Joe Rudolph is the Project Manager/Sales for Chamberlain Backhoe Service. He started with the company right out of high school in 1988 after coming to the area from the East to attend guitar school. With plans of mastering the guitar, he found himself at CBS to make a little extra money.
His side hustle turned into a 9-year career, where he'd play with the machines, make sure everybody was on task, and enjoying making a profit off of jobs. Then, two years ago, Joe returned to CBS to take over the Contracts Division.
His Goal Is to Grow the Contracts Division
According to Joe, “As the project manager/sales, I make rounds to current clients and leads that we generate to try and get new clientele.” Besides assisting current and potential clients, he also helps the Contracts Division stand up on its own, which he ran with Tony Long, CFO, in the 1990s.
After Joe left, the Contracts Division fell to the way-side. But now that Joe is back, that’s his main focus.
The goal of the Contracts Division is to “build a book of business of clients that trust that we’re not only an hourly service. We’ve given them a set dollar number, so they don’t need to think about it. Just plug the numbers in.”
In the heavy equipment industry, it’s tough to find qualified employees. That’s why CBS and its services are critical. The crew at CBS can do all the soft cuts and digging before putting it back together. Clients don’t need to have all of their people on a job site to do these tasks.
What a Typical Day Looks Like
For Joe, every day looks different. “If working a job, I’ll go to the site and ensure everyone is on the same page and meeting goals for the day. We have certain benchmarks we have to meet.”
Before the job begins, Joe and Tony know the benchmarks because they’re in the initial bid. Part of this involves looking at the difficulty of the job. While many jobs are standard, others will require more time or tooling.
For example, CBS recently worked on a job at a high-rise building in Downtown LA. The client couldn’t find anyone to do job since it involved sinking massive tanks in the basement. To get the job done, CBS had to open up the main floor, dig a hole in the basement and sink the tanks. Unlike most other jobs, it required different skill sets and tools.
“We have to have a game plan before things start. There’s a lot of prep work before the job begins.” But there are a lot of perks to doing what he does. For one, he gets to work with Tony, which is one of the main reasons why he first started with CBS – and eventually what prompted his return. He also has plenty of flexibility to run the jobs the way that he wants them to go. He enjoys being in control of the project and seeing it through to completion.
Ensuring Client Satisfaction
Since Joe works closely with clients, part of his job is to ensure client satisfaction. Securing their satisfaction involves listening to feedback before the crew leaves the jobsite, and looking at how the jobsite was left.
“Is it clean? Do we need to address any issues?” The goal is to complete the job and make sure everyone is happy. But, even if an issue arises, Joe has a process. “First, I contact Tony and go over scenario with him. Then, I’ll address it out in the field with superintendent. Finally, if there is an issue with the job, or it is out of our scope of work, I follow up with an email to the project manager of the client.” If a project is out of scope, then this issue will need to be addressed before any work can proceed.
What Makes Joe, Joe
When asked what shaped him, Joe said, “My faith in Christ. My Christianity.” As a former business owner, he’s done many jobs, from being a banker to working in the mortgage industry and doing marketing. Even so, he loves working at CBS. There is nothing that he’d rather be doing – except driving across the United States on his motorcycle. He loves living in California and cruising around Newport and the Coast with the perfect California weather.
About CBS
CBS is a heavy equipment rental and turnkey company that services Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties. It has been in business since 1957 and has a reputation for being one of the most dependable and affordable equipment rental services. Contact us to learn more about our services.
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