Why we switched from Ram Jack to Foundation Supportworks

Many people have asked me why after 15 years of operating under the name Arizona Ram Jack would I switch to a new brand and abandon my old name. In contemplating this, many people; including my own board members, warned me against losing all of the goodwill that I’ve built up under that name. I knew that once I switched suppliers from Ram Jack to foundation Supportworks that Ram Jack would no longer let me use that name in conjunction with my business.

 In fact this was a very difficult decision that was made easier once we understood the support that was at our disposal with Foundation Supportworks. The materials that are provided for us to install are very similar and comparable. The big difference was in the amount of support that is offered. It’s hard to probably summarize all of the support but I’ll do my best:

Marketing: this is probably foundation supportworks greatest strength but certainly not their only strength. They offer complete website building and SEO that is light years ahead of anything like it. In addition they offer marketing classes and training for marketing coordinators. They have a patent pending website called My Lead Tracking that partners with media to reduce the risk of advertising and make it easier for us to partner with the media in our buys. There is a whole binder 3 inches thick with instructions for the marketing coordinator to follow including numerous videos and training webinars offered on almost a monthly basis.

Production: again they offer complete training not only in how to install the products, but also on how to interact with homeowners and organize the production yard and production trucks and software programs designed to track tools and once again a 4 inch thick binder and videos and regular webinars and in person training on a regular basis. Also programs to help with inventory management, and ordering are also offered with assistance in training to use.

Call center: again complete training binders, webinars, in person training, to maximize customers experience when they interact in calling our office.

Sales: another great one for foundation supportworks. Again manuals, webinars, in person trainings on almost in every other month basis. Software with animated graphics for salespeople to use in presenting to homeowners including on-the-fly engineering analysis software.

Office management, accounting, sales management: again manuals, webinars, in person training, and many other resources for all of these functions.

Engineering Support: they provide a complete engineering team with 6 engineers both structural and Geotechnical with software.

In addition we have access to a program called Biz Wiz. This is a CRM program on steroids. It tracks every position in the company and their key production indicators giving us an up-to-the-minute report on how each person is doing in their job. This program also schedules every activity of the company from the first call in all the way through to the last person to interact the customer and builds documents for each customer in the cloud they can be accessed by phone or computer by anyone in the company.  It helps give 1^st class support to every customer.

Each year an annual convention is held in Connecticut. This is a truly amazing event with thousands attending with learning opportunities and new programs rolled out every time. It is an astounding event.

These are only some of the systems programs and training support that is provided to us as dealers. Given all of these advantages I would absolutely be nuts to not take advantage of them.

Rumor Has It

A number of people have come up to me in the last few months and have expressed surprise that I had sold my company.  Imagine my surprise…. I didn’t know either. For some reason people seem to forget that I’ve gone through a name change for my company and recently incorporated my business interests as Arizona Foundation Solutions. I suppose it is a testament to my branding efforts over the last 15 years that I have built up almost a cult following over the name of my former business Arizona Ram Jack, LLC.

Now Ram Jack has  brought in a new installer who has been running ads on the radio saying that they are Ram Jack of Arizona “under new ownership.” I can understand why people would think that it was me selling my company to someone else. In fact nothing further from the truth has happened.

It wouldn’t be so frustrating to me had I not spent many tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees arguing with Ram Jack’s attorneys on whether or not I can say on my website “formerly Arizona Ram Jack”. Because technically I incorporated as a new entity…..and so I was prevented from saying that particular easy to understand phrase. Instead I settled on the long and awkward phrase at the bottom of my webpage that basically says that although I have a new company with a new name, it’s the same ownership, the same installation employees, most of the same equipment, and the same facilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard from their attorneys after posting this blog. As if speaking the plain truth is against the American way.

The bottom line is if you want our classic analysis, integrity, service, and workmanship, then don’t be fooled into thinking with all the smoke and mirrors that any other company can offer this to you the way I have for all these years.

If the only tool they have is a hammer, then all their problems start looking like nails

You may have heard this saying from me before and wondered just exactly what I mean by it. Have you ever been to one of those chiropractors who claim they can fix just about any illness with chiropractic adjustment? How much do we really believe in that solution? Yes we can fix your rare genetic illness by cracking your back……

The same can hold true in the foundation diagnosis and repair environment. When a contractor is coming out to diagnose and offer solutions to your foundation problem, and only has one practical solution  to offer, how do you think they are going to interpret the problem? Let’s cram those square pegs into round holes!....... Does this really happen? I can tell you without hesitation I have seen it hundreds of times.

So how do you protect yourself from this issue? The first thing is to make sure that the analysis and interpretation is being done by someone who has no incentives to interpret it any particular way. A salesman on commission is not a good way to start. The second thing is to see whether or not there are any objective industry standards being used. A third good rule of thumb is to make sure it is reviewed by someone who is a licensed engineer. The last and most important factor is to make sure that the person doing the interpretation and analysis has all of the solutions to offer regardless of the problem encountered.

In my previous blog  “MoistureLevel smart foundation system for Expansive soils”, I unveiled the MoistureLevel smart foundation system. This is the only active system ever developed to remediate heave from expansive soils. I have spent 13 years developing this in conjunction with local geotechnical engineers and the academic community and have a patent pending with United States patent office. For the first time in history there is a practical, cost-effective solution to the heave problem and we are proud to present it.

Don’t be fooled into letting the Fox come guard your henhouse for free. Call Arizona Foundation Solutions for the only truly objective foundation analysis with solutions for both settlement and heave from expansive soils.