Great American Roofing tops it off

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Ventura County Economic Development Association News, July 2002
Great American Roofing & Waterproofing, Inc. has been a member of VCEDA since January, 2000.

GAR Co., which provides commercial, custom and residential roofing services throughout Ventura County, is owned by Rod Menzel, who also manages the firm with his wife, Michelle. The company opened in 1999 and now has five full-time employees and 10 part-timers.

Both Menzels attended California State University, Northridge. Rod has a bachelor’s degree in real estate and finance, and Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Rod was previously a bank vice president with Washington Mutual and First Bank & Trust. Michelle has been in marketing positions for the past 10 years, most recently at Technicolor, and at Kinko’s corporate office prior to that.

With Rod’s father also working for the company as project manager, there’s no question that the company is family owned and operated.

GAR Co. prides itself on its high standards of quality and service. “There are so many contracting companies out there that ‘wing it’, Rod Menzel says. “They show up late, write the estimate on a business card and really aren’t professional. We do a lot behind the scenes to ensure our customers feel taken care of.”

For example, GAR Co. has a full-time administrator answering the phone from 8:30 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday so the customer can be assisted immediately and an appointment scheduled.

All employees out in the field wear a uniform – collared logo shirts or logo t-shirts. All proposals are professionally presented with a detailed, typed contract, references, manufacturer’s brochure and insurance certificates. These items are put into a presentation folder for the customer. “Looking and acting professional is key,” Menzel says.

Estimators and crew are instructed to arrive on-time to all appointments or to call if there is a delay. GAR’s two crews have more than 20 years of experience in the roofing business.

“Our consistency in providing top-quality workmanship on all of our roofs is evident and this allows us to build our referral business.” Menzel explains.

Menzel has spent much of his time setting up procedures in the company. With his business and finance background and experience in running a bank, he knows what it takes to run a successful company. Some of the systems Menzel has developed include a computerized estimator for job costing, setting up the database and finance software to track customers and financials on a regular basis, clearly defining job responsibilities for all employees and providing a fun atmosphere in which to work.

One of the projects of which he is most proud came last April when GAR Co. along with JB Wholesale, donated manpower and materials to tear off and re-roof the church office of Moorpark United Methodist Church.

Menzel believes in giving back to the community. A former football coach at Alemany High School in Mission Hills, Menzel received a scholarship to play college football and has always loved the game. So, beginning this fall he will start working at Moorpark High School‘s JV football coach, continuing to give back again what he learned and still loves of the game.