The other day, I was in my backyard, tidying up the garden for winter. It’s a very therapeutic thing to do – clearing leaves, tidying edges, trimming shrubs – because it makes you think about the spring and the joy of new buds and fresh flowers. But I also love it because it’s so different from my daily routine at the office. Gardening lets my mind wander and thoughts percolate. And sometimes it lets me take time out to think about more esoteric questions such as: “what makes Phantom Screens, well, Phantom Screens?”
And that’s the question I was noodling over. What is it that actually makes Phantom Screens such a special company to work for? Sure, the people I see every day at corporate HQ are great. And yes, (and I know it’s a shameless plug) we do have great products. But the other thing that sets us apart is our network of distributors across North America. From the Deep South to Alaska as well as pretty much everywhere in between, they’re the ones who actually deliver the Phantom experience.
So that’s what prompted me to create an occasional series of blog posts about our distributors. That way you get to find out a bit more about them and what makes them tick!
For the first in the series, I thought I’d introduce you to our friends in Ontario, Canada. Ontario Screen Systems Inc. has been an Authorized Distributor of Phantom Screens since 1994. Its General Manager is Stephen Attfield, who was one of the founding partners along with his uncle Danny. Much like S.C. Johnson, Ontario Screens Systems is definitely a family company! The company has over 30 staff – including Stephen’s wife Holly as project manager and Carol, his mom to manage the office. His business partner Danny’s son, cousin and cousin’s two daughters also work for the business.
The company has one of the largest geographical territories in the network – covering some 415,000 square miles and over five million homes. But that doesn’t leave them daunted. Quite the opposite. As Stephen says: “I love the challenge! Being able to bring the benefits of Phantom’s retractable screens to homes across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond is what makes the company tick. We love to meet our customers from all over the province – and it’s great knowing that our screens are being installed from Kenora to Ottawa.”
As you probably know by now, our vision and values and being the kind of company that not only delivers quality products but also takes exceptional care of our customers, is really important to me. That was one of the things that attracted Ontario Screens Systems to our brand. They have a shared commitment to our quality and our values. And the joy of these shared values is that we can move forward together – making sure homeowners, employees and suppliers are all treated with honesty and integrity. To be honest, it’s a pretty awesome partnership.
Stephen and the team are a great bunch of people to work with – they work hard for their customers and it shows. Talking to Stephen about why he loves working with Phantom Screens, is impressive: “You know what motivates me and gives me the most satisfaction? It’s when you see the smile on a customer’s face when their screens are installed. I particularly love it when they didn’t think they could screen their double-French doors or outswing door and now they’ve found a solution. The moment they say “wow”, makes me happy.” That’s a great example of what I mean when I talk about the Phantom “experience”.
So there’s a very quick introduction to our Authorized Distributor in Ontario. There’s tons of information on their website which you can find at www.phantomscreens.ca. And if you’re in their area and are looking for an estimate for screens – please give them a call. You’ll be in great hands.