by Rachel Schreiber

If Ron Francis were to trace his family tree, he’d have to look no further than RJ Francis. Ron’s grandfather, a stone mason, and his great uncle, a carpenter. The two men combined their skills and talents and opened RJ Francis in 1954.

Ron’s uncle, his cousin and his father carry on the family tradition. Ron joined RJ Francis in the 9th grade as a laborer. By the time he was 16 he got his first truck and had “graduated” to running small calls. “This,” he says, “gave me the insight into the cycle of a client relationship of dealing with people.”

Ron’s dad never pushed Ron into the business. “My dad wanted me to be a structural engineer,” he says. Ron attended college and simultaneously worked 60 hours a week at RJ Francis. He felt he needed to be part of the family business. Ron is quite proud and committed to the longevity of the family name. He says, “That’s what keeps us so visible and knowing that a company like ours is always going to be there. The customer can look me up in 10 years and know I’m going to be here.” He goes on to say, “We’ve never had, nor will we ever have a professional salesperson. When you’re dealing with the company, you’re dealing with a family member someone who has a direct interest in the company.”

He speaks about a recent client who renovated her home. “She owned a home in Detroit’s (historic) Russell Woods. The Henry Ford Retirement Village had a room available for a small window of time and she had to sell her house in order to move there. The reason her house sold in two months were the renovations we did. RJ Francis was the direct cause of her house selling so quickly even in a down economy. Everything was like the domino effect. We remodeled the entire kitchen, replaced the roof and updated the bathroom and the front porch.” It was really a nice kitchen, not what you’d expect when you walk into the house. We stayed with the historical aspect outside the house. When it sold quickly and she could move, she was so pleased.”

Ron states, “Sometimes I’m even knocked out by the before and after pictures. When I’m working on a project day to day, I forget what it looked like at the beginning. People are amazed at what we’ve accomplished.” In addition to remodeling and room renovations, RJ Francis also does roofing, siding, window installations, masonry work and hardwood floors.

Customer relations are extremely important to Ron. He strives to make his clients happy. He says, “My clients are in Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw counties. I go to many different places and see a lot of different people. I live in the community and I don’t want to be in a restaurant and have to bump into someone who’s upset with me. That’s awkward. I want to be on good terms with everyone.”

Ron is especially proud of his family’s masonry talents. “It takes a different skill set to take a brick or two out and replace them to matching the other bricks. We do it so well you’d never know work had been done. I consider that a craftsman skill and there’s always going to be a need for restoration and that’s what separates other people from what we do.”

He takes his work even more seriously, “When something goes right, I like all the accolades. When something goes wrong, I take all the responsibility.”

RJ Francis Building Group Inc.
Ron Francis
4000 Crooks Road
Royal Oak, Michigan
Phone: 248-275-8828
Email: info@rjfbuildinggroup.com