Continuing Education . . . and Honoring Our Founder's Core Values

When Dave Yarborough opened the doors on his business 50 years ago...it was known as D&B Tile. Part of his master plan came from a vision that included the oncoming dominance of tile, stone and marble in the South Florida construction marketplace. He realized then that it would be an ever-changing, dynamic industry and that, to succeed, the company needed to develop a program to educate their ultimate customers...tile contractors, designers, architects, specifiers and installers. Over the years Dave tweaked and refined his program to also include management. It was as true then as it is now...education and training breeds success and our team at D&B Tile continues to uphold that values near and dear to our founder. To properly market your product, you have to know everything about it. How it is made, how it should be installed, how it should be maintained and how it should be presented to the buying public. To that end, we decided to look back on a few of Dave’s comments over the years about the subject of continuing education. On The D&B Tile Difference: “Have you ever noticed the feeling you get when you walk into one of the nine D&B Tile Distributors stores in south Florida? Before I discuss that, let me tell you that it is a result of our intent to ‘practice what we preach.” We purposely don't imitate the big box stores in layout, design and approach to serving our customers. Our goal is simply this: ‘To provide the widest selection of tile, stone and marble from the world's leading manufacturers all presented by an educated, informed sales staff backed up by a team of managers whose ultimate goal is customer satisfaction.’ On Developing Confidence: “The feeling I’m referring to is Confidence. The vast majority of our team members have extensive experience in the industry. They either installed or maintained the products or sold them for years before arriving at D&B. And, they undergo an extensive program of continuing education to make certain that they are familiar with every product, tool or service we provide. Regardless of whether you are a homeowner about to remodel a bathroom or a contractor about to install 10,000 sq/ft of tile we have’been there and done that. On Internal Education: “Continuing education and training is our mantra as we keep up with the newest products, tools and setting and cleaning materials in the industry. And, this attitude extends to our management and senior staff as well. With few exceptions, our management team began their careers as installers or tile contractors. Their job now is to manage a nine-store operation that imports tile, stone and marble from around the world. I recognized a long time ago that contractors and installers are not necessarily good managers. This is a business operation that requires constant attention to detail, inventory, selection, marketing, financial management and customer service. On Educating Customers: “Our commitment to educating our customers is as strong today as it ever was. This commitment covers all aspects of the business from the design team deciding drawing up plans for a hospital, car dealership, office building or a homeowner about to remodel their kitchen. It includes the installation team of contractors and installers...and it also includes our management group.” Our management staff undergoes the same degree of continuing education and training provided to our sales staff and warehouse personnel. All senior management will be attending a national conference known as Total Solutions Plus to be held November 4-7 in Washington, DC. This event is produced by an amalgamation of industry organizations including the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association, the National Tile Contractors Association, the Tile Council of North America, and the Tile Contractors’ Association of America. When they return home, the cycle will continue. We work hard to earn your trust and confidence, while living up to the legacy our founder left. Remember that the first step to beautiful design is stepping into D&B Tile.