Not only does this allow the company to better understand clients' needs, but it also educates clients by asking detailed, specific questions.

The paperwork used throughout the pre-planning interview process carefully documents plans and expectations on both sides of the table, to pave the way for all planning and requirements throughout each phase of the design process, Holick adds. To ensure customer satisfaction and prevent mistakes, "Once the initial design is complete, it is transferred onto the floor with black crayon so customers can actually stand on the kitchen to make sure it's what they want."

It is this kind of attention to detail, along with the firm's dedication to "unmatched product quality, service dependability and innovative merchandising," that drive the firm's success. 

 
Third place: Distinctive Kitchens, designs by Steenbeke & Sons, Bedford, NH.
Relocating From Lumberyard to Freestanding Yields Growth

For Melvin Hebert, general manager of the Bedford, NH-based Distinctive Kitchens, a single, well-thought-out decision made in 1998 has meant enormous success for his company.

Prior to 1998, Steenbeke & Sons Building Supplies, Inc. a 46-year-old firm serving building contractors in New Hampshire had seven kitchen centers, all located in Steenbeke's lumberyard stores. However, some high-end builders feared that their customers would not want to go to a lumberyard to select their cabinets. Thus, the decision was made to take the kitchen centers out of the lumberyard and open freestanding kitchen and bath design centers a decision that has been the catalyst for enormous growth. 

Currently, three Distinctive Kitchens showrooms have been opened (in Bedford, Laconia and Concord), and three more are in the planning stages, and the results have been nothing short of startling impressive enough, in fact, to win the firm third place honors in Category One of K&BDN's second annual Industry Leadership Awards.
As a result of the changeover, Distinctive Kitchens has been able to attract a high caliber of kitchen design employees, Hebert reports. 

It's no surprise, then, that since the opening of the first Distinctive Kitchens showroom, sales for the kitchen division of Steenbeke's has skyrocketed.

But it's more than just location that has aided Hebert in growing the company. Flexibility, service and a wide product selection are also key to the firm's success. Hebert and his staff of 10 have worked to offer their customers a wide range of cabinets and countertop products that can go from basic builder grade to full custom lines.

Likewise, innovation has played a role in the firm's impressive growth  all Distinctive Kitchen designers are supplied with high speed PCs and the latest Version 6.0 of 20/20 design programs, according to Hebert. In addition, color printers are used to furnish every customer with color perspectives of their kitchen plans.