Is the Main Line Ready for This?

One of the many advantages of being part of a franchise organization is seeing success around the country and learning from it.

For years, I would attend conferences and hear fellow franchise owners tell similar stories. Some of their very best employees were first-generation immigrants. They worked hard, cared deeply about customers, showed up every day, and were determined to improve their situation in life.

They lived our core values without ever having read them.

The only thing holding some of them back was their grasp of the English language.

I wasn’t sure the Main Line was ready for that.

The Day I Had My Doubts

My first year running the business, I had an experience that stuck with me.

I stopped by a job site in Bala Cynwyd around 8:00 in the morning. Two of our painters, Victor Lopez from Mexico and Ray Dotson, an African American veteran who had served our country in Vietnam, were sitting on the front steps waiting to start work.

Across the street sat a police officer in a parked patrol car. That seemed unusual.

As I walked up, I casually asked Ray what was going on.

Ray simply said, “Chris, why don’t you walk over and tell the officer everything is okay?”

So I did.

The officer nodded, thanked me, started his car, and drove away.

It took me a while to fully understand what had just happened.

And that’s why I wasn’t sure the Main Line was ready.

Five Painters from Brazil

At the same time, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the labor market. We dealt with people not showing up, leaving early, missing work, and creating constant customer frustrations.

So I decided to try something different.

Within a few months, I hired five Brazilian painters who started by working under Bruce and Becky while they learned our systems, our standards, and our culture.

My goal wasn’t simply to have them paint. My goal was to help them become leaders.

I knew that once one person became a crew leader, the others would see a path forward. If they worked hard and developed their skills, they could lead crews too.

That’s exactly what happened. One by one, they became crew leaders.

The challenge wasn’t work ethic.

The challenge wasn’t craftsmanship.

The challenge wasn’t customer service.

The challenge was English.

Every week I’d receive calls from customers saying they were having trouble understanding their crew leader.

The Email That Changed Everything

Then, about a month before my third child, Finlay, was born, I had an epiphany.

I knew I’d soon have less time to personally communicate with customers. If this was going to work, we needed a better system.

So we flipped the script. Before every project, we started sending customers:

• A photo of their crew leader
• Recent references from thrilled clients
• Contact information
• Preparation instructions

Then I added two simple sentences:

“Your crew leader can occasionally be difficult to understand over the phone and may be easier to understand in person. They are actively taking English classes to improve. Please bear with them.”

The results were immediate. The next week, the phone calls changed.

Customers started saying things like: “Chris, I’m not sure what’s wrong with you, but I understand your crew leader perfectly.”

Nothing had changed. Their English hadn’t improved overnight. The customers’ expectations had changed. Instead of looking for what was wrong, they were looking for what was right.

The language barrier largely disappeared.

The American Dream in Work Boots

And something bigger happened. We unlocked an incredible group of people.

Hardworking. Disciplined. Customer-focused. People who wanted opportunity more than anything else.

Over time, many became crew leaders, supervisors, business owners, and community leaders.

Our people are the reason we’ve won the awards we’ve won. They’re the reason customers refer us. They’re the reason we’ve grown.

What many of our customers come to appreciate is that our people aren’t standing still.

They’re building lives. They’re sending their children to college. Their sons and daughters are becoming doctors, lawyers, engineers, and business leaders.

One family owns a coffee farm in Brazil. Others have built commercial real estate portfolios. Some have started successful businesses of their own. One has a child working for SpaceX.

In many ways, they may have more in common with our customers than most people realize.

They’re focused on family. They’re investing in their future. They’re sacrificing today to create opportunities tomorrow.

More Than Just Painting

The paintbrush may be what brought us together, but it’s rarely the whole story. Behind nearly every crew leader is a story of courage, sacrifice, ambition, and determination.

After 35 years, I’ve learned that if you take the time to listen, those stories are often far more interesting than the painting itself. Sometimes the biggest opportunities are hidden behind assumptions. Sometimes all it takes is giving someone a chance.

The American Dream isn’t a story from the past. For many first-generation immigrants, it’s still being written every day.