- March 9, 2025
In the wake of an ongoing conversation about whether it’s easy enough to do business in Palm Coast, the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates is trying to collect data that could resolve the matter.
Several months ago, the chamber released a survey meant to evaluate the climate of doing business in Flagler County. Although the survey has yielded little feedback so far, it is meant to pinpoint ways that the
interactions between businesses and city officials can be improved.
This is part of an effort to improve customer service in Flagler County, said Garry Lubi, who sits on the chamber’s board of directors and also is the chairman of the organization’s Customer Service Task Force.
“We need to help people out here,” Lubi said. “Let’s not make opening or expanding businesses too cumbersome, but let’s still keep the integrity that the cities and county wants to have in upholding codes and statutes.”
He continued: “What we have to do is have a spirit and a culture of delivering strong customer service that’s consistent throughout the process. The customer isn’t always right, but you do want to make the customer feel like they’re valued and they’re appreciated. That can alter that perception of what it’s like to do business with you.”
This isn’t to say that business in Flagler County is impossible, Lubi said. But there is always room for improvement.
“We hear a lot of compliments,” Lubi said. “When we have feedback that is not positive, though, one of the keys is making sure we’re not being defensive, and instead, welcome that feedback and wanting to sit down with that person and that company and finding out how we can get better.”
Sometimes, Lubi said, contractors are disgruntled because of a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication. But in opening the lines of communication between builder and municipality, builders will feel as if they have received better service, and city and county governments can pinpoint ways that they can be clearer about requirements for building and expanding businesses.
That’s where the chamber comes in. Lubi hopes that, using the results of this customer service survey, the chamber can identify several areas in the business sector that need improvement. The Customer Service Task Force is made of business owners, chamber members and representatives from both the county and city governments. Working together, they can find ways to improve, such as by streamlining the permitting process, which Lubi said is one of the top criticisms he has heard.
“You can take a $5,000 job and add $1,500 to it with all the needed permits and architectural drawings needed,” Lubi said. “That may be the difference between a small business deciding to do the expansion or deciding not to do the expansion.”
Lubi also hopes to make it easier for small businesses to navigate the permitting process when they decide to open or expand. These aren’t contractors who deal with building departments every day; in fact, they may only do so once or twice in their lives.
“I’d like to see the chamber as a resource so people can call us, and we can direct them where they need to go to get their job done,” Lubi said. “If we deal with this all the time, we can save small business owners a lot of work and research.”
