It was about this time that the company started putting more emphasis on its marketing and solidify its image. "We want to portray a truly professional image so people understand the Brinker Brown difference: quality-service-value," Brown adds.
A major investment came in the form of the company's truck fleet, or rolling billboards as the staff portrays them. "We don't do a lot of advertising so our trucks are the best billboards we can have," Brown explains. "We're sticklers for keeping them clean and looking good."
"We have people all the time asking us how many branches we have around the country — thinking we're a national company — because they see the trucks so often and they look so professional," adds Barklow.
There are 16 trucks in the fleet, but the flagship is "Big Orange." Big Orange is a panel truck that gives the impression of a SWAT vehicle — it's the Mobile Tool and Fastener Command Center — complete with flashing amber lights. Resplendent with all major vendor and association logos — including several Brinker Brown private label products — it attracts a lot of attention whether on a jobsite or taking part in a special event. "It's a work in progress," Brown confesses, "but it's been a lot of fun and has generated a lot of interest and enthusiasm. We're still fine-tuning the best way to use it."
Two other vehicles standout as well. Both are Sprinters. Unique high-profile vans outfitted to carry a pallet-load of cargo and a mini-showroom of new products. The Sprinters put Brinker Brown's jobsite specialists in position to provide customers with extensive service thanks to the installation of laptop computers with wireless access to the Internet. Connected via their local cellphone provider and using software from Integrated Systems Technology that's customized for the distribution industry, these vehicles not only have complete access to the World Wide Web, but drivers can log onto the Brinker Brown network.
"We started with Big Orange; the system has worked so well we're moving it into the others as fast as we can," Brown says. "The system allows access to e-mail, our inventory, credit, billing and account records for several thousand customers."
"With the laptop, I can do what used to take as many as five different people when I had to call in," adds site specialist D. J. Uman. "When I called in, somebody had to answer the phone and then shift me around to accounting, credit, the warehouse and maybe somebody in billing. The new technology streamlines everything and makes it much easier to serve the customer."
