By Teresa Hidalgo Dance
The Skylight Place is as much a fixture of Santa Cruz as it is in the thousands of homes and offices where the specialty screen and glass shop has provided glass repair, shower doors, skylights, window screens, and window replacement for the past 53 years. Locals know the Skylight is the place to go for their remodeling needs, what with its fully-trained installers reputed for “doing the job right the first time.”
Paul Eastman
That’s been Darrell Clark’s vision for the Skylight since founding it in 1971. Today, the stepson of his business partner, Rick Burger, is the shop’s general manager. As such for the past five years, Paul Eastman has so adhered to Clark’s vision that in 2018 he was recognized as one of the nation’s most promising remodeling professionals by Pro Remodeler magazine in its Forty Under 40 awards program.
“These are the minds that will take remodeling into an era of new professionalism and efficiency,” wrote the respected trade journal. “Learn from their insights and remember their names.”
Eastman first began working at the Skylight when he was 14, making window screens. At the time, the shop also installed windows and shower doors. He revealed that the company’s expansion into its current plethora of products and services was the result of something simple, the expressed needs of their customers.
“People would request things like, ‘do you do this with windows?’ or ‘would you put windows in?’’’ Eastman recounted. “We gradually went to repairing windows and from there, to installing windows, all because of a request. Shower doors and skylight installation? All of that was because somebody had asked us ‘can you do this for me?’’’
“We’re best at shower doors,” revealed Eastman. “As requested, we provide full installation service. Customers think it’s beautiful when we finish.”
Response to the finished job is of such pure delight that some customers pay bonuses.
Pleasing customers with outstanding professionalism is a forte of the Skylight.
“For the construction industry, we’re probably one of the best at this,” said Eastman. “We show up when we say we are going to show up. When we say we are going to do something, we do it. That’s not a very common practice in the construction industry.”
Customer service is friendly and competent from the first phone call. Consider Skylight’s systems manager, Stacey Kock. Responsible for consulting with the homeowners and contractors, he cares about building good relationships.
“Since working at 15 years of age, I’ve always been in some type of customer interaction role,” said Kock. “At Skylight, I get to talk to people about baseball, racing, family events, aside from the business they came in for.”
Stacey Kock
On the business side of the relationship, customers benefit from Kock’s expertise, a result of on-the-job and formal training since coming onboard the Skylight seven years ago.
The work ethic of its employees explains a lot about the Skylight’s success. It’s a work ethic that translates to loyalty–not just because of barbecue socials or good job benefits–but also because the employees appreciate the work environment.
Take, for instance, two long-timers at the Skylight–lead installers Sushil Joshi, who joined the company 30 years ago, and Gerry Donoghue, a satisfied employee for the past 22 years.
“They’re good people to work for,” described Donoghue. “We don’t have some boss screaming at you.”
Instead, workers at the Skylight have bosses who make considerate concessions like allowing them to take a break so they can pick up their kids from school, which was the case for Donoghue.
The Skylight Place may be up to its elbows in glass and tile but it is oriented towards its customers and employees. Can Santa Cruz ask for more in a full-service remodeling specialist representing what is good about living here? n
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The Skylight Place is at 4850 Capitola Road, Capitola. Website: https://skylightplace.com/ Call 831-476-2023. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
TOP PHOTO: The showroom contains an array of choices for customers.
