Provided by: Global Home Improvement

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As we all know, there aren’t many things that are more annoying than when products don’t function as expected. It’s even worse when you cannot get anybody to help you – right? We all know the feeling.

Pitch Gauge is an app that is used primarily by professionals on the job; whether they are roofers, adjusters, or other types of engineers or builders, so we treat each and every customer service email with urgency.

Typically we are able to respond to these emails within minutes, and resolve problems through a few back-and-fourth emails. We take pride in doing our best to make each individual user our priority when they reach out to us. We do this because we look to build a loyal user-base; one that we can communicate with regularly for feedback on what direction they would like us to take, and one that will recommend our product to others without hesitation.

Can you remember a time when you received extraordinary support from a company when in need? I personally can think of only a few times, but what I can tell you is that I recommend those companies every chance I get. Seriously. Not only that, but I am willing to pay a little more for the goods and services that they offer because I remember that time that they treated me so well. What if you could turn each of your customers into one of these raving fans? It really isn’t hard to do – all it takes is treating people the way they deserve to be treated; with respect, compassion, and tolerance.

This could mean taking and extra 30 seconds to find out what would make your customer happy. Or it might mean fixing a mistake that will cost your company money. In the moment, this may mean a financial loss, but what if this customer personally recommends your company to 5 of their closest friends. And what if those 5 close friends recommend you to 5 of their closest friends; that small loss could quickly become an exponential gain. Just food for thought…

With all of this in mind each and every day, our goal is to sustain top notch customer service even through continued growth; however, there is always room for improvement.

Can you think of a time when a company did this for you, or a time when you did this for a customer? If so, tell us about it in the comments below.

Join our mailing list to become part of our community. We’ll even let you know the moment we release the long-anticipated PG 3.0.

The post Why you should go above and beyond for each and every customer appeared first on Pitch Gauge.

If you already have one: when’s the last time you visited the App Store℠ or Google Play Store and plugged in a phrase like “roofing app?” It’s probably been a while – so go ahead and give it a shot now, you’ll be surprised.  There are plenty of apps available to roofers that can save time, and ultimately help to boost revenue.

When we did a quick App Store search, we found several interesting apps, but these are a couple that caught our attention:

• GAF Virtual Home Remodeler: (FREE) – Their App Store description states that “GAF Virtual Home Remodeler is an application that allows the homeowner to see different GAF shingles applied to their own home in real-time, with the click of an iPad camera. Their home image will easily be transformed with the swipe of a finger to select and apply a GAF shingle.”

It is pretty easy to see how an app like this could help to increase sales.  Being able to physically see what the shingles look like on their home could be what it takes to get a home owner to commit.

• HailStrike™: (price varies) - Their App Store description states that “HailStrike™ is       a mobile companion app to our online interactive hail storm tracking application that provides both archival and current details about hail storms. The tool produces high resolution interactive maps of hail storm paths for a user-specified date or period of time.”

Mobile is about quickness, convenience, and doing things on-the-go.  These are only two of the apps that we came across; however, there are actually hundreds, if not thousands that can be of use to you as roofers and contractors. Are you utilizing all of the tools that are available to you?

We recently did a brief presentation outlining some of our data from Pitch Gauge showing rapid growth in the number of roofers, adjusters, and other builders utilizing mobile technology. If you missed it, you can check it out here.

You are probably already aware that there is a learning curve with smartphones and tablets, but once you become acquainted the possibilities are endless.

So tell us, what apps are you currently using to increase efficiency and profit, and what ones are you planning to implement in the near future?

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It’s time to check out the square calculator. For those of you measuring roofs on a regular basis, this will prove to be a slick way to crunch numbers, and fast.

So how’s it work? Well – we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to use the info buttons (i) next to each field to better explain what information should be entered. For instance, if you press the (i) next to length, you will see a diagram showing how to measure the length of the roof;  it is important to include overhangs also. From there, you should measure the width. Next, you can lay your device against the roof (or press back to use camera-mode) to find the pitch.  So – you should now be up to “cut level.” You’re probably wondering what the heck cut level is.  Cut level is a way to compensate for “waste” – think of cut level as complexity of the roof (again – check out the (i) button). Finally, you can press “calculate” to figure out your tear off, and your total number of squares with waste.

It is important to note that we do use pitch factors in calculating area because the length and width measurements that you enter should be linear.

For those of you measuring more complex roofs, you will need to utilize the “+” button at the bottom. As you enter each section (length, width, pitch, cut level), press the “+” after calculating. Finally, to get your total area, you’ll need to press the “MR” (Memory Recall) button in the upper left hand corner.

Check out this quick video demonstrating how the square calculator can be used.  Comment below with questions. Tell us how you prefer to use Pitch Gauge app.

The post How To Use The Square Calculator appeared first on Pitch Gauge.

Comment below to let us know what you think. If you are one of our more advanced users, then we challenge you to film your own short clip (we used Vine App) and post it to our Facebook wall.

The post How To Use The Pitch Finder (in camera-mode) appeared first on Pitch Gauge.

By using the “snap pitch” feature, users can also document the roof slope by taking a picture of the roof with the pitch reading and line stamped directly onto it – they can then attach it to an email, all from within the app.

The next time you find yourself heading up the ladder to find roof pitch, download our app instead, and give it a shot. Just be sure to calibrate first, and you will find that our digital readings are very accurate.

Comment below to tell us about your experiences using Pitch Gauge.  Have you tested it for accuracy?

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We often forget how important it is to build relationships with our customers, suppliers, users, employees, or whoever it may be that we come in contact with. It is important to look at these relationships as an investment of time that could potentially pay off for years to come.

When it comes to customers (or users in our case), it doesn’t matter how much (or little) they spend, they can all be of great value to your company.  For us, many of our users are free users.  When we get an email from one of them saying they are having problems, we don’t look to see whether or not they actually bought any in-app purchases (and we couldn’t actually see this if we tried).  No matter what, we respond to the users and do what is necessary to resolve the problem.  We’ve seen this pay off countless times through positive reviews after the fact.

This is no different for any other industry (especially now with online reviews).  All of your customers can benefit your company much more than through their direct purchases.  If you can turn your customers – whether they spend a lot or a little – into raving fans, this is going to benefit your company more than any individual customer’s project possibly could.

When we establish and cultivate relationships, it pays off. These are the people who are willing to go the extra mile when necessary. These are the people who are understanding when things don’t go quite as planned.

These are things that most of us already know – but just take this as a reminder.  Slow down, pay attention, and go above and beyond.

What do you think? Do relationships benefit your company? Let us know by commenting below.

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As you may know, we initially released Pitch Gauge in 2010 as nothing more than a roof pitch calculator; but since then we have made various improvements to make it into something more.  Current versions of Pitch Gauge give users the ability to calculate both the pitch and size of a roof.  Pretty simple, but it is something that roofers around the world have grown to appreciate.

Not only that, but on days of inclement weather, you can actually calculate roof pitch from the ground, using camera-mode.  This feature utilizes your phone or tablets built-in camera (along with some pretty complex formulas on the back end) to give you a digital pitch reading that is pretty close to being dead-on.

Regardless of whether you use Pitch Gauge for the roof pitch calculator, the square calculator, or both, we have been able to detect a trend in use over the past 2 1/2 years. It seems that the roofing and insurance industries are adopting the use of technology much more readily now; and at a very rapid pace. This is great news (especially for us)! This is an exciting time for the industry as a whole and we look forward to seeing how the industry accepts our next (and biggest) release this Spring – Pitch Gauge 3.0. Keep checking back to our blog, Facebook, or Twitter to stay updated on progress.  Join our Newsletter to be among the first to find out about the big release!

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