WE EXIST, TO BE OF SERVICE, TODAY, TOMORROW, AND INTO THE NEXT CENTURY!
Family Culture Creates Standout Repair Service & Installation Cold Storage Company
It was a hot, sunny day in August… Dan Rizzo and Mark Fennimore were on their way back from a job site in Bethesda, Maryland.
“Today we worked on a deli showcase—customers stand and order from the front and the employees stand behind, showcasing meats and cheeses,” explained the Owner of Gina Marie Doors, Dan Rizzo. “The glass window on the cases that is supposed to lift up, fell out on one side. I got a phone call and pictures from the client. She said, ‘Nobody can fix this, what makes you think you can fix it?’”
“But I was able to use what she sent me to get the tools and parts we needed. So, we took apart the showcase and rebuilt it."
"We replaced the specialty hardware. The client was a Spanish woman, and at the end I looked at her and said ‘Todo bien!’ She couldn’t believe it.”
Third Generation Refrigerator Door Medics
Senior Partners, Dan Rizzo and his brother David Rizzo are third generation refrigerator door medics. In their mind, there isn’t anything in the industry that they haven’t seen or haven’t already fixed. However, most clients are quite wary about whom they trust to service their cold storage equipment.
“So many times, I’ve heard my Dad say, ‘We quoted three hours, but if it takes an extra hour just get it done right,’” said David Rizzo. “Trust me, we wanna stay in our quote times but if it’s just an hour that’s going to make the difference, then we get it.”
“Our call-back percentages are ridiculously low due to that little bit of extra work,” continued David Rizzo. “We’ve always been more about getting the job done right and correct rather than the dollars and cents. We learned from our father, and he learned from his father before him. And we pass that down to everyone who works for us.”
Family Business Breeds Young Talent
Accordingly, Dave and Dan have taught young, talented men like Mark Fennimore, Randy Cappiello, Joe Riceputo, and Timothy Karcher. It’s easy for clients to be satisfied after hearing company executives speak. But it’s not often that each and every employee have the same mantra.
“I always say, we fix the why not the what. For example, you can change brake pads all you want on your car, but if rotors are warped then it won’t matter,” explained Mark Fennimore, Crew Chief Supervisor for Gina Marie.
The commitment to the client seems to flow across the board from Gina Marie’s leaders down to the technicians. The faces that adorn Gina Marie shirts are not only technically sound, but they possess the gold standard in customer service.
Hearing the team members talk, clients will soon come to realize they've been brought up on the Rizzo family motto: "Good, Better, Best... Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best."
Their mantra is to fix the reason a problem is occurring, rather than just the component a client has noticed isn’t working. What’s more, Gina Marie’s leadership has bred a company culture which reflects these ideals.
“We maintain a family brotherhood type culture,” said David Rizzo. “I have a face-to-face with my guys every morning and talk about dealings with clients, what the day’s job entails, what work to perform, and how to do it with the necessary tools, supplies, and team members.”
“The clients will only see that we are prepared. We act like a big company for our customers, but we are a small, team-oriented operation. And we all feed off each other. There might be a tech that’s stronger in one field that another. We will assign the proper individuals and always help each other out, which is super beneficial for us and for the clients,” explained David Rizzo about his team’s work culture.
He also explained that none of this would be possible without Uncle John Rizzo (another Senior Partner) who manages the finances and "back of the house" work.
Years in Business Brings About Client Satisfaction
When partnering with Dan and David, clients also realize that Gina Marie Refrigerator Doors will not always suggest a new piece of equipment.
“We’re a life support line for a lot of our customers. We fix it or do what needs to be done to hold them over until we can fix it,” said Dan Rizzo.
In many cases, the Gina Marie team will fabricate parts that are no longer manufactured or fix items that are years out of warranty before suggesting a brand-new install.
“One of our niches is that we always find a way,” said Dan Rizzo. “When other people can’t get it done, we figure it out. We’ll make proactive repairs as well."
"Anyone who says we’re too expensive and tries another avenue, we usually see them again. When we do work, our goal is for the next call to be for something else in the store, not the item we just worked on. It’s never meant to be a hold for a little bit, it’s meant to be fixed!”
Dan Rizzo went on to tell how one particular 7/11 location loves that his team continues to fix and service their 1972 refrigerator doors. For years, this client has employed Gina Marie because it is the only company that will fabricate the necessary parts.
This work sample is consistent with the attention to detail and custom approach that Gina Marie’s service technicians will take. Rizzo explained further that while other companies might fix one particular problem, Gina Marie will create a plan so that issues do not reoccur.
“The anti-sweat industry and the heating element industry is a lot like Christmas lights,” explained Dan Rizzo. “When one thing goes wrong, then many things can occur. So, for our clients, we often create independent systems, so they don’t lose the whole enchilada (or the whole anti-sweat system) [laughs].”
A Growing Family Business Satisfied with Nothing Less than Excellence
The Gina Marie family does the job correctly time and time again by suggesting proper solutions, assembling the perfect crew, and customizing responses to unique issues.
“It all started with Pop [pictured left taking a selfie with Dan]. He had set up shop very nicely for the company. He was never about self-promotion and never wanted to take a picture—he just wanted to get the work done right,” recalled Dan Rizzo. “Now [our father] has a stainless-steel shoulder and hips, but he won’t stop working.”
With generations of Rizzos and apprentices of Rizzos hard at work for Gina Marie Refrigerator Doors, it goes without question that these individuals have built more than just a well-oiled company… Gina Marie is a cold storage repair and refrigerator door medic family.
We are continually growing and diversifying to satisfy the needs of our clients. Our list of services extends well beyond commercial glass refrigerator doors. Today we offer our clients creative solutions for repairs and new installations of the following equipment:
- Glass Reach-In display Doors
- Walk-In Box Swinging Clad Doors
- Walk-In Cold Storage Boxes to Warehouses Installed
- Sliding PVC Glass Doors
- Bakery Retarder and Proof Boxes
- Bi-Parting Metal Swing Doors
- Plastic Traffic Swing Doors
- Energy Guard Flap Doors for Freezer and Coolers
- Flexible Strip Curtains and Strip Curtain Doors
- Cold and Warm Air Curtain Doors
- Lighting in Display Cases
- Heating Elements for Doors and Frames
- Display Case Glass Replacements (Euro-curve and Flat)
- Case Protection Products (Corner Guards and Bumpers)
- Equipment Transfer, Carting, Setting and Installation
- Custom Metal Bending, Welding and Fabrication