Weather Tight Honored as BBB 2022 Torch Award for Business Ethics Winner

The Weather Tight team is deeply honored to be a 2022 Torch Award for Business Ethics recipient from the Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin. We join eight Torch Award for Business Ethics Winners and five BBB Spark Award Winners in this incredible honor, all from various business backgrounds.

The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin offers the Torch Awards for Business Ethics each year to honor businesses and non-profits that meet rigorous standards of business ethics and trust with their customers, employees, and communities. Once a business receives this award, it cannot become eligible again for three years.

Why Weather Tight Received the Torch Award for Ethics

At Weather Tight, we’re proud of our excellent customer reviews and ability to resolve customer issues and address concerns quickly. We pride ourselves on being responsible, ethical, and dedicated to quality home remodeling products and installations. Not only that, but we are a FAMILY with a strict set of core values. Our core values are TRUSTED—each letter represents a key component of what we strive for day in and day out: Truthful, Responsive, United, Supportive, Thoughtful, Enthusiastic, and Determined. In every interaction with customers, vendors, as well as each other, our team does their part to convey TRUSTED in each part of their day. Tod Colbert, our CEO, states, “The foundation of empowering staff to carry out our commitment to operating and maintaining ethical business practices stems from these established set of values.”

With over 30,000 satisfied Southeastern Wisconsin customers for more than 36 years, Weather Tight has carefully built a reputation as Wisconsin’s Most Recommended Remodeler. We employ just shy of 100 employees and offer employees who qualify an opportunity to take part in our Employee Owner Stock Program, or ESOP.

The Decision to Become an Employee-Owned Company

Since our foundation in 1986, Weather Tight has been locally owned and operated by President and Founder Tod Colbert and Vice President Todd Schulz. You’ll always find them in the Weather Tight offices or as our brand representatives on TV commercials. The most common question asked—besides if they really are named Tod and Todd (yes, they really are!)—is, are they really that involved in the company? The answer is YES! Every. Single. Day. After having put in over 36 years in business, Tod and Todd, while they still have many years ahead of them left, needed to start thinking about what retirement looked like for them, what their future plans were, and what that would mean for the organization.

Since Weather Tight has been well-known in Southeastern Wisconsin, Tod and Todd were contacted by numerous 3^rd party buyers who had an interest in purchasing Weather Tight outright directly from them. This would have allowed them the financial freedom to retire and would have given them the option to walk away from any potential burden that they carry with business decisions. Tod and Todd considered this option heavily, as the buyout was lucrative for both parties and was highly tempting. However, as Tod stated, he “was having trouble sleeping at night” with the thought of selling the company outright. While it would allow him to sail away into retirement comfortably, it would also bring on a new President, Vice President, and the set of policies, rules, and procedures that he spent 36 years building. They didn’t want to lose the culture that Weather Tight employees are family.

Todd thought, “How would the employees feel if everything changed and they had a leader that potentially did not care about them?” He felt that while the offers on the table were generous and he was filled with pride to see what his years of hard work had built in number form, he cared more about the outcome to employees and having his legacy of the company stand with his values. Selling to an outside buyer would be the end of that. Instead, Tod and Todd started the research process of becoming Employee Owned, or an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program), selling the shares to the employees, and allowing a board of trustees to be the voice. It took years, time, money, energy, and a lot of hard “outside buyer proposals” to say no to, but at the end of 2021, Weather Tight officially became an ESOP.

Tod and Todd’s decision to selflessly turn down a hefty buyout in order to uphold the core Weather Tight ethics and values shows their loyalty to those that helped Weather Tight become successful—the employees—matters more than any financial gain. Our employees care not only about our customers but their careers. Allowing them the opportunity to benefit from our profits would only make them care that much more, and that speaks volumes about their commitment to individual employees. When Tod & Todd announced this to our staff, each team member felt thankful (some even shed a tear or two). Our employees have always cared about their jobs. Now, as employee owners, the purpose of their day-to-day activities is much more important. It gave them that drive to be that much better and provide better service and decision-making. This is not just a company that we “work for”—this is “our company.”

We know that offering the highest-quality products and excellent service to Wisconsin homeowners is crucial to our business at Weather Tight, but it’s our approach to customer service that truly sets our company apart. We recognize that deciding to update your home is an intensely personal choice, and there are many options out there (and let’s be honest, contractors do not always have the best reputation). We will never take your choice to work with Weather Tight lightly. We stand behind our work and know that repeat customers are vital for our success, which is why winning the BBB 2022 Torch Award for Business Ethics holds such a deep place in our hearts. We strive for ethical decision-making with our customers, honest timelines, transparent pricing, owning our flaws, and always doing what we can to make things right.

At Weather Tight, we treat our customers as we would want to be treated. After all, they are our friends, neighbors, and family members. We want you to feel satisfied with your home remodeling choice, and we know honesty and integrity are the keys to making it happen.

Repeat Torch Award for Ethics Winner

One reason why we value this honor so much is that we’ve been BBB Torch Award for Business Ethics winners before. We received the Torch Award for Business Ethics in 2017. We know that it doesn’t come easily, and it means that your company has truly had an impact and made a difference in the community, and we have upheld the business ethical standard that is so high in our industry.

This year, there were more applicants than in the past five years, making the competition extra rigorous. The BBB looks at ethics in day-to-day operations and interactions with employees and customers. The award is given to businesses and organizations of all sizes that embody “BBB’s mission to advance marketplace trust.”

The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin is a top-tier community resource relied upon by many people to guide them through market decisions and purchases. The BBB Serving Wisconsin has been giving the Torch Award for Ethics for 18 years, and the award is open to applicants with at least a “B” rating with the Bureau. Weather Tight holds an A+ rating.

Organizations that receive the award must have been operating for at least three years, met all their financial obligations, and have good operating standards. A panel of judges reviews many aspects of each business, including their focus on the “four C’s” of culture, character, customers, and community. The judging process is thorough, and organizations often need to supply supplemental documentation.

We know that there are many business awards out there, and it can be hard to measure or understand the meaningfulness of an award. The reputation and process for the Torch Award for Business Ethics from the Better Business Bureau Wisconsin Division set the bar in the business world. We couldn’t be prouder to be a second-time recipient of this honor. We are now qualified for the BBB International Torch Award for Business Ethics, and we are honored to be considered for this award as well.

Please contact us to learn more about Weather Tight, our services, and our business. We’re happy to show you why we’re Wisconsin’s Most Recommended Home Remodeler. Let us also show you why we are so honored and deserving of the BBB 2022 Torch Award for Business Ethics.