The Granite Guy, Farmington, N.M.
“I have a lot of customers who tell me I have really nice stuff on my yard.”
Nor is that the only way in which The Granite Guy has grown. This spring, Marquez opted to rent a bay from the cabinet shop adjoining his yard, and opened a small showroom, with Cathy Marquez handling the walk-in clients.
“It’s still not completely done,” says her husband. “But, I think we’ve fixed it up pretty nice. There are no other showrooms here; the closest is in Albuquerque. We’ve put in some sink displays, and it’s working out pretty well.”
There’s another important way the business has changed since The Granite Guy opened for business in Farmington. Ernie Marquez says he’s doing a whole lot more 3cm work than he did in California.
“I started out doing 2cm and we’d laminate it so we could do anywhere from a 1 ½” to a 4” edge,” he says. “However, I noticed here that people were just using 3cm and not laminating at all. At first it was a problem because people would come and see that I only had 2cm, so after awhile I started supplying 3cm.”
He’s still doing 2cm work, but he says the 3cm lets him be a little more price-competitive when he doesn’t have to laminate.
The other change that’s taken place since the Marquezes moved to Farmington: The shop is now up to four employees.
“I have four skilled craftsmen here,” says Ernie Marquez. “We’re a team. They all came with me from San Diego.”
DIFFERENT CULTURES
It’s not just the local chamber of commerce that has to be pleased with Marquez and the jobs he’s brought with him. He says he’s also brought a whole different work ethic with him from California.
When it comes to word-of-mouth sales, The Granite Guy is known for customer service.
“What I was told, even before I came here, is that people who work out here often say they’ll come out on a job, but then they don’t show up for days and they don’t even call the client,” he says. “I took what we did in San Diego and brought it here, and it’s helped quite a bit. People are just amazed.”
That means the company will do a 75-80 ft² kitchen from start to finish in three or four days, although Marquez admits he often fudges and says it will take a week.
“We’ll even do the demolition if they want us to,” he says. “The only thing I stay away from is installing the plumbing. If the customer has a plumber, that’s fine; I’ve also met plumbers here, and I turn them on to the work if the customer doesn’t have somebody.”