That’s something customers should be thankful for, says Stacey Wells, marketing director at Stepper Custom Homes.

“You can tell how qualified any company is by how long they have been in business and how their reputation has been, and I think Stepper’s reputation has been very consistent. It’s pretty amazing to me how Rudy and his wife came all the way from Germany and started building the first Stepper home, just the two of them. The relationships they still have with their suppliers are solid. We have had some of these relationships, such as with Schmidt Plumbing, for 50 years.”

While the septuagenarian has passed on CEO duties to his son, Harry, and is notably less hands-on than in the days of crafting homes with his own hands back in the 1950s, Rudy’s still very much a fixture at Stepper.

 “He’s still very interested and passionate about this company, as he should be. Passion breeds passion,” notes Wells, citing a number of family members who work for the company still today.

But one thing that perhaps sets Stepper apart both as an employer and a homebuilder is the lengths the company goes to ensure everyone—family or not—is treated with respect. And that goes for employees, trade partners, suppliers and, of course, homebuyers.
“You are treated more like family, and customers get the same respect. It is visible; if you’re on the outside looking in you can see that respect.”

Since the first Stepper home stake was driven back in 1956 in what’s now Mayland Heights, the company has grown by leaps and bounds, with 200 to 300 homes on average a year now bearing the Stepper stamp.

While Stepper homes grace many Calgary communities and number in the thousands across the city, the half-century old company is now building in Copperfield from $405,000, Heritage Hills in Cochrane from $430,000, Boulder Creek in Langdon from $485,000 and in the Summit of Montreux from $658,000. A new “executive series” of homes was also added to the roster in Bearspaw Country Estates, with abodes for sale on two-acre lots from $1.1 million, and a home available for occupancy to be completed in December. Stepper is also building these executive homes in the golf course community of Hawk’s Landing in Priddis.

Buyers will probably also notice Stepper’s increased presence in the local building kudos, the Sales and Marketing Awards. Racking up 12 finalist spots in 2006, Stepper took home the hardware for best billboard and print ad, both featuring the familiar face of Rudy.

Two private residences also won for custom home design, while Stepper moved up a few rungs in the ladder to become a finalist for the Customer Choice award, and runner-up for Builder of the Year.

“That’s a big step up for us to move up that much, just for setting our sights on being builder of the year. It’s pretty exciting,” she explains.”

Wells says much success stems from Stepper’s thorough planning process. “Sitting down with the customers, our planning department goes through every detail, making sure they are clear on how it is Stepper operates and we are very clear on what our customer wants.”

There has been a purposeful resistance toward an in-house design centre. “For us, our research has shown that it’s important for our customers to be able to go where it is they are choosing their interior selections and talk to our suppliers. Our suppliers are experts for their product.”

The process is streamlined for homebuyers by just having one contact person, their area sales representative.

Along the way, Customer Connections Representatives gauge how staffers are doing via online satisfaction surveys.

And improving ranks high on the list of goals, both professionally and personally for the company and 40-plus employees at Stepper. When the new year-old office opened on the Country Hills Golf Course, it included a fitness centre and access to a nutritionist, chiropractor and personal trainer as part of promoting a healthy lifestyle. The company also founded a charitable program three years ago aligned with physical fitness, with this year’s fundraising culminating in a 10K run and 5K run and walk around the golf course slated for September 15.

“Stepper has done a lot to encourage physical well-being, so we have the Steps to Fitness event every year,” says Wells.

Over the past three years the campaign has raised money for cancer charities, Camp Chestermere, and this year funds are earmarked for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. The race will be open to 250 runners and walkers, with all the money from registrations and donations going to the foundation and children’s needs in Alberta. NL