Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] 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.
Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast. We are here today with Josh Willard. And Josh, I actually met you at the CX event and when you found out that I was coming out here, you were like, hey, that's awesome. We should podcast again. And I was like, yeah, that'd be great. So Josh, just a recap. Tell us a little bit about who you are, like how long you've been with the company and what you're currently up to.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Yeah, so currently serving as the vice president of customer and warranty services.
Been with the business 20 years.
Came up through the Mi brand and spent some time in the factories during college and internships and then ultimately spent 7, 8 years in the sales side of the business.
And in the past, really 10 years I was leading our product management function and about a year and a half ago had the opportunity to come on and take on our customer warranty services.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: Awesome. So what is your scope? Are you just mi? Are you pgt?
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So we've got all brands and a big initiative this year of integrating all of the warranty and field service teams. So a huge initiative on getting onto one platform of Salesforce. And at that point I keep telling the team we will officially be integrated and not integrating. So looking forward to making that happen.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: That's exciting. And so what does that mean for like the Florida business?
[00:01:43] Speaker A: Absolutely, yeah. So we've really 180 degree culture change, I would say, in the last 12 months. And most of that has come down to empowering that team to make decisions to do what they think is right and best for our customers and our homeowners that are buying products. And we've got a huge field deployed team down there that are out touching our end users every single day and people kind of forget that they represent Mitre PGT to our end user more than anybody else in the business. So they're not just out there fixing product, they are creating relationships with homeowners, providing experiences each and every day. And yeah, it's been a lot of fun to watch them really buy into what we're trying to do and live it each and every day.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: So is there anything changing in terms of how the warranties are going to be handled or.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I think the biggest question that I've heard with the customer base right now is in line with some of the product rationalization that's going on and concern that what's going to happen from a warranty standpoint on those products that are no longer going to be around. And there's quite a few of them that are, you know, by end of this year we will be exiting and I'm sure that other podcasts potentially have talked about this, and I know for a fact the sales team has been communicating this, but really just want to reiterate that we are going to continue to support those products that are being discontinued and honor the warranty that they've had over the last how many years. And really, so our plan here is by end of the year, most of those products are no longer be able to order full windows, but we will continue to support frames, panels, sash for the next six months. So, you know, if a product gets damaged during installation or shipping or whatever that may be, the customer's not going to be left with a product they can't fix. So the first six months we'll be able to support, like I said, frames, panels and sash. And by end of June, at that point we will transition over to glass only. So again, still be able to fix most of the problems that we'll encounter in the field. But instead of swapping out a panel, we would then replace it with glass hardware. We will hang on to that for as long as we can. Right. So taking an inventory of what we have in the pipeline, in some cases actually ordering some more just for warranty parts and things like that. But each of our service warehouses will be stocked with the appropriate hardware needed for some of these products that are going away. So I think the big message there is that, you know, we will definitely continue to support any of the products that we've sold over the years and people don't need to panic about what's going to happen when, you know, product X, Y and Z is going away. So.
[00:04:08] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are customers 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.
Right. That's amazing. Thank you for clarifying that. Because it can be a scary thing like, hey, I've been selling these things for 10 years. I've got thousands of them out in houses and my name's attached to it. And what happens when I get that call? Like, how am I going to be supported? So. So I'm sure our dealers really appreciate that. Heads up. And knowing that we're going to be there for them.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Yep, absolutely.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: That's awesome. And so we've been talking a lot about the We Are Florida campaign and the partnership with the Bucks and a lot of focus on Florida being our backyard. Even though I'm in Hershey, Pennsylvania, today, it's still my backyard. And so, Josh, what does the We Are Florida mean to you?
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it really helps differentiate PGT in Florida is that we have this field deployed team that is in the market each and every day. We've got warehouses, four or five warehouses located throughout the state. So really, geographically, we are covering the entire state. And we've got a support system there to help our customers and also our homeowners. So our dealer partners and our homeowners that when they do have a warranty issue or if they have a situation where they're really not sure what's going on, we have the team that can go out and help investigate. We're spending a lot of time on training, so not only training our internal technicians, but we're doing dealer trainings where we're bringing them into the warehouse in Venice where we've got all the different product lines set up and we have, like, break it, fix it type trainings going on and just showing our customers that when they do have things in the field, some ways they can troubleshoot, fix things the first time. That way they're getting paid and they can move on and ultimately also give their homeowner a better experience. So I think we're really well positioned for the We Are Florida campaign because we have this whole network of team members that are there to support our dealers.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: And so one last question, just to tie it all up, and we've not talked a lot about this on the podcast, but there's about 20ish statements of the MITRE DNA. Which one is your favorite?
[00:06:22] Speaker A: Yeah, so I've got two. And I think the first one really hits home with the service and warranty services group and is that we are caring and thoughtful because everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
So my world, let's face it, when we get involved, most times it's not a great situation. Someone's more than likely annoyed or frustrated. And it's really our team's responsibility to turn that uncomfortable situation into a positive experience. So going into each and every one of those situations with that thought behind them, that ultimately these are consumers that purchased our product and we're hoping to get one thing out of it. So making sure that they are being treated well and the way you'd want to be treated and to get Whatever issue is resolved. And then the final one, this is just, I think my favorite one, MITRE Wide, is that we believe the worst decision is making no decision at all.
And I think that is one of the most important DNA characteristics that we have at mitre. And so many times you see people there waiting for direction or trying to figure out what the heck to do.
They know what the right answer it is. They just gotta make the decision and go for it. And 95% of the time, decision you're making, as long as it's done with the right facts and information, is gonna be the right one.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Right.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: So I think the people that really excel at MITRE and why we've been able to grow so much is there's a lot of people that are willing to make that decision.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: And even if it's the wrong one, learn from it and move on.
[00:07:47] Speaker B: Right. Well, and to have that empowerment to go ahead and do what's right. I know Brock Snyder talked about that. He was the very first person from the MITRE executive team that I interview on the podcast last year. And when he told me that, I was just like, whoa.
[00:08:01] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, empowering people, you know, as a leader, that's one of the, I think, coolest things we can do. Because ultimately, like I said, they're the ones doing the work day in, day out, sir. They have a way better idea of what the right answer is than maybe I would from 30,000ft.
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: All right, well, Josh, I'm going to let you go so you can get back to the party.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: Yeah. Enjoy the night. Have you been into one of these before?
[00:08:22] Speaker B: No, this is my first. So let's talk about that just real quick. So we're at the MITRE foundation annual golf tournament and party fundraiser.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Sure, yeah. Yeah. And so this is probably my 12th one of these to see it. From, you know, maybe 100 people in attendance to now, it's a two day event where we have vendors and customers and I mean, last year raising millions of dollars at this event. It's pretty amazing to watch. And you can't help but you probably get a little bit emotional tonight because we'll have some speakers and just. Yeah, these next two days are pretty awesome event.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm very excited to be here and excited we get to capture some of this energy on the podcast. I'll be out on a golf cart tomorrow out on the Lynx.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: You'll be watching me shank a bunch, I'm sure.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: So we won't record any of that. I promise. All right, Josh, thank you so much for your time.
[00:09:11] Speaker A: Yeah, thank you.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: Have a great night.
[00:09:12] Speaker A: You, too.
[00:09:12] Speaker B: All right, take care.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Bye.
[00:09:15] 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 wins brands united by our passion for quality and relentless pursuit of 100%. At Miter 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.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: Sam.
