Meet the Service Excellence Team

How many guys and gals in the trades have gone from the basement to the boardroom? Chris got his fingernails dirty for 14 years, some as a full time HVAC technician but then he also worked as an installer for a time. He’s knelt in the basements and crawl spaces and sweaty attics. Then he’s also hung family photos in the executive offices at some of the most prominent home service franchises in North America.

“When I hear of someone who’s done something that I’ve suggested or taught them, and it’s helped them grow as a person, as a business owner or as a business coach, that’s what gives me the most joy.”
Just don’t disturb Chris when he’s working out.

Fun Fact:
Chris proposed to his wife on the night of her senior prom.

You could address Kerry as “Doctor” or “Master” because he has both of those advanced degrees. And when your resume of past clients includes Zig Ziglar, Amoco, Bell Helicopter, Vought Aircraft and Marlin Forklifts, well, that speaks for itself. Kerry’s big belief is that “You won’t grow bigger than what your vision is.” Kerry also believes that professionals who work in the trades are a unique and special group. The favorite part of his day is when a technician finally understands how the process will make him more money.

When you utilize Kerry’s process, technicians increase their pay an average of $9,000 a year, some as much as $30K. One of Kerry’s superpowers is challenging you, encouraging you and holding you accountable…and making you feel great about swallowing the medicine.

Fun Fact:
Kerry worked in Higher Education for more than 15 years.

If there’s a definition that details the characteristics and skills required to be the CFO for Service Excellence, Shannon’s photo is next to it. Who loves number crunching and data entry? Shannon. Who loves QuickBooks more than the humans who designed the program? Shannon. Who demands that everything from paper clips to financial statements be organized? Shannon. Who likes to work behind the scenes and loves it when you can hear a mouse fart in the office? Shannon. Her favorite day is Tuesday because it’s Payroll Day. Shannon still does that task manually even though she knows it can be automated. Her experience in Hotel Hospitality as well as retail sales are great assets in her current role.

Fun Fact:
Shannon watches cleaning videos on YouTube…for fun.

If you want to get to Todd Liles, you’re going to have to go through Leti. Good luck with that. Leti is the perfect yin to Todd’s yang. She keeps him organized and on schedule. She protects his schedule like a Momma bear. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Leti is doing secretarial chores. She hates NOT being busy. She’s been the community manager for what was SPARK and is now My Kings of Tomorrow. She conducts DiSC profiles for new clients, and she makes sure they have access to the Mighty Network, a system that she’s taught herself, developed and refined.

Fun Fact:
When Leti is not on the clock, she is giving back go her community in a variety of philanthropic endeavors.

Brandon still smarts from not getting paid enough for pulling wire for his electrician Dad when he was a young kid. That’s what happens when you’re small enough to fit into places that grown men with big butts can’t. His career took a detour when he earned a fancy degree in hotel and restaurant management. He operated a facility that had multiple bars and restaurants, and an outdoor music venue where Brandon also played major motion pictures. He was managing a team of 150 people, and they were making a lot of money. But there was little time for sleep, let alone anything else. The remarkable growth of his Service Excellence clients demonstrates that he made the right career transition. “My favorite part is when a technician messages me on Instagram or FB, and we were able to make in impact on somebody’s personal life.”

Fun Fact:
We’ll let Brandon and Kerry decide who’s the Service Excellence Golf champion.

Madison’s Dad, Terry Barrett, started AirNow Home Services when she was two-years old. So, you can say that she grew up in the business. She worked there every summer during high school, and then full time once she graduated. She’s had a taste of doing some dispatching, and she did payroll, and even a temporary stint as an install manager. But she began as a CSR, and to this day, that remains her superpower. If your CSRs are fumbling phone calls, or they don’t understand how to build value in the company when talking to prospective clients, Madison can solve those challenges. She claims that she always wanted to be a teacher, but she lacked the patience to work with kids. LOL.

Fun Fact:
She’s a War Eagle fan, so don’t EVER mention that team in Tuscaloosa to her.

If you purchase spark plugs from a Pep Boys in Puerto Rico, James roughed in the electrical in the building as an 18-year-old apprentice. He’s lived in or visited 26 countries, and he’s studied seven languages. One of his more mundane jobs was being a project director for Chip and JoAnna Gaines at Magnolia…before they were famous Fixer Uppers. James can geek out over an Excel spreadsheet with the best of them, but when his alarm clock buzzes, what beats him to his morning coffee is his passion to build people up so that they can create buy-in from their teams. He’s always trying to figure out the influence of great leadership on creating great company culture. He even wrote a book about it.

Fun Fact:
He worked in documentary film making in the Sudan right after college.

Noel has never been afraid of hard work. As a freshman in high school, his parents were managing a motel. So, he was changing out shower heads and installing new flappers in toilets and swapping out air conditioning units. He transitioned to working for a bridge and road construction company, where one memorable task was spray-painting a crane. He also got to decal trucks and run parts. After college he worked for a finishing carpenter hanging drywall, painting, trim work, and cabinetry.

“When I feel that a client is ready to do anything (to improve), they’re already a hustler, they just don’t know which direction to hustle, that’s when I feel hope, energy and drive.”

Fun Fact:
Noel was once the Property Manager for his church.

How many guys can brag about having to scratch the itchy high school date who has fiberglass fibers on her from the insulation remnants on the seats of your ’96 Mustang? Matthew’s maintained his license as a journeyman plumber since 2016, and he grew up working in his father’s plumbing and AC business. He’s stood in 100+ degree attics with sweat balls dripping off his nose and itchy insulation scratching parts of his body he wished weren’t exposed. He’s been…the guy…on the 3:00 a.m. service call when you discovered that flushable wipes really aren’t. What fuels Matt is that his best friend, who’s now 70 years old, is still operating that plumbing and AC biz after 42 years.

Fun Fact:
Matt taught middle school in Chicago for three years.

Not to be overshadowed, Mike brings an MBA earned with honors as part of his bonafides. Combining that with his Fortune 500 management experience and past ownership of a franchise plumbing company gives him an eclectic resume. When Mike tells people that he loves coaching, he’s not giving you a line. After he leaves the office, Mike has coached 6U Pony League baseball for several years. Mike gets up every morning with a smile on his face because he gets to watch his clients grow and surpass their goals.

Fun Fact:
Mike’s family is so competitive, each one selects a character in the Survivor reality television show. If your character makes it to the end, you win the family prize.

Daylon played both football and baseball at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and little did he know that that’s where his career was born. But not because of his academic course of study. He injured his arm his senior year, and while he could no longer play competitively, he asked if he could help the team as a volunteer coach. He also had great sports coaches growing up who were influential in his life. That’s what drove him out of his first career – Banking – and into coaching and training in home services. Daylon gets jazzed when he sees a small business owner take his profits and share it with his employees or plow it back into the company to continue growing. He loves working with selfless people who grind through every day.

Fun Fact:
Don’t interrupt Daylon when he’s got a Brisket in the smoker.

Paul could claim the Service Excellence title as international man of intrigue because he’s traveled to 56 countries (and counting). While earning his MBA at Baylor, Paul discovered that he enjoyed and could be successful in the coaching and mentoring business space.

“The key thing that I always stress is, whatever recommendation I give, will this make them more profitable? Will it be immediate, mid-term or long term? If that answer is “yes” (to any of those) then that’s a good recommendation.”

Paul’s greatest reward is when he receives a message from a client about a success, not matter how big or small, because it reinforces what he does, and that it makes a difference.

Fun Fact:
Paul was a Division I basketball player while earning his Economics degree at Rice University.

How does one acquire THAT title? Joe’s primary function is to make certain that the clients who work with Service Excellence are the RIGHT clients. No, he’s not going to take your money because you can afford to hire them. He’s not going to sign you up because you want him to.

“I have meaningful and impactful conversations with prospective clients to extract information in order to produce a better outcome for the client.”

Joe attended Marine Mechanics fresh out of high school and found that he could do better on his own, so he started his own biz detailing boats in the St. Petersburg, FL. area. He also had a quick hitch as maintenance tech for a 1-hour AC company. But he knew he was wasting his talents.

“My superpower is the communication side of sales. Not the bribery, the trickery, or the tackiness. It’s the true understanding of how an individual needs information delivered to them.”

Fun Fact:
Joe once started and operated a fitness company with 32 locations in Colorado.