BUFORD, Ga. – Thirty years ago, two small-town acquaintances joined forces to bring a local, family feel to their service industry business.
In the years since, Greg Holley’s and Trey Scarborough’s commitment to service, care for their team members, and interest in home protection helped develop Zone into a regional powerhouse.
After beginning as a pest control company, Zone now also offers HVAC and water filtration installation and maintenance, and customers across metro Atlanta and northeast Georgia remain loyal to a local company that prides itself on its reputation.
“We’re a family first business, and that extends to every part of our business – in how we treat our employees and our customers,” said Greg, Zone’s President and Co-Owner.
It is a very deliberate and cultivated approach – one that was the goal back when Zone opened with just two friends and one truck.
“We came from a small town, in Dublin (Ga.) where you were nothing without your reputation, and we made it a point to run our company like that even here in a big area,” said co-owner Trey. “That’s why we treat our technicians like we want them to treat our customers. It filters into everything we do, and I think you see that in how our customers think about us.”
That approach has helped Zone grow from humble beginnings to a company that now includes 27 trucks and a whole host of employees that have a wide range of expertise – all geared toward protecting the homes of their customers. And while, at first brush, pest control, HVAC, and water filtration may not seem related, Greg and Trey saw significant links, as they looked to expand their business throughout the 2000s and into the present.
“It’s all about total home protection,” Greg said. “We started by shielding homes from pests; then we began protecting the air our customers breathe, and now we’re starting to safeguarding the water they drink and come into contact with every day.”
Zone’s growth wasn’t always easy, and it certainly wasn’t fast-tracked. But its owners wanted to be certain that, before they jumped into a new service offering, they could provide the best level of installation and maintenance available in that field. And that all goes back to their founding principle.
“We’ve strived to make Zone a destination company for our team members from day one,” Trey said. “And we have held to that standard. Most of our team has been here for many years.”
When you combine that care for the employee with a determination to only hire the best people – either experts in their field or those capable of becoming experts through training – it’s no wonder that customers are happy to stay with Zone, as well as trust them with their various services.
“Our team members have built great long-term relationships with their customers,” Greg said. “We’ve seen customer’s kids grow from infancy to college graduates, and it’s been fun to watch how our team relates to the needs of our customers. I can’t say we are part of their family, but many Zone technicians end up with presents under the Christmas tree from their customers.”
Zone employees also understand each other and are in constant communication about what their customers are experiencing. That constant contact and understanding makes it easy for customers to know that their needs are being fulfilled. For instance, if a customer is utilizing Zone’s pest control services, that customer can move seamlessly into HVAC or water filtration services by simply talking with their pest control technician.
“We’ve earned a lot of loyalty by being open and honest and doing everything we can for the customer,” Greg said. “It’s also fun being involved with families for that long and building meaningful relationships.”
That being said, neither Greg not Trey can fully wrap their heads around the weight of 30 years of relationships – at least not yet.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes – but sometimes it seems like we just started yesterday,” Greg said. “Trey and I have had a great partnership and we balance each other perfectly, and we’ve really built something special.”
It’s a growth that continues and shows no sign of slowing down.
“We’re nowhere near done yet,” Trey said. “We still love this company and we’re excited about what’s to come.”