Sometimes all it takes to build trust in a business relationship is to answer the phone.
These days, getting someone to answer the phone can be hard to do. However, it is this simple act that keeps the relationship strong between Salt Lake City- based Wasatch Commercial Builders and Geneva Rock.
Sure, anyone will answer the phone during regular business hours when the project is going smoothly. It’s when an urgent problem arises at an inconvenient time that “ignore” gets easier to press.
Geneva Rock answers. “When I’m working with Geneva Rock and something comes up, I know I can make a call to Gordon (Brady) and he will answer and find a solution,” says Scott Overman, president and CEO of Wasatch Commercial Builders. “He will answer whether it’s Monday morning, Friday afternoon or Saturday.”
For example, during work on the 400 West apartment complex in downtown Salt Lake City, fewer Geneva Rock trucks arrived than Scott was expecting. He made a call to Gordon and quickly the familiar sight of blue and yellow was surrounding the construction and providing the needed concrete.
“That’s rare,” Scott says. “You can’t do that with other suppliers.”
MUTUALLY SHARED SUCCESS
In return, Geneva Rock gets to work with professionals from Wasatch Commercial Builders that treat them fairly and understand the needs of subcontractors and suppliers.
They each have a commitment to mutually shared success. It’s at the heart of any healthy business partnership. If the relationship isn’t “win-win” then it can only be temporary. It’s when both parties are successful that a long-term relationship of trust and appreciation can form.
That’s the type of relationship shared between Geneva Rock and Wasatch Commercial Builders.
“We have a shared respect for each other,” Gordon, a senior concrete sales representative for Geneva Rock, says. “We’ve worked closely together for the last six or seven years. We make a really good team.”
EXPANDING DOWNTOWN
While the two companies have worked together on numerous projects — including the Real Salt Lake Academy in Herriman, Utah — it was a recent collaboration on 400 West in Salt Lake City that is drawing attention.
The massive, 493-unit apartment complex, built by Wasatch Commercial Builders for developer Salt Development, is a luxury housing option that expands the reach of “downtown” Salt Lake City and offers high-end residents the best amenities and convenience.
The building was a Texas wrap with residential buildings on the outside and an above-ground parking structure in the middle. The functional style offers complicated construction issues, with concrete pours for the parking structure performed just feet from framed construction.
“We needed the concrete to perform the way it was supposed to,” Scott says. “Geneva’s products are consistent. That makes all the difference.”
Throw in Geneva’s high-volume capacity and the partnership grew even more.
PART OF THE FAMILY
The Wasatch-Geneva partnership is strengthened by the work done with other Clyde Company businesses.
“For us, this was a two-year project,” Gordon says. “Between Sunroc, Sunroc Building Materials and Geneva Rock, Wasatch worked with Clyde from beginning to end.”
Using the family of companies gives Scott and his team consistent results he can count on.
“You get the same thing with all of the Clyde Companies,” Scott says. “They are a valuable partner for us because of the range of platforms they service and they coincide with what we need.”
Both companies find value in a verbal promise and a handshake.
“Wasatch understands that our word is our bond,” Gordon says. “There have been situations where things fall through the cracks and we stay true to what we said we would do.”
Scott’s company shares the same ideology.
“That’s a place where our companies align,” he says. “It comes down to the fact that, if we commit to do something, we will get it done.”
And the companies will continue to answer each others phone calls until the job gets done.