If ever the remodeling industry had a David vs. Goliath story, it would have to be Lynch Construction & Remodeling. Working in the toniest Boston suburbs, three-person Lynch finds itself competing against companies 30 times its size—and winning bids.
“We’re doing big, complicated work for the size of our business,” says owner Mike Lynch. “It can be a little intimidating going against these big guys. They’re famous.”
Lynch isn’t quite there yet, but he’s working toward it one job at a time. And in a world of $3 million to $5 million homes, those are giant jobs—$600,000 to $800,000 full-scale remodels. Not bad for a guy who was laid off in 2008 and went off on his own by building entertainment centers and doing single-bath renovations. He says much of his success is actually due to his smaller size. It’s just him and two leads, which Lynch says makes him more nimble and customer-focused than the larger firms.
“When dealing with the competition, that chain of command can get daunting for the client,” he says. “You have to go through 20 emails to get an answer. With us, they can get answers quickly. We’re trying to stay slim.”
Simple, personal touches have gone a long way to build the company’s customer service reputation. For example, Lynch hands out flyers to neighbors letting them know when a renovation is about to begin and apologizing for the noise. The flyer includes the permit number and Lynch’s phone number, so if neighbors have any questions or complaints, they come to him rather than the client.
“It’s made a big impression. We get waves from neighbors rather than dirty looks,” he says. “Even if we have not worked together yet, they know us and we are familiar faces in the neighborhood. We’re slowly building a bit of a name.”
