Invercargill renovation builders | Hayley Hartigan

It was clearly a case of ‘meant to be’ when Hayley Hartigan became the new Refresh branch owner for Southland, with the support of her husband Mathew, in mid-2018. Not only do they bring the perfect skillsets to the role – Hayley is a customer service superstar with a background in retail and hospitality; while Mathew comes from a retail management background. But more importantly, they have the first-hand experience of being a customer on the other side. But more importantly, they have the first-hand experience of being a customer on the other side.
When Hayley and her Husband Mathew decided it was time to buy their first home, they thought it would be a good idea to do a new build to get the house they really wanted. They engaged a local building company that was really good at selling however once the building contract was signed things changed and communication deteriorated very quickly which caused a lot of stress and budget blowouts on things that were just overlooked. After being through this experience they both understand the importance of communicating with customers even when there is nothing new to report.

Hayley and Mathew’s passion for renovations came about when they were starting a family and were thinking about selling their new build and buying an older house with a bit of character and bringing it to life by completely renovating it to make something truly special. After doing some research they found Refresh and thought they would be perfect to partner with to undertake the work they wanted to do once they found the right house to renovate, however to their disappointment there was no franchise for Refresh in Southland.

This was their lightbulb moment and decided to jump in and help other people realise their renovation dreams with the best possible service available to avoid what they had experienced themselves whilst building their own home.

“After going through that experience ourselves – plus our own knowledge of what makes great customer service – has made us pretty clear on what home-owners are looking for in a building partner.”

Hayley is born and bred in Invercargill and is primarily responsible for running the business, supported by Mathew. The couple has a young son, Oliver.

Their new Southland Refresh franchise area covers a large territory – from north of Gore, up to Milford Sound.

“We've been busy building our local network of quality builders and sub-contractors,” says Hayley.

“There’s certainly a lot of talent down South; so we’ll have some of the best teams in the country!”

Refresh Renovations is a Kiwi success story that’s grown into one of the world’s largest specialist renovation companies – completing thousands of projects for satisfied customers throughout New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK.

It’s a formula that fits well with Hayley’s own background.

“I love getting results for people. It’s about always putting the customer first…and solving any problems on their behalf, to make it a stress-free experience for them.”

That fits well with the ethos of Refresh, which is all about providing home-owners with great communication, streamlined project management, and certainty around cost and time frames at every stage.

“Having those processes in place takes the stress out of renovating. The home-owner has peace of mind, knowing that everything is being taken care of and there’ll be no surprises to worry about. Other than the very nice surprise of seeing their home transformed!”

While their own home renovation is on hold for now, Hayley and Mathew will get their ‘renovation fix’ by bringing the same satisfaction to their customers. They have a particular interest in renovating older homes.