How roofing service departments can scale smarter

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Peer group insights reveal why processes, not products, hold the key to growth. 

Scaling a service department can feel like trying to run a restaurant during rush hour with no kitchen staff and no recipes. That’s how Tracy Donels, co-founder of Service First Solutions, frames the challenge and the opportunity for roofing contractors looking to build real momentum. “If six people walk up to a food truck, that number five person, number six person, even maybe number seven person, they're going to be waiting for quite a while,” Tracey told host Karen Edwards on this Roofing Road Trips®. “But If six full cars pull up to Chick-fil-A, that's just Tuesday.” 

Tracey, who’s helped grow a service department from timid beginnings into a skilled workhorse bringing in $9 million in annual revenue, says the secret isn’t complicated. It’s about having the right processes and procedures and learning from others who’ve already figured it out. In the conversation, Tracey explored how most commercial service teams are running like scrappy food trucks, always in motion, rarely in control. The solution? Think like a franchise. 

“We can set up those policies and procedures and service can now become the easiest work we do,” he said. “Very little in service has anything to do with roofing. It's all about customer communications and customer service.” That insight alone is a game-changer for roofing companies that treat service like a side hustle instead of a core strategy. The best-run service departments, Tracey argued, are built like systems, where consistent steps and training replace guesswork and heroics. 

He stresses that contractors don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Many of the solutions are already out there, in other shops, other cities, even other states. That’s where peer groups come in. These curated groups, organized by Service First Solutions, aren’t just about camaraderie. They’re about transformation. By gathering non-competing contractors into Zoom calls and in-person tours, Tracey says companies start seeing possibilities they didn’t know existed.  

That support can help shift the entire mindset. As Tracey put it, “Service is the hardest work I do,” suddenly becomes, “Service is the easiest work I do,” once you build the systems and stop winging it. For anyone running a reactive, chaotic service department or struggling to start one, this conversation offers a roadmap to get out of survival mode. The key is embracing structure, scaling through shared knowledge and finally moving from food truck to fast, efficient franchise. 

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about how peer groups, process-building and a Chick-fil-A mentality are reshaping the commercial roofing industry!