Helitech Waterproofing & Foundation Repair received the 2016 TORCH Award from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois at noon Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis. For photos from the event, visit our Facebook page.
From its beginning as a supplementary endeavor for Jason Courtney’s father and original partner, Helitech’s vision was to be a family-minded, faith-based company. Courtney, who began as a laborer for the mudjacking division in high school, is president of the almost 30-year-old company which now serves residential customers in four Midwestern states with four offices, including its headquarters in Caseyville, Ill.
“We want the customer experience to be amazing,” Courtney said. “Our goal is to respond and meet with a client within two days, then stay in touch throughout a project.” Courtney says it has developed systems that outline every touchpoint in each customer’s project to ensure their expectations are exceeded.
Businesses are evaluated for their commitment to customer service through exceptional standards for ethical business practices. The awards committee, made up of previous winners, looks at how the company benefits customers, employees and the larger community. They also must meet BBB ethical, advertising and selling standards.
About Helitech
Jason Courtney started mudjacking in high school, when his dad and a partner began a concrete leveling business as a part-time endeavor in 1987. He went to college with plans to become a doctor. After finishing college, his father asked him to work for the family business for a year before going to medical school and he’s never looked back.
Alongside a business partner, the Courtneys launched Helitech Waterproofing & Foundation Repair as a full-time business in 1992. They later bought out their partner and in the mid-1990s, expanded into commercial work and civil construction.
Helitech now has 169 employees in four offices offering both residential and civil construction work. The residential division serves customers in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky. The civil division serves the midwest, as well as southeast and mid-Atlantic states.
Several employees have been with Helitech 20 years or more, and the average tenure is eight to 10 years. “Our vision was to base this on faith and family,” Courtney said. “We treat employees like family and are involved in their personal lives. It’s been an amazing journey.”
Helitech has developed a customer relations management software to track and ensure communication with the client from the initial phone call, all of the way to the customer satisfaction survey at the completion of every project. This process was developed with the idea of taking our customer service experience from good to great, for every customer.
“We want everything to be as instantaneous and as accurate as possible,” said Courtney. “We want the customer’s experience with Helitech to be easy and painless.”
Courtney says the company takes care of each client as if they were their only client, with the percentage of call-backs for customer service matters at less than 3 percent.
“If you call and you have an issue, we can respond with same-day service,” he said. “We pride ourselves on using technology to get to people as fast as we can. We want every customer service issue handled right away.”
Each project is assigned a dedicated crew, foreman and superintendent to increase customer confidence as the project proceeds. When the work is completed, a supervisor walks through the project with the customer to explain the installation, answer questions and to make sure the company is meeting the customer’s expectations. After the completion of every project, each customer then receives a survey to rate the team’s performance.
Helitech has implemented a severe weather action team in order to be prepared for any storms that threaten to flood homes in their service areas. The team makes sure that all hands are available to respond when the phones start ringing.
Courtney said the company and its owners have Christian values; although you don’t have to be Christian to work there, the company does want their employees to believe and practice integrity and honesty.
“You’re going to see our values in me and other people around the company,” he said. “We do whatever we need to do to make the customer experience not just good, but great.”
Several Helitech employees have participated in mission trips to Haiti, and the company is very active in the community through donations and sponsorships for numerous local organizations.
Submission Essay
It’s been said that happy people work harder. If an employee feels the job they are doing matters and is acknowledged for it, they will work harder to be successful in their role. The owners of Helitech take pride in being a God-focused, family-friendly company that cares for each and every employee. As we strive to improve from good to great, it is with this focus on treating employees well that correlates to a top-notch customer experience.
Helitech has been the leader in waterproofing and foundation repair for nearly 30 years. From the initial phone call to the final walk through, providing the ultimate customer experience and getting the job done right is our top priority.
Our team members are continually communicating with the customer throughout the entire process. We have systems to introduce the estimator before the initial inspection, followed by surveys and bios to give the customer confidence that their satisfaction is our priority. After the project has been completed, we ask each customer to complete a survey in order to continually grow.
Our dedicated customer service team is readily available to respond to any situation that may arise. Our Safety and Quality Control Manager has weekly site visits and extensive follow-up reporting to elevate accountability.
All of our projects are assigned a dedicated crew, foreman, and superintendent. This level of leadership resonates with the customer by giving them familiarity and confidence while we work to heal their greatest asset: their home. Each project begins and ends with a thorough and complete customer walk through to explain the installation process, address any questions, and ensure we meet their expectations.
At Helitech, we are small enough to care, but large enough to serve. This is what makes Helitech an excellent recipient for the 2016 BBB Torch Award.
Mission Statement
At Helitech, we provide great services and solutions for our customers, while continuing to be a God-focused, family-friendly company that cares for each and every employee. Helitech strives to serve its employees and their families by establishing a great work environment and company policies to build character, strengthen people, and promote family.
Our friendly, knowledgeable, and professional staff comprised of project specialists, customer service, and safety representatives help educate, problem-solve, and alleviate stress for our customers. Our vision is to be the recognized and trusted leader of the basement waterproofing and foundation repair industry. Being an industry leader means we will achieve customer service excellence, exceed safety requirements, and utilize guaranteed, American-made products alongside superior installation practices.
Awards & Employee Recognition
Helitech has worked hard to achieve both national and local recognition, including the National Home Builder’s Association Remodeler of the Month, continuous Southwestern Illinois Home Builder’s Association Remodeler of Distinction Awards for both Structural and Waterproofing Renovation, and the 2006 Better Business Bureau Torch Award.
Helitech takes great pride in rewarding employees at every opportunity. Throughout the year, we hold various team building events and giveaways within individual departments to show the importance of our greatest asset as a company: our team members behind the Helitech brand.
We know it is our people who make the ultimate difference in our customers’ experience, so we strive to show them ongoing appreciation through various sporting event giveaways, Family Day at the Zoo, dinner parties, and other appreciation events.
One of our favorite times to celebrate the success as a company is when we all gather for our annual Christmas Party. We recognize and award numerous team members from our Foreman and Crew members, to our Sales and Office Staff. Some of the awards presented include Foreman, Installer, Sales Person, and Office Employee of the year, as well as the President’s Award.