Selecting the “Perfect” Slab – Part I

I would tend to think that God (or the Great Spirit or Supreme Being or Mother Nature, if you prefer) has a sense of humor to let us mortal fabricators think, every now and then, that we may be closing in on one … and then there’s a fissure or an inclusion in an otherwise “perfect” slab.
The cruel irony in this question is that there may never be the “perfect” slab, since stone has those inherent characteristics that make each slab a unique piece of natural art. And, it’s our job to get consumers to understand that perfection is unattainable; then, when we get really close, the customer’s expectations are pleasantly exceeded – and we’re the heroes.
So, if perfection isn’t possible, what’s the next best thing? How can fabricators educate our customers? How can we protect ourselves from our customers making ill-informed decisions on a slab that they’ll live with for years?
As a fellow stone professional, Maurizio Bertolli always ends his letters and e-mails with a very prolific slogan – Education Before Any Sale. It’s refreshing to see such a simple and yet powerful statement made as a reminder to keep our priorities straight; I totally agree with Maurizio’s slogan, and would highlight this as the cornerstone of building a relationship with a prospective customer.
When I make a potential customer aware of any known characteristics of a stone that may be a cause for concern on the customer’s part, I want to raise the issue before any money changes hands. Most of us fabricators call this first phase a qualification.
Here’s a prime example: Let’s say you have a client that’s still looking at different stones, but is “leaning” towards Absolute Black granite. But … Absolute Black is not for everybody.
Now, at this point, I should stress that Absolute Black is a wonderful stone, and when used in the right situation, Absolute Black makes a stunning architectural statement. I have nothing against the stone, and I even have some of it in my own home. I’m sure that most fellow fabricators (and many suppliers, too) will have both praises and nightmares that contribute to the theme of, “why a customer should look at alternatives to Absolute Black.”
I always try to qualify the customer to see if whatever stone they are contemplating will be a good and practical fit for them. In the Absolute Black scenario, I typically ask customers if they’re “neat freaks” and/or do a lot of cleaning. The reason for this question (as I have found out first-hand) is that Absolute Black shows every speck of dust, every fingerprint from the kids, and every drop of water, soda, beer, milk from the Cocoa Puffs® and whatever else lands on the surface.
Additionally, I’ve found that some varieties of Absolute Black Granite will actually etch, or are prone to discoloration, when exposed to acidic solutions such as lemon juice, orange juice, vinegar, etc. When I first heard about this, I couldn’t believe it, so I tried it myself; sure enough, I found that the lemon juice and the vinegar left a light-colored “chalky” looking spot where the solution had been for about an hour.
I usually compare Absolute Black to a very sexy black Corvette – it’s a thing of beauty, but it’s really high maintenance. The bottom line to this is, as I always say, to make sure that your customer is totally aware of what they are getting into before they get it (the stone & the finished work, that is). Or, to cite Maurizio again, Education Before Any Sale.
The education and the qualification doesn’t end with the cleanliness line of questioning. I feel that we in the natural-stone industry have an obligation to make sure that we keep our customers as highly informed as humanly possible. This obligation starts with qualifying, and then carries over into the actual selection-and-approval process of finding that “perfect” – or, in most cases, a near-perfect – slab.
I would categorize three different basic scenarios that occur when a customer moves to the selection-and-approval stage. In all three, you want to maintain control of the process as a fabricator, and prevent outside influences from becoming a distraction or (even worse) becoming an objection in your customer’s mind that you’ll have to deal with.
Scenario One: The Proactive Customer. The client has watched every TV show on every channel that details natural stone, and knows everything about your chosen profession (even though, by day, he or she is an accountant or a butcher, baker, candlestick maker or … is it just me, but are engineers the worst at this or what?).
You’ll do more defending and re-educating than on any other customer type. This customer usually goes to every slab supplier in your area, and puts a plethora of slabs on hold (if they can). And, he or she selects slabs that are too small for their particular application – all before they talk to you, the real expert. This type of disaster-in-the-making can usually be averted, but it takes plenty of work.
Scenario Two: You send your customer to a slab supplier. You, as a fabricator, have a partnership of sorts with one or more sources of stone for your projects; this is a very attractive situation that the majority of fabricators in North America enjoy on an everyday basis.
You send your customers to the supplier and trust that they will be guided by the staff of the supplier; and, in most cases, they are. But you will have occasion to accompany your customer to the supplier to assist your client in their search for the “perfect” slab.
The advantage of the assisted field trip is that you maintain control of your customer’s attention while they’re at the supplier’s facility. Your very presence with them will demonstrate to your customers that you are interested in them making a wise choice, and the personal touch really is a great measure – especially, if you have the time to do it.
It will also demonstrate to any rogue competitors trolling for new customers by hanging around a supplier’s warehouse, that your customers are off limits.
Other great advantages are that you will get to see first- hand how well (or unfortunately, in some rare cases, how poorly) your customers are treated. And, you’ll be able to see just how much knowledge the sales staff of your favorite supplier will actually have about the slabs they’re selling.
The advantages of accompanying your customer clearly outweigh the disadvantages. The biggest negative, though, is the time element. You can only physically be in one place at a time; at some point in growing your business, time management will become a critical element in your daily routine. The ability to send your customers to your favorite suppliers, and trust that your customers will be taken care of in a professional and courteous manner, will have value to your overall operation.
Another time element is the delay in getting the slabs from the supplier to your facility. If your supplier delivers slabs to you, this may or may not be an issue. Some suppliers offer same-day delivery, while others have a route system that they adhere to – meaning that, unless you can pick up the slabs yourself, you may have some time to kill before you get the slabs at your shop and can actually start fabricating your customer’s kitchen.
Scenario Three: You are the supplier of the slabs. You purchase in large quantity and stock any number of popular colors of natural stone, and your customers come to your facility for the entire select-and-approve process. You have 2cm and/or 3cm slabs available for immediate use on any kind of project.
This is probably the best situation for keeping control of the customer, and preventing them from wandering over to a competing fabricator. Additionally, you can utilize a net concept of pricing a job – you only charge the customer for the stone that’s actually used for the job, not the entire slab. This entails a pretty accurate inventory system, and requires a constant monitoring of on-hand supply.
The downside to being the supplier is the cash outlay. You’ll tie up a lot of money in inventory that hopefully will turn over quickly. This will be directly influenced by your ability to bring in colors that are desirable to your customers, and not based on what the rep from the quarry happens to be pushing the week you place your order.
You’ll also need a considerably large infrastructure to offload containers, as well as handling, organizing and cataloging all of the slabs that you’ve bought. This requires heavy lifting cranes and lots of floor space to effectively house your goods, not to mention your fabricating and finished job storage areas.
Being the supplier as well as the fabricator, in my opinion, is where this business is headed, especially if you’re looking to do a large volume of business and compete with the big-box home-improvement centers. If you have aspirations of being in this league sometime in the future, it’s never too early to start saving up your cash and stay current on your payables. Most large-dollar purchases are based on letters of credit (the sought-after “LCs”) so keep your company’s credit record clean or win the lottery – it’s up to you.
Next month, we’ll talk about techniques of selecting a good slab, and ways of covering your … ah … well, the best CYA in making sure your customer knows exactly what they’re getting (or not getting) when it comes to natural stone.
Until next month …Happy Fabricating!
Kevin M. Padden operates KM Padden Consulting in Phoenix.

This article first appeared in the January 2005 print edition of Stone Business. ©2005 Western Business Media Inc.