As I first started in home improvement I was always reminded, "The customer comes first." Although I believed this "customer first" mentality, I rarely saw it in action. Most companies offered one product to the consumer and told EVERY consumer, "This is exactly what you're looking for!" I refused to understand how one single product could be perfect for everyone. Over the past 25 years, I've seen company after company go out of business doing the same thing.

Years back, to my fortune, I was drawn to one of the top 10 rated home improvement companies in the nation. With nothing to lose, I asked to meet the owner and to my surprise, he was kind enough to open his doors. My mission was to learn what he did differently. Quickly I learned the obvious. Rather than offering the consumer one product. His intention is to meet the different needs and budget of each prospective customer. Clearly, he believes that his success is driven by the referrals his company receives by offering the customer a variety of products and allowing them to select what is best suited for them.

Finally, someone is of the same belief as I. Over the past few years we've continued to talk and we decided to partner our beliefs with more than 30 years of experience into a new venture, Gutter Grate of America. "Why Gutter Protection?" you ask, because this is the one area that we found the largest number of consumers with the least amount of quality products to choose from.

In keeping with our philosophy of "customer first," we are pleased to own and operate a business that is driven by "Offer the customer what they want." Stay tuned; I too look forward to seeing our company as one of the "Top Ten".

Michael A. Pence,
Gutter Grate of America President