Service is the plan for 2026

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Revealing how disciplined processes and accountability turn roofing services from reactive work into a reliable growth engine. 

A new year has begun, and crews are stepping into the new year with winter jobs still in motion and unpredictable weather already shaping what comes next. On this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth brought in Tracey Donels of Service First Solutions to talk about goal setting for 2026 and how contractors can grow their service departments. 

A thriving service department can be defined by how reliably it responds, how clearly it moves from call to closeout and how confident a customer feels before anyone even climbs a ladder. For the contractors looking to boost their sales across the board, starting with a high-functioning service team is key. 

Professionalism, as Tracey described it, is not something a company puts on like a logo. It is how a team of experts hold themselves and their capabilities to complete their duties, as well as how one communicates with customers and meets expectations.  He tied that expectation to structure rather than size, emphasizing that professionalism comes from having defined processes, consistent discipline and clear ownership at every stage of the service cycle. From the moment a call comes in, to the time the invoice is sent, someone must be responsible for what happens next. That clarity allows service work to move forward reliably, even when volume increases or staffing shifts, because the process does not depend on any single person carrying everything in their head. 

A service department does not need seven trucks to feel established, but it does need a system that still functions when someone is out sick, when storms flood the phone lines with calls or when one person suddenly has to carry the weight of two roles. In many ways, service might start to resemble the efficiency of a drive-thru line, prepared to serve customers from the moment the order arrives. 

As Tracey explained, growth often begins with paying closer attention to the roof already in place. He shared, “I would say first and foremost, prioritize recommended repairs. If we have a small service department, often we are being very reactive, right? And that’s okay if we’re solving the emergencies, but we’re often stopping there.” He used that point to describe a shift away from service that ends at the repair and toward work that anticipates future issues while crews are already on site. 

By widening the lens and adopting a proactive approach to service work, contractors can show building owners how smaller fixes today prevent larger failures tomorrow, protecting interior operations and reducing the disruption of repeat calls. The change is subtle, but it moves service out of emergency mode and into something more durable: a working relationship built on foresight rather than reaction. 

Additionally, accountability, in Tracey’s view, only works when it is made visible. “I'm a firm believer in scorecards. I'm a firm believer in everybody having actions they have to partake in whatever job or role they have in the company. Everybody has a number,” he explained. He framed measurement as a daily habit rather than a quarterly goal, something that keeps the department honest about what is working well and what is slipping between the cracks. 

 By tracking backlog, responsiveness and completion, service becomes easier to manage without becoming mechanical. Over time, those numbers turn into something more than metrics: they become a way of keeping promises in view, week after week, until the department grows into something the whole company can lean on. 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about building a professional service department with Service First Solutions!