Customer Expectations of the Residential Homebuilder A University Research Project by Molly I. Donaldson
( This survey has been completed and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate. Here are the results, which can be viewed in PDF format using the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader plug-in )
Several friends of mine have recently built new homes. Their experiences with their builders were not always pleasant. Some people I know were so frustrated that they have sworn never to build a house again.
Most of the problems described to me were not related to the actual home, but rather in the area of the relationship between the owner and the builder. Because quality of service may be the last differentiator among a group of home builders that are equivalent in quality of product and cost, I am very interested in knowing what the clients' expectations are of the relationship between them and the builder.
As part of my graduate coursework for a master's degree in
Construction Science and Management, I am required to do a research
project on an area of interest to me. As a result, I have designed
this survey to explore the importance of various aspects of the
customer service relationship between the builder and the homeowner
from the owner's point of view. The objectives are to determine if
the anecdotal evidence is supported by the data received, to quantify
the importance of various aspects of the relationship, and to
determine if excellence in customer service would be a differentiator
among builders.
