, mainly custom homes. We do a lot of custom homes down in Monroe County.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: Nice. So people with beautiful ocean views that need giant sliding glass doors and things like that?
[00:01:32] Speaker C: That's correct. That's exactly what we do.
[00:01:34] Speaker A: Nice. And so this is something that we have not talked about. We've been hanging out for the last few days, but I have not gotten your story. So I'd love to know a little bit about your career path. Like how did you end up in this industry?
[00:01:47] Speaker C: I started working at 18 in a window company and I started as a helper. I didn't know the difference between a screw and another one. And slowly I was getting the hang out of it. And that's how I started and became an installer and then pulled a license and got on my own and started the company. It was that way.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: So when did you start E and D?
[00:02:07] Speaker C: We started in 2006, me and my brother in law.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: Okay, so 18 years.
[00:02:11] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:02:12] Speaker A: That's amazing. And how long have you been a PGT CGI dealer?
[00:02:17] Speaker C: So we have the CGI dealer for about six years and PGT for about four.
[00:02:22] Speaker A: And then you also handle Windor?
[00:02:24] Speaker C: We also handle Windor on Ecbreeze now too.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Okay, so very nice portfolio. And so the primary reason that we've been hanging out this week and the reason we're chatting today is because you have earned the very prestigious brand expert level for CGI and pgt. So Just congratulations. Like, that's a huge accomplishment. For those that don't know, this is a rigorous amount of classroom time, online classes, lots and lots of assessments, and even a field test. And there's actually kind of a fun story around your field test. So because PGT is vinyl and aluminum and the certification covers the entire brand, we require a field test. So somebody to observe your installation. So you don't really handle vinyl because you're in very, very South Florida. So it's largely aluminum in that space. But. But you wanted that certification so much so that you ordered a vinyl window and built a fake wall and then installed it into that wall so that you could pass the assessment. That is extreme dedication. I was dying when I heard about that. So congrats. That's a big deal.
[00:03:33] Speaker C: I wasn't gonna let one window stand in my way.
I own a window company. I can order a window and put it in.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: Yeah, that's awesome. And you're gonna still use it somewhere, right?
[00:03:43] Speaker C: Yes. We found our house, a little house behind my brother in law. So we're going to cut a hole and put it in there.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: Nice. Yeah, don't let it go to waste. That's awesome. So as a business owner, like, obviously you know the product. You started as an installer, you know how to install it. What motivated you to pursue the certifications?
[00:04:22] Speaker C: So when we started doing the classes, I would learn things that I wouldn't know and I'll be like, huh, I thought I knew everything, but I don't. So that kept me going. And also going up on the scoreboard was actually a little bit of what pushed me to keep going up. So the we have to thank the people above me.
[00:04:42] Speaker D: Thank you, Casey.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Shout out to Casey Thomas for blazing that trail. Yeah, you guys have been like, you know, Casey Dorges, Casey Dorges, Casey Dorges. So it's really fun to have both of you hit that premium spot, that top spot. Is there anything specific that you learned that made an immediate difference in your work? Can you think of like a particular class or a particular concept that you like? Oh, like major light bulb moments for you?
[00:05:11] Speaker C: I had a few, but I think glass side of it. I hadn't that much information on the glass part of it. And that thing got the most of me. There was a lot of interesting classes about the energy codes and that kind of scenario there. I wasn't too informed on it, and that's one of the things I learned a lot.
[00:05:30] Speaker D: Yeah, there was also the part that Easy Breeze, that we didn't know anything about it, and, yeah, you got a big order.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: We got a big order of Easy Breeze, and we have never done that before. So I watched those classes quite a few times. We completed both of the projects and had no issues. So I had to thank Dad's university, too.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: That's excellent. And so this week, we've been on a marathon of sorts. Like, we started with a CGI tour, and then we had a full tour on the PGT campus this week with Ilab and Cannonshot and then, you know, behind the scenes at the glass plant, and then a floor tour at AP1 yesterday. And in a little bit, we're heading to Fort Myers to tour the facility there. So what has been a highlight for you from this week?
[00:06:21] Speaker C: I've been a few times to cgi, and it has changed a lot in the last couple of years. So that was different. The cannon shot, I think it's a highlight of the trip. It's exciting to just push that button and see that I cannot hit the window. We had a really nice tour of the AP1PGT plant. The tool and die section. It's amazing the amount of parts that they built and how they have everything collected there on drawers with numbers and every part. So I think that was great, too.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: Nice. What about you, Diana? Any highlights?
[00:06:54] Speaker D: The cannon shot.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: The cannon shot.
[00:06:56] Speaker D: That was really nice. And yes, like Doja said, that department that makes the tools, that was pretty cool. Like, hey, we don't have it. Let's do it. Yeah, let's do the tool. That was really nice.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: They've actually gotten into replacing some of the pieces and parts that we would have to purchase for some of the machinery that we run, which saves us a lot of money. And also it reduces our lag time, so we can be ready for anything that breaks. We can fix it right away. So.
[00:07:23] Speaker D: That's very nice.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I thought for sure you were gonna say dinner, but. No, that's okay.
[00:07:28] Speaker D: Dinner was amazing.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: Sherry? Yeah, We've eaten well this week. It's been lovely, for sure. We'll all have to be back on our diets and start working out again later. Right. So anything else you'd like to share before we close off?
[00:07:39] Speaker C: I want to say a big shout out to my daughters, Amelie and Natalie.
[00:07:43] Speaker A: And how old are they?
[00:07:44] Speaker C: Amy is 11 and Natalie is 7.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: And so do they hang out at the office with you?
[00:07:49] Speaker C: They do. And Amy's favorite part of the class is the grilled cheese sandwich.
[00:07:54] Speaker A: That's awesome. So she's learning already. That's.
[00:07:57] Speaker C: She is learning already.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: That's amazing. I love that. So it's been such a pleasure to hang out with you guys this week. Things are stacking up for everyone, but this time has been really special, and I'm glad that you were able to take the time. I know you've got a family and a business to run, and we just appreciate the efforts that you've made in your learning journey. So thank you. Thank you for being here.
[00:08:18] Speaker D: Thank you. Cherry. It was very nice, the whole experience. We had a lot of fun. We got to see new things. And thank you also. And Jim.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:26] Speaker C: Yeah. I want to thank you and Jim personally for these few days over here. And if there's somebody listening to this that's on the class that's pursuing this. This experience, it's well worth. So I would encourage you to keep going and make it all the way.
[00:08:40] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: And even if it means buying a window you don't actually need.
That's awesome. All right, well, thanks. You guys have a great day.
[00:08:47] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: The Clear Impact podcast is brought to you by Mitre Brands University. We are a part of Mitre Brands, a family of leading window and door brand united by our passion for quality and relentless pursuit of 100%. At Mitre Brands, our common purpose is to deliver value by manufacturing the finest products, services and customer experience every day, everywhere. Our window and door brands deliver regionalized expertise, products and services, all backed by a national company. Mitre Brands University is here to educate you, our listener, so that you can be a more informed consumer of window and door products.
