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| Feb 26, 2010 BLACK DAWG Sees Success |
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Dateline Goffstown, New Hampshire
February 26, 2010 BLUE DAWG Affiliate Makes the News - Nashua Telegraph BLACK DAWG Sees Success By Andrew Wolfe Staff Writer The shady dealings of some local paving companies have given the asphalt business a bad name in southern New Hampshire, but one local businessman saw gold in the industry’s black reputation. “It’s one of the reasons I got into the business,” said Jack Child, president and founder of Black Dawg Sealcoat and Black Dawg Franchise Group. Since Child started it in 2005, the Bedford-based limited liability corporation has expanded through franchising throughout southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and upstate New York. Though Black Dawg focused its business on asphalt seal coating, some franchise owners also offer paving services, Child said. An Air Force veteran, Child said he started the company because he realized that the lack of consumer confidence in the paving business offered an opportunity. With strong branding and high standards of professionalism, he figured his company could out-compete the shady operators. In addition to the logos and uniforms, Child requires his franchise owners to be accredited with the Better Business Bureau and members of their local Chamber of Commerce. “There are paving scams all across the country. It’s not just a New Hampshire thing, or a New England thing. It’s very prevalent,” Child said, adding later, “We’ve turned that to our advantage.” Black Dawg and other legitimate companies get their business by word of mouth, advertising and other such means; they never solicit door to door, Child said. They are insured, and if Child had his way they’d be licensed, but New England states don’t license paving contractors. The one point on which they generally can’t compete with the crooks is price, Child said. Child recalled bidding on a large, commercial parking lot job in Massachusetts. There were four bidders, and three were all very close in price. A fourth offered to coat the lot for about half the price, and the company took it, he said. “They just couldn’t resist the low price,” Child said. “They took their money and just burned it.” The half-price bid wouldn’t have covered the cost of materials for a proper seal coating, Child said. “We’re not able to compete on price against someone that’s uninsured, who uses an inferior product,” Child said. “One needs to look at the consumers as part of the problem. It’s so tempting to go after the lower price, and ignore the red flags,” Child said. “It’s very difficult when money is tight to walk away from a bargain.” Black Dawg often gets calls from homeowners hoping to “fix” poor quality asphalt work, but the sorry truth is that the real repair for bad asphalt is to rip it out, and have the job done right. “I’ve gotten calls to repair driveways that are six months old,” Child said. “It’s a shame, people lose thousands of dollars.” Andrew Wolfe can be reached at 594-6410 or
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