Customer Testimonials
JIM THOMPSON OF JIM THOMPSON HOMES
THE GENTLEMAN HOME BUILDER
My wife and I have just moved into a new house. We moved because of age and life style changes. It was not necessarily anything we were enthusiastic about undertaking, but time and circumstances dictated the decision. Our last new homebuilding event was nearly some 25 years ago and it was not a pleasant experience. Building a new home, for many folks, is a mixed blessing with the possibility of some damaging consequences.
Our son and his family had built a new home some twelve years ago and had a marvelous outcome and were quick to tell us how rewarding building a new house could be. I was wary and not convinced. Yet the high mark of their experience always seemed to come down to the exuberance expressed, by them, regarding their builder’s performance and the qualities he manifested in the design and building of the structure. Family health concerns, distance from family, the need for closer medical providers and the changing nature of medical practice all seemed to strongly suggest that we needed to live in a more metropolitan community and that our best choice for relocation was Spokane. Yes, we would make the effort and the venture began.
We choose our builder on the basis largely of our children’s recommendation but, also, as a result of meeting him, discussing the venture, assessing his characteristics, his experience, the quality of his buildings , the nature and style of his presentations, and what kind of human being he appeared to be. We soon learned that he was a helpful, listening, low key “teacher” sort of person. He was quick to answer questions, when he did not readily know the answer he would do the necessary discovery and research and provide us with the results and give us his opinion as to what he thought might be the most feasible and practical solution. We liked his customer centered attitude and approach.
My history and experience has taught me that a man is what and how he thinks and what he does. And, that what a person does and thinks is largely a function of character. In our dealings with others we have all come to learn and believe that character matters. Character reflects all of a person’s attributes, such as honesty, integrity, motivation and sincerity. So, in most endeavors what we look for from others is how they stack up in the character attribute.
But we also look for experience, skill, and knowledge. A really good home builder’s success is a function of his knowledge, his experience and skill; his conceptual knowledge of the home building industry, his technical knowledge of how to build, the communities expectations of how building should be done to meet requirements and expectations of the intended home owner and state and community requirements.
Of course, another significant requirement or “knowledge” is human understanding and appreciation of buyer and sub-contractor’s expectations. Buyers want value and quality for their money; style, appearance, and long lasting service from their home. Many hands and minds create these qualities and values and numerous sub-contractors are a part of this value adding and sustaining process. All good, successful and lasting builders know their subcontractors, their strengths, their skill sets, their reputations and work histories. And, the good, high performance sub-contractors know the builders they want to work for and strive to be on these builder’s most wanted list.
There is much schlock, poor and sleazy work and performance by some sub-contractors and builders, but Jim Thompson is not one of them nor does he ever engage and work with any supplier or sub-contractor who does not meet his requirement for excellence in performance.
I have learned a great deal about home building; the process, meeting deadlines and fulfilling promises and meeting expectations. It is a tough job! One good builders, with strong reputations take on willingly and with excitement. They know that from the buyer’s perspective, a new home is about the largest single expenditure that they will make in a lifetime and that the experience is fraught with anxiety, as well as excitement. A failed, or less than pleasant, experience can be damaging or an unpleasant experience, for either or both the home buyer or builder. The good builders build their reputations and sustain them by high quality performance. Jim Thompson has a long lasting and well earned reputation for quality of construction and high quality for delivering a body of customer/clientele who “shout out” his merits. He merits this approbation and it is predicated on his reputation as a builder and a gentleman. Two such terms are not often used in such close conjunction.
In an earlier period of our history, the term and accolade “gentleman” was readily accepted as true validation for excellent character and business integrity. It still does when talking about and characterizing the performance and history of Jim Thompson of Thompson Homes.
Rom J. Markin
Retired, WSU
Faculty and Administation
1961-2004
Jim Thompson built our house in 2000 and it still looks brand new! We have remodeled many homes in our lives and when we moved to Spokane we decided that we would like to try designing and building a very special home for our Inland Northwest years. Our experience couldn't have been better. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect: creating the design, choosing the builder, watching the process, picking the materials, etc.
Carol Becker
Based on my first-hand experience, I very much recommend consideration of Thompson Homes to build your new family residence. My original intent was to buy an existing home but, after much looking, determined the finish work, quality and features generally did not meet my expectations or needs. For me, starting with a new design that incorporated the features of the home site and my preferences was the best approach.
I interviewed 4 builders prior to selecting Thompson Homes to build my house. Jim worked with my Designer to finalize the house details and prepared a Project Book itemizing home components, features and pricing. He spent considerable time with me reviewing, revising and updating the book. This helped ensure a mutual understanding of the finished result. I think this was a critical element and important communications exercise that Jim focused on up-front in the process.
Construction went well. Jim engaged a knowledgeable and active construction supervisor to monitor and coordinate daily work at the site. During construction Jim attended the site on regular basis, inspected the work and addressed any installation issues that arose in a timely and effective manner. My overall experience in summary is --- My next new house will also be a “Thompson Home”.
Mark Rogers
We have a house that we had built by Jim Thompson about 6 years ago. It was one of the best experiences we have ever had! There is not a morning I wake up and don't think “what a beautiful home we live in!” Jim was a pleasure to work with and catered to our every request and need. He was more than fair on the bid and any changes made. (Really not many changes due to planning ahead) they really thought of everything. We did knotty alder in our wood work (I loved all of the knots) they went out of their way to find some really unique pieces that just really stand out and catch your eye! I love them! The subcontractors that they used were all very good to work with and very professional! The tile guy was amazing all the detail and cut work was very impressive! Jim is a professional person and after the build he has become a very good friend to our family! If we had to do it over again we would not hesitate a minute to call on Jim Thompson!
Vicki and Ed Lima
After living in our home for ten years, we were finally ready to remodel. Our friends highly recommended Jim Thompson Homes, and we were very impressed on our first interview. Jim had samples of products and great suggestions for our project. When the first plan proved to be too expensive for our budget, Jim worked with our designer to come up with a plan that offered us the most important features we desired. When we got our bid, we were very impressed with the thoroughness of the bid (even down to the number of nails!). We chose Jim Thompson Homes because we believed we would be satisfied with the quality of the work, and we were right.
Throughout the remodel Jim was open to our requests and available for questions. His subcontractors provided quality work on the timeline he provided. And best of all, we were able to stay in our budget (which Jim was very conscious and respectful of during the process). Jim’s commitment to making sure we were happy with the results shine through in the beautiful house we now have even 3 years later.
Our overall experience was a total 11 out of 10. We have been very satisfied with the level of service before during and after the project. This was pretty much a total remodel, and it was relatively stress free for us. And we love our new house! We highly recommend Jim Thompson homes and do so to everyone we know. If we ever need a remodel or new home, we will definitely be calling Jim!
Steve and Kathi Shirley