Business & Tech

Farmington Hills Business Voted 'Best Contractor to Work For'

The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News honors Thornton & Grooms.

Thornton & Grooms, a Farmington Hills-based local heating and cooling company, has been named “Best Contractor Work For” by The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News, a leading national industry publication.

Thornton and Grooms was chosen for not only being dedicated to serving customers and the community, but also for the ample opportunity for personal and professional development they offer to their employees. Co-owners Matt and Mike Bergstrom and Dave Knight say their recipe for success is easy: Choose the right employees.  

“We take the time to ensure that all of our employees are the right fit. Then, we take care of them and they take care of our customers. It’s a system that has worked well for 75 years,” Knight said. 

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Technicians go through Nexstar’s “Service System,” NATE certification, and several hours of monthly technical training. They also have safety training every month and participate in as many local training seminars as possible. Customer service representatives and dispatchers go through Nexstar call center training in their first year.

But beyond “best-of-the-best” training in their field, every person at Thornton and Grooms is encouraged to help others while he or she is working.

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“If an employee sees that someone is struggling and really can’t afford what we do, or are just down and out and needs some help, we empower them to ask to help, nominate that person for our Hearts and Heroes program, or take themselves off the clock to fix the problem,” Matt Bergstrom said. “This gets the entire organization involved in the charitable habit and joy of helping others.” 

The company mission at Thornton and Grooms doesn’t stop at customer and community service. Employees are top priority as well. One employee stated, “They pay very well. We make really good money…But more importantly to me, they treat us good. That’s more important than money.”

And how do the employees feel about the Bergstroms and Knight?  “The owners take a lot of pride in knowing us on a personal level. You don’t feel like a number, you feel like a person who has an opinion. They’re always looking out for you, they always care. They’re just good people.”

Source: Thornton and Grooms press release


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