Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 275: From Corporate America to Construction: Brian Evans' Journey with Qualis Roofing

• Sophia Yvette

Share episode

What makes Brian Evans with Qualis Roofing & Construction a good neighbor?

Quality isn't just a word in their company name—it's the foundation of everything Qualis Roofing & Construction does. What happens when three corporate professionals with decades of experience at companies like Microsoft and Workday decide to transform the roofing industry? Brian Evans shares the remarkable story of how he and his partners built a standout company in a market flooded with over 4,800 competitors.

From their offices across North Texas—including Plano, Aledo, Keller, Dallas, Arlington, and North Austin—Qualis has established a reputation for exceptional service by implementing business practices rarely seen in the construction industry. Evans explains their "10 out of 10" philosophy—a commitment to perfect customer satisfaction scores that drives every decision they make. This includes assigning dedicated customer success managers and project managers to every installation, following up religiously with homeowners before, during, and after projects, and occasionally making extraordinary gestures—like replacing an entire $8,000 roof simply because a customer's spouse disliked the color.

The conversation reveals how Qualis has grown to 85 employees in just five years by focusing on residential and commercial roofing needs throughout the metroplex. Evans, whose background includes international business experience and a passion for marathon running and triathlons, brings a refreshing perspective to an industry often plagued by poor workmanship and communication problems. His story demonstrates how applying corporate business principles to traditional trades can elevate the entire customer experience.

Whether you're a homeowner contemplating a roof replacement or a business owner looking for inspiration on standing out in a crowded market, this episode offers valuable insights into the power of exceptional service.

To learn more about Qualis Roofing & Construction, go to:
 qualisgc.com

Qualis Roofing & Construction
(817) 500-9008

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a residential and commercial roofing company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, brian Evans, with Qualys Roofing and Construction. Brian, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

Brian Evans, good Thanks. So much for having us on Appreciate it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you on and we are so excited to learn all about you and your business. Can you start off by telling our listeners a bit about your company?

Speaker 3:

Sure, yeah, we're based here in the Metroplex Dallas-Fort Worth office in Plano, aledo, keller, dallas, arlington and North Austin. So we've got about 85 employees across the North Texas area and, as you mentioned, we focus on residential roof replacements. We do some new construction on residential roof replacements. We do some new construction. We do a bit of commercial too, both re-roofs, flat roofs, shingled roofs, you name it.

Speaker 2:

So we kind of do it all my goodness. Quite a few locations.

Speaker 3:

And how in the world did you get started with this business? It's kind of funny. So there's three of us that own the company and we've actually brought on five more owners Some of the guys that were OGs, as we call it, some of the guys that started the company with us five years ago, but three of us came from kind of corporate America. I spent a decade at Microsoft, a decade at Workday, both here in the US and spent some time over in England as well with them when I came back to the States, the two other partners that I started it with.

Speaker 3:

You know, I think it was just like there's such a rush of roofing companies in north texas. There's a lot of really bad quality people just, you know, not ripping off, uh, the felts and and putting shingles on top of shingles. We just saw such a poor quality. We thought we could apply kind of a business aptitude to it, deliver 10 out of 10 service for clients and take a little bit different approach to the market. And it's been really successful for us and we've had a whole lot of fun doing it too.

Speaker 2:

Oh, awesome. Now, with all the experience you have in your industry, what is the most common myth or misconception you come across is the most common myth or misconception you come across.

Speaker 3:

Well, you know what the misconception? That's a great question, you know. I think you know like there's no licensing required for roofers and so that's why, like, I think there's like 4,800 roofing companies registered to do business in the Dallas, fort Worth area and so like. As such, I think there's like a perception that it's a commoditized resource that anybody can put a roof on, and the reality is a lot of companies are great and they will do a great job. We have a lot of great competitors that do it, you know, trustworthy and they're honest companies, but there's a lot of cut rate bad companies that will take the upfront money or they'll just, you know, they'll take regular fare but they'll just do a pretty poor job of it. And so we have a 10 out of 10. We have a customer success manager. Kind of going back to the tech world, we put a customer success manager in charge, we have a project manager in charge, and so we just put these overlays for no additional cost to our customers. It actually costs the company money. But you know, the focus for us is doing really, really high quality work and getting a 10 out of 10 on every survey that we send out. So we follow up with every customer before, during and after the install and we want a 10 out of 10. And if we're not at a 10 out of 10, we're going to, we're going to make it right, get it at 10 out of 10. So that's that's our big goal, and there's not a lot of companies that will do that.

Speaker 3:

So, brian, getting into who your customers are a little bit more who are they and how do you attract them? Sure, we do a fair amount of advertising, and so we advertise on some podcasts. We invested and worked really hard on the Google front. As a lot of small businesses know, google can be the lifeblood or the detriment for your company, and so we ask our customers, all customers. For us that's incredibly helpful. That helps move us up the ranks. And then networking we work with insurance adjustments, realtors and have built professional relationships that way to networking groups, and so we have about 40 sales folks, or project managers, as we call them in the North Texas area. Everyone kind of specializes in something a little bit different or unique to kind of build up his or her respective business, and then the company provides a fair amount of homeowners that have reached out to us that need our help. So we partner up with a project manager, do the inspection and give sound advice on what the next step is to proceed.

Speaker 2:

Now, have you ever thought of having your own podcast?

Speaker 3:

I've done my own podcast for a couple of years. As I mentioned, I've spent 25 years in the technology industry and so I did the TechSale show for two years. We don't do that anymore. I do a little bit of consulting in the tech industry now, but our main focus when I wake up in the morning is Qualys and growing our customer base here and keeping a really happy team. So that's my focus these days.

Speaker 2:

Now, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3:

Well, the way the three partners got together, the way we founded this, is we were all triathlon marathon folks and so we would compete across the US, and when I was in England I would compete over there. So, racing bikes, doing triathlons, running marathons, we've run them all over the country and internationally too. And so the three of us, we were younger back then and so we did a lot more of it. Now it's just more to stay healthy. But yeah, that's a big part of what I do, and I've got two kids in college. Now we're empty nesters starting August, so wife and I have a little bit more free time to enjoy dining out and traveling together.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's very sweet. Now, Brian, what is one thing you would like our listeners to remember about Qualys Roofing and Construction?

Speaker 3:

You know, like I said, there's 4,800 companies out here. The listeners to this may have a great roofing company they trust and if you trust somebody you should always stick with them. So we're not here to get in the way of that. Stick with them. So we're not here to we're not here to get in the way of that. But with the focus on quality, like we have coming from the industries that we have building, the infrastructure that we have as a company is second to none. And I'll give you an example.

Speaker 3:

There was a customer this was probably two months ago, matt Trammell's customer. They selected the shingle color you know. So we bring by samples for them to decide what they want to re-roof it with. They picked one. We put it on.

Speaker 3:

His spouse came home and she hated the color of the roof and he called us back and he was like I don't know what we need to do here. I don't know what it costs to put a new roof on, but she's not happy and we're in the business of making people happy. Obviously we can't do it every single time. That would be costly. But it was about eight grand out of pocket for us and we were happy to do it. And within two weeks we had a brand new roof on on the color that he wanted. We give him a bunch of addresses for him to go take a look in person, but it's just him and I will focus on customer satisfaction, great communication, great delivery, great communication, great delivery, and so that's our big focus as a company is really taking care of our homeowners, and where can our listeners go to learn more about Qualys Roofing and Construction?

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much. You can search for us on Google. Just search Qualys, we'll be the first one to pop up. If you're local, our website is QualysGC and that's Q-U-A-L-I-S-G-C as in general contractors qualisgccom. If they want to reach out to me directly, it's just brian at qualisgccom. That's B-R-I-A-N at qualisgccom.

Speaker 2:

Well, Brian, I really appreciate you being on this show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much. Thanks for having us on. I appreciate it very much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPFriscocom. That's GNPFriscocom, or call 469-221-9345.