May Roofer of the Month - Matrix Roofing - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an live interview with Wendy Marvin, CEO and Founder of Matrix Roofing. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast. 

Megan Ellsworth:
Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth back with a Roofer of the month interview. Today I am interviewing our May Roofer of the month, Wendy Marvin owner, and CEO of Matrix Roofing. Hey Wendy.

Wendy Marvin:
Hey Megan. Thanks for having me.

Megan Ellsworth:
Oh my gosh. So glad to have you. So to start out, we're going to just have you, tell us a little bit about yourself and Matrix Roofing? How you guys got started? All that good stuff.

Wendy Marvin:
Oh, okay. Founded the company in 2007, just kind of on the principle of having some really bad contractor experiences and just thinking that we could do things differently. Opened in the middle of the recession, which was brilliant and stupid all at the same time. We survived, which is good. I just love our industry and I'm so happy that construction is such an amazing place to work and be. We've just kept going, I'm just thankful we founded on customer service and have had people continue to call even during the pandemic. Obviously now, construction is going crazy. I'm very thankful to be part of our industry, for sure.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's awesome. I did not know that you guys founded during the recession, that must've been an interesting experience.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. You're just dumb when you're new and thank goodness that we survived, because it was rough. We started the company because we were doing side jobs, and some other things, and just were like "We can make a business out of this." Funny story on that part is, my family are all very, you work for one company, they're very loyal, they retire from the right company. So, at the time that we founded the company with my ex and I, he was a state employee for Washington and had all these benefits, and I was a 20 year employee for Kaiser Hospitals. So when we made this decision to change, my family thought that we lost our mind. They were like "You are not being responsible parents, what are you thinking? You're walking away from all this." I don't know, we just kind of had that entrepreneurial spirit, and felt like we wanted to make a difference, and that we could be different. I'm thankful it all worked out. There's a lot of chance that goes into that. You don't get to take a lot of credit for succeeding in those early days.

Megan Ellsworth:
I like that. That's fabulous. What kind of services does Matrix provide? What's your specialty?

Wendy Marvin:
Well, roofing first and foremost, we primarily work in residential. We do small commercial, because as you grow, you get a base, and then somebody has a commercial building and they're like "we love you. Would you do this too?" But we really like the focus on residential. I love working with homeowners. I'm really passionate in that customer service vain, is just to kind of empower our customers to make really good decisions without baffling them with the BS that some contractors like to load onto them. It's just a really rewarding area to work. People get bids for roofs, and they don't know if it's supposed to cost them 5,000 or 15,000. You just try to empower them to make good decisions, and then help them understand the process, it's a hidden thing that we do. We really try to be transparent about what we're doing. Love that connection with the average homeowner, that's just not typically very educated about our process.

Megan Ellsworth:
For sure. So you would say that you mostly do residential, you said?

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. I want to say 70/30. I mean, it's the primary focus of our business.

Megan Ellsworth:
Okay, cool. Well, I'm excited for this next question because I know you're just going to have a fabulous answer. What is something that your company celebrates? Whether that's literally celebrating like employee's birthdays? Or celebrating something that you all really cherish in an employee? Like maybe they give back or just tell me, what do you guys cherish and celebrate over there at Matrix?

Wendy Marvin:
Definitely giving back in community. A lot of our people that are employed are on boards around the community. We love the community of our family inside the company, the diversity of it too we really like. We've got a lot of people that have diverse backgrounds and we like to find ways to try to celebrate their particular beliefs, just kind of that inclusiveness. We really love that part of it. The community is kind of the foundation of it.

Megan Ellsworth:
Love it, inclusiveness and community. That is perfect.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. Well, it's a big deal right now. There's such a shortage in workers right now. The days of somebody wanting to stick around with an employer that verbally abuses them or is rude or condescending, you just have to be something different. We've got roofers that have been with us, some of them for eight years, or more. I'm really proud of that. We're still losing people, just like everybody else. There's people that just are chasing the dollar. That's not typically our main focus, but it does make a difference to try to be a good company for somebody to work for.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yeah. It totally does make a difference. And I feel like, people in your area can tell that you guys strive to make that difference in your community. For sure.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. For sure. It's paid off for sure.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yay. So in like one to five words, how would you define superior customer service?

Wendy Marvin:
Listen to your customer.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yes. Perfect. That was four words!

Wendy Marvin:
There you go. I'm so proud of me. It's not about you, and I think that's where a lot of contractors get lost is, it's about me and what I can do for you and how it's going to work and how wonderful I am. It's not about you, it's about them and their home, and trying to find somebody that they trust in an industry that is typically very untrustworthy. I mean construction in general, not just roofing, people have horror stories. You talk to anybody, neighbors, friends and family. Everybody has a horror story about construction, it's just about earning their trust and having them care enough about you to work with you. That's a big deal.

Megan Ellsworth:
For sure. Yeah. As a homeowner, you don't want to hire someone, and just have them tell you how it's going to be. You want to have a say in what's going on top of your home.

Wendy Marvin:
Exactly. The other thing to say, Megan is just that don't discount the females in the relationship, because if you're thinking your going to talk to the man and have the man make the decisions, you're losing a big part of your market, because the ladies are a big part of this. People are becoming more educated, obviously Google is our biggest vain and our biggest boom in terms of education. People will ask intelligent questions, and we just try to find out in the sales process, and even the intake process, what's important to them. Sometimes it's just money, sometimes it's longevity, sometimes they're selling and they don't really care. They just want to get out as fast as they can. There's so many variables there, if you listen to what they're telling you, it gives you the clues on how to fill their needs.

Megan Ellsworth:
I couldn't have said it better. That was beautiful. Yes. So true. So, right. Well, this is my last question. Why should homeowners or building owners work with Matrix? What makes you guys different?

Wendy Marvin:
I just think we have that customer centric focus where I understand the difference in a realtor relationship if you're the buying realtor or you're the selling realtor, because we listened to our customers and we try not to price gouge. Roofing is crazy, I mentioned that five to 25,000 that could be for the same house. Typically the 5,000 is a new guy in the market that doesn't have a lot of overhead, and the 25,000 is someone that's making a $10,000 profit on a roof. We're somewhere in the middle. I want to have a community with our people that we've done roofs for. If I see you in the grocery store, I don't want to have to duck to another aisle. I just want to have a good relationship with you.
I've heard so many contractors over the years talk about how roofing is just a one-off, right? Like I'll never do another roof for you, because it's a 30 year product and who cares I'm going to get all the money I can. I'm trying to tell you, if you care and you show that, and you are different, I've done three and four roofs for customers when they mover, they refer, they buy rentals. It's about creating relationships and we're really interested in having a long-term relationship with our customers.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yes. That is what sets you apart. That's great. I lied, I have one more question. I just am wondering any last words on being Roofer of the month, what will you do with your title? This is world renowned.

Wendy Marvin:
You're so awesome. I'm so proud. The other roofers that you guys have named as Roofers of the month, Holy moly. I don't even deserve to be in the same room with that. It really means a lot coming from you guys, just in the fact of, what Roofers coffee shop gives to the industry. The fact of how many people you guys come in contact with, so thank you for the honor. We are definitely going to market the heck out of it and have a conversation about what it means, and how we met you, just engaging with our community on the roofing side. We're really thankful and appreciate the fact that you guys recognized our company.

Megan Ellsworth:
So glad. Well, you guys definitely deserve it and you specifically really deserve it. You show up and show out to everything that Roofer's coffee shop has to offer. We're so thankful for you as well. So thank you, Wendy. And congratulations on being Roofer of the month.

Wendy Marvin:
Thank you so much.

Megan Ellsworth:
All right, everyone. Thank you for listening. And I will chat with you all next month for June's Roofer of the month.