California Builder Distributors Company Profile

oing in to most appliance stores can be like walking on to a used car lot with salespeople who make you feel like a target and owners more interested in moving their own inventory than figuring out the best solution for you among all products on the market.

There's an appliance showroom in Alameda County that people are saying has a different approach. California Builder Distributors in Livermore CA has been in business since 1979 but until recently served only builders and contractors and wasn't available for the general homeowner. That's changed, but you might not have known it because California Builder Distributors doesn't advertise, with almost all of their business coming from referrals.

"Sometimes people still think they have to be a builder to come here," owner Sharon Dixon told us, "but we're available to the public now so they don't have to pretend to be a builder to buy here."


No Hype or Pressure

California Builder Distributors (or ‘CBD' as it's known by many builders in the Bay Area) is an authorized dealer for just about any product in the market place, and has a particular specialty in high quality appliances like Wolf, Viking, Miele, and more. But other than being able to secure for their customers just about any make and model, was there really anything that set them apart from run-of-the mill appliance stores?

It seems so. CBD is run more like professional appliance consultants than a store interested in just making a sale. This might have to with CBD's origins as an insider's resource for home appliances, rather than a retailer dependent on foot traffic and ads in newspaper circulars.

The difference starts with the appearance. There are no large signs out front advertising that an appliance showroom is even there. When customers walk inside the clean, well-organized showroom, instead of being pounced on like at other stores, they're greeted immediately by a staff member who offers to be available, but without then following customers around trying to push anything. It's a refreshing change.

Sharon Dixon explained, "We don't call the customer an ‘up' like other stores that view customers as a commodity where their attitude is ‘A salesman has to get this person to buy something today'. I abhor sales pressure, and it doesn't happen here."

"Another difference," continued Sharon, "is that other stores have certain products stacked up in their warehouse and their priority is moving that inventory.
That's the product they need to sell you, even if it's not the best fit for you. Here at CBD, we consult with the customer to find out the absolute best product to meet their specific need and budget, and then that's that we get for them."

Sharon Dixon claims that her staff may even recommend against a certain make or model despite making more money on it, over an alternative with better reliability and service. This seemed hard to believe. Would any store really be run that way? Sharon insists yes, and offered a good explanation: CBD's focus on maintaining their high customer referral rate. "It's not about money from a single sale," she said, "It's about the whole experience leading to satisfied customers who want to come back and refer others."

Inside Story on Appliance Pricing

We don't have big markups here, says Sharon. "It's not like furniture stores which have a 50% markup. In this industry the average is only around 15%."

Sharon explained that all appliance dealers have a contract with the manufacturer that stipulates the least amount they are allowed to sell a product for, know as the UMRP (unilaterally minimum resale price). "And at California Builder Distributors," she said, "we usually give the customers the product for the least amount possible."

But is it possible to get an appliance for even less than the UMRP? Not legally. If a dealer tries to do that, it's a warning sign they're not ethical. And if they're willing to violate the agreement they signed with the manufacturer, then they'll just as easily renege on agreements made with you as a customer.

Sharon agreed and pointed out it's also a sign of a poorly run store. "I had a customer who first had ordered a wine unit at another store, but things kept going wrong and two months later that other store still hadn't delivered it to her. It caused problems for her contractor. In the end, it definitely wasn't worth it for her to try to save $100 on the price if it's then costing her many times more than that in contractor's fees."

A well-run store on the other hand, is there to work through any problems with the manufacturer on your behalf. And Sharon says she's willing to get tough with them for her customers. "I call them and say either get that model here for my customer now, or send them an upgrade at no extra cost."

Setting the Example

Sharon Dixon's willingness to go to the mat for her customers is no surprise to the people familiar with this former Charles Schwab executive, as they know her to be a hard-working, achievement-driven professional who's also a nurturing homemaker. Sharon lives with her husband of 23 years in Lafayette CA and they have a son who's presently a sophomore at Howard University. When he's not at school, he can be found learning the business, but from the ground up as one of the delivery crew, like his mother insists on. "I tell the staff to treat him like any other driver," says Sharon. "He doesn't even come into the office."

Experts on Staff

The staff at California Builder Distributors live up to their reputation as true appliance professionals, with industry experience going back 10, 20, and even 30 years. One is a graduate from the world-renowned California Culinary Academy who enters all interested clients getting a full kitchen, for the chance to win a dinner for seven, prepared in their new kitchen.

"It's a real family atmosphere here," says Sharon Dixon.

It's this combination of professionalism and personal touches that seems to impress customers as it showed up often in their testimonials to the high level of service and customer satisfaction provided by California Builder Distributors.

So if you want the same level of professional service that the big home builders get without sales hype, the consensus says that California Builder Distributors is the place to go. They're close to interstate 580 not far from South Vasco Rd and open 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. You don't have to pretend to be a home builder to go there, but you'll get the same professional treatment and service as if you were.