It's a small world after all.....

Somehow this article made it's way to my computer last week. Wow, it's not often that I find an organization that embodies my own beliefs so completely.

I try to buy from the locally owned hardware store instead of Lowe's.
I try to patronize the locally owned restaurant instead of Applebee's.
I try to avoid Walmart at all times, but it gets harder all the time.

So I grabbed my wallet, pulled out my credit card and joined up with these folks that very day. I believe in putting my money where my heart is. If you too believe in this philosophy I would suggest giving them your support.

Buy Local Buy Rogue

Roy

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With 2009 coming to an end (and what a year it was) I come to you with wishes of health, happiness and prosperity for the new year.

All of us at Superior Windows & Doors are optimistic about 2010 and are working towards making it our best year ever.

Roy

What a month it's been...wait it's been 2 months.

I was looking back and noticed my last blog post was back on August 5th. We had just taken our employees out on the Hellgate Jet Boats. That was a great day.

Then, after a couple of frustrating months trying to find a location for our new Medford showroom and warehouse, there it was. I had expected it to be on a "main drag" and had been focusing my attention on that premise. On a side street a little further north than I had planned....there it was...and it was perfect.

An empty shell that could be completed how I wanted it and right across the street from a simpatico company selling kitchen and bath supplies. Both of us were excited to have access to each others customers.

Swoosh! It was a whirlwind of activity. Negotiations, construction, signage, phones, packing, notifications, address changes, moving......... and all the while trying to continue to do business as usual.

So it's Saturday morning, I'm having a cup of coffee and reading the news (online), and thinking about the past and the future and feeling awfully good. Fall is here with the leaves changing color. It's going to be a perfect 70 degrees and I am getting ready to go to the Medford office to put on my accounting hat....then off to the Ashland office to meet a client.

To some this may seem like a chore (going to work on a Saturday) and my life may appear to be filled with stress. Nothing could be further from the truth. I look outside and see the sun coming up in beautiful Southern Oregon and I think, "How lucky are we to be here?"

It's a great day indeed, and I hope you are feeling as content as me.

We have great employees!

To show our appreciation for the hard work and enthusiasm our employees show to you, our valued customers, we decided to take them and their significant others on the Hellgate Jet Boat Dinner Trip. A good time was had by all.

From the bottom:
Second Row - Far Right - Brian Clayton (Shipping & Receiving)
Third Row - Far Right - Jacob "JR" Fansler (Sales)
Fourth Row - Far Right - Roy & Karen Cooper (Owners)
Fourth Row - Center - Jason Chipera (Sales)

The GOOD NEWS Blog

These days it seems that everywhere you turn the news is bad.
More foreclosures and more layoffs.
Bad news sells newspapers and brings in TV advertising dollars.

Being optimistic sells homes and remodeling jobs, so.....

This blog will concentrate only on GOOD NEWS!

Optimism is something that sells nowadays

Consumer confidence is UP

Jackson County homes sales UP again

Talk about good news:

Our lease in Ashland expired and provided us with a grand opportunity to put ourselves in a more convenient location for you.

On September 1st we will move our Ashland Showroom to 300 E. Hersey Street.

Even better news is that at the same time we will also open our new Medford Showroom/Warehouse at 1121 Helicopter Way - right across the street from Ferguson's (kitchen, bath & lighting center).

It's the SERVICE, stupid.

Our mothers told us if we have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Well, in general that works, but sometimes we need to talk about those "not so nice" things in order to share lessons.

The economy being what it is it takes more than wishing and hoping to stay in business. It takes a lot of hard work to continue to offer the highest level of service when your profits are off. Those businesses that were not built on service to begin with will, obviously, be some of the first to go.

There are many reasons that businesses fail, but only a handful of reasons that they survive in bad times like these. The three most important reasons are Service Service Service.

During the past few months we have lost some competitors in the Rogue Valley. Keith Brown and Lumberman's in the lumber trade. The Pella Store is gone. WoodView is gone. And now I just heard that Philips Windows has shut down their NW manufacturing facility.

We really appreciate our customers and we look forward to working with you next year, and the year after.

Oregon Contractors - Scammers are Targeting you!

The Oregon Remodelers Association recently contacted our local Home Builders Association of Jackson County to let them know there are scammers afoot, contacting Oregon Contractors with the following:

"We have received information from the CCB and the Oregon Dept. of Justice regarding a possible scam directed at contractors in which a caller represents to Oregon contractors and firms that those firms have been pre-qualified to receive federal stimulus moneys if the firms will fork over to the caller a significant sum of money. The caller even represents that the target contractor is eligible to receive a specified amount of the federal money - in one instance, $135,000 was promised. According to the information, the solicitor may call itself Corporate Capital Team Inc., ostensibly out of Henderson, Nevada. Its telephone number may be (888) 216-9445, ext. 262 and someone named "Duane" responds to the calls. If you receive any such calls or know of others who have, please report that information promptly to the ORA office. You will also find a link on the CCB website under Current Topics that takes you to Oregon's Stimulus & Reinvestment Info. This resource will assist you with information related to stimulus package funding, and help you determine if a program or caller is legitimate or not."

So, Oregon Contractors and fellow Active Rainers who know Oregon Contractors that may be targeted like this, please get the word out there and prevent these alleged scammers from taking advantage of anyone else.