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Our (clarified) Mission:
At Urban Surfaces, we know that businesses are hurt by unreliable suppliers. We believe everyone deserves a trusted partner to depend on. That’s why we keep our promises so our customers can keep theirs.
As we enter our third decade in business, we have come to appreciate the immense privilege of being considered a trusted partner by many. We aim to not simply be an approved supplier or even a preferred vendor. Pride in our work is earned only when we have built enough trust to be considered strategic partners to those who have come to rely on us.
So, partner, here is why our stated mission is so meaningful to us.
Our mission centers us. It calls us forward. It is what we measure success and failure against. It is the benchmark by which we evaluate employees, job candidates and vendors. And, it is how we expect to be measured by you.
We Know Businesses Are Hurt By Unreliable Suppliers
We start here because it is important to come face to face with this hard truth. Suppliers can be flaky, seemingly unconcerned with the consequences of their unreliability. This is so common that the shock has worn off. We’ve all dealt with this frustration.
It is staggering to think through the full impact that unreliable suppliers have on companies, and all the people involved. When a flooring order falls through, or is delayed without notice, it triggers a chain reaction impacting the project manager, the general contractor, the sub-contractors, the residents, the investors, the property owner, as well as the families of all those involved.
As an industry, we have had a convenient excuse for the past few years in the global pandemic. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to recognize that this pattern existed long before that. It has gone on so long that businesses have resigned themselves to the pain of dealing with unreliable suppliers. What choice do they have?
At Urban Surfaces, we have made a deliberate choice. We refuse to become callous and indifferent to the pain caused when commitments are not kept. We refuse to prioritize our own advantages and opportunities above the relationships we have built with our customers. And we insist on the importance of genuine recognition about the cost of unfulfilled promises. We know that a solid reputation can become a soiled reputation if we become apathetic to the consequences of failing to plan for our customers’ needs adequately. We know businesses are hurt by unreliable suppliers.
We Believe Everyone Deserves A Trusted Partner To Depend On
Some people want to obtain success by themselves. Some desire an independent approach to life and business so that nobody else can take credit for what has been built. That may be a fine path for you, and we wish you the best on your journey. We see things differently and choose to walk a path of collaboration with shared goals, shared challenges, shared accomplishments, and shared victories. We go farther when we go together.
At the core of Urban Surfaces is this strong prevailing belief: Everyone deserves a trusted partner to depend on.
This is the reason why even the thought of being unreliable is so bothersome. We cannot stand by and allow businesses to be hurt by bad practices and broken trust. Partners don’t think like that.
That’s Why We Keep Our Promises
There is a dirty truth in the building materials industry. Suppliers will overcommit their inventory to maximize inventory turns without regard to who is serviced, similar to how airlines oversell their seat capacity to maximize their sales output. This results in broken promises and reflects poorly on the specifier, the contractor, and their customers. We refuse to be that kind of supplier.
As we onboard new customers, we are careful to ramp up their inventory needs in a responsible way so we don’t negatively impact existing business. That’s what partners do. We won’t rob Peter to pay Paul. We service Peter and plan for Paul.
Trust is valuable because it must be earned. We count it a privilege and work hard every day to earn it. We invest in it and make significant sacrifices to preserve it. We do all this because people deserve a trusted partner.
At times, keeping a promise is very costly, and breaking the promise is certainly the easier path. While some choose the easier path to avoid costs or to achieve some short-term gain, we continue to choose the path of partnership. We keep our promises because you deserve a dependable partner.
We Keep Our Promises So Our Customers Can Keep Theirs
A trustworthy partner earns their reputation by protecting yours. Our customers have negotiated deals, are committed to timelines and are fighting to finish projects on schedule. Urban Surfaces is an ally in that fight.
As a supplier of floor coverings, we recognize that we provide one part in a long chain of interdependent pieces. We cannot supply all the pieces of your projects, not yet anyway. What we can do is ensure that our part is fulfilled on time, in full, and with high-quality products. And so that is what we do. We keep our promises so that our customers can keep theirs.
We Build Our Business Around Yours
We have something unique here at Urban Surfaces. We care deeply about the people we work with and the partnerships we build. We are experts in luxury vinyl flooring and servicing the multi-family and multi-unit markets, but our real business is partnership. We are as interested in the success of our customers as our own. And so you will often hear us say, “We build our business around yours.”
At Urban Surfaces, we know that businesses are hurt by unreliable suppliers. We believe everyone deserves a trusted partner to depend on. That’s why we keep our promises so our customers can keep theirs.
- A Clarified Mission For Urban Surfaces - October 27, 2022
