Sponsored by the Gay Business Directory

Greater Palm Springs, CA

For nearly five decades, Besser Garage Doors has been known across Southern California for its craftsmanship, reliability, and family-driven values. Now, with the recent acquisition of Hanson Overhead Garage Door Service, the company is strengthening its presence in the Coachella Valley — a place CEO Byron Burland also calls home. Burland, who splits his time between Orange County and Indio, says the move is about more than expanding service. It’s about honoring Hanson’s long-standing local reputation, investing in neighbors, and continuing Besser’s tradition of inclusivity, including strong ties to the Valley’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community. We sat down with Burland to talk about the company’s vision, values, and what this expansion means for local homeowners.

Eric Gray: How did you decide to acquire Hanson Overhead Garage Doors?

Byron Burland: The acquisition of Hanson Overhead Garage Door Service was a strategic move by Byron Burland to expand Besser Garage Doors’ footprint in the Coachella Valley and the larger Southern California market. Besser was founded in 1977 with a goal of providing excellent customer service at a fair price.  Over the years, customer’s outside of our standard service area kept asking us if we were service their garage doors as Besser installed many of the doors on New Construction Homesites in all of Southern California for the past 30 years, including new homes in the Coachella Valley.  Byron Burland built a home in Indio and spends a significant amount of time in the desert and wanted to further expand the business to service more residential customers in the Coachella Valley to supplement the new construction work.  Hanson’s reputation for quality and community connection aligned perfectly with Besser Garage Doors’ vision to be a revered national leader in the garage door industry. This partnership was built on shared values and complementary strengths, and we couldn’t be more excited on how the partnership has unfolded and how welcoming the community continues to be!  

Eric Gray: What core values drive Besser Garage Doors, and how do those values influence both your decision-making and your leadership style within the company?

Byron Burland: Besser’s core values are summed up in the phrase How Its Done.  These core values are Honesty, Openness, Winning Together, Improving, Thankfulness, Structure Driven, Organized, Nurturing and Ethical.  We talk about these core values every single team meeting multiple times per week and are constantly trying to catch and praise our fellow team members for exhibiting these values, or as we say, “HOW ITS DONE!”  We use these core values to think about important decisions within the company and make sure they are in line with the core values that have helped us create a family atmosphere where are employees are all encouraged to grow.  As we have continued to expand, we have been able to promote from within as we have excellent team members that demonstrate these core values.  The exciting part is our customer’s, and the community has noticed, as evidenced by the ratings and constant praise we get from our customers.  Every time we get a positive review or compliment, we share it across the organization to celebrate a job well done and another happy customer.

Eric Gray: The garage door market in the Coachella Valley is competitive—what do you think truly sets Besser Garage Doors apart from other service providers in the region?

Byron Burland: With nearly 5 decades of experience in Southern California as a whole and decades of experience in Coachella valley, we are deeply rooted in the community and live and work in the areas we serve.  All of staff are W2 employees that go through a rigorous training program to make sure they can provide expert craftsmanship and couple that with amazing professional service to make sure our customers are taken care of properly, no matter the size or complexity of the project.  Our leadership team is well respected nationally across the industry and this respect and relationships help us with our vendors to make sure we are delivering a successful outcome for our customers.  Byron Burland is the current president of the International Door Association and travels regularly giving back to the door industry by helping other door dealers and speaking frequently at events.  This commitment to help others succeed is evident throughout Besser Garage Doors including the nurturing and development of our own employees, which empowers them with a sense of pride and enthusiasm that they in turn share with our customers every day.  In addition, we have live phone support 24-7 and our technicians live in the communities that they serve.  We also have our own in-house wood door production department so we can pretty much make any door a customer can imagine at a much quicker speed and more economical investment than our competitors.  We truly feel that we are Besser than the rest which is why we always say “Why Go Anywhere Else!”

Eric Gray: From complex technical installations to urgent repairs, what has been the biggest challenge and the biggest reward in running a business that impacts both home safety and curb appeal?

Byron Burland: The biggest challenge is to make sure customers understand how dangerous garage doors can be and that if they are having problems, that they should call a trained garage door technician that is IDEA Certified and not try to fix it themselves, even if that is a different company than Besser.  We get many do-it-yourselfers that unfortunately can make things worse or even injury themselves in the process, and we dont want that.  The other challenge is making sure customers understand that their garage door is the largest moving object in their home and that it does require annual maintenance.  Regular maintenance improves the longevity of your system and makes sure small problems are caught and fixed before they become large issues.  We see customers every day where their door was never maintained to the point where it just falls off the tracks and these most serious of repairs could have been avoided.  The biggest reward comes from our customers telling us how wonderful our team and staff are and how much they appreciate our service.  We get to be a hero to customers every day, from rescuing their vehicle from being stuck in the garage to added a new element to the curb appeal of their house that they see, love and use every day.  The constant positive feedback and reviews we get from our customers is very rewarding and it is fun to see the transformations that a new garage door can add, not to mention the actual increased value it brings.

Eric Gray: Hanson Garage Doors now Besser Garage Doors has been part of the Coachella Valley community for years—how do you ensure the company stays connected beyond just providing garage door services?

Byron Burland: Not only do our local technicians and some office staff live in the Valley, our CEO Byron also has a home in Indio an makes it a point to get involved with the local community (aka his neighbors).  We also look to invest in team members in the region by hiring and promoting locally and sponsoring events, teams, high schools in the area to give back to the community.  Because Hanson’s is now part of a larger company in Besser, we are also able to give more opportunity to our local team members in the Summer by having them work in our other markets in Southern California or do additional training when it is a bit slower due to the major seasonality in Coachella Valley.  This puts more money back into the community and also allows the technicians to get a temporary reprieve from the heat.  Additionally, we are always looking for local sponsorship opportunities to make a difference and give back.  While we wish we could sponsor every request that comes in, we do try and give back and are happy to take recommendations for local sponsorship by emailing Marketing@besserbros.com

Eric Gray: The Coachella Valley has a vibrant LGBTQ+ population. In what ways has Besser Garage Doors supported LGBTQ individuals—whether through hiring practices, partnerships, sponsorships, or community events?

Byron Burland: Part of our core values of Opening, Nurturing and Winning Together have allowed us to foster culture of embracing diversity and inclusivity.  We have employees that have diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, religious affiliation, sexual preferences and believe that this diversity and inclusiveness is a strength of the organization.  The Coachella Valley is a very diverse marketplace, but garage doors break equally for everyone, and we need to be there to support all customers and the whole community.  We have partnered for years with the Gay Business Directory and our proud to do so to recognize and support the LGBTQ community.  

Eric Gray: Why is it important for you, personally and professionally, to advocate for inclusion and diversity in a traditionally trades-focused industry like garage door services?

Byron Burland: It’s well known that there is a major workforce shortage in the trades and inclusion is vital to break stereotypes and expand the opportunity to more individuals.  The trades provide a great career and there is a real pride our team feels when accomplishing their task.  Our leadership team recognizes that these diverse teams can bring a broader perspective, better problem-solving and an overall deeper connection to the diverse groups that make up our community.  Through our mission state of serving society responsibly, this includes creating a work place where everyone feels safe, valued and empowered.

Eric Gray: Do you believe LGBTQ homeowners or business owners in the Coachella Valley face unique challenges when accessing home services? How does Besser Garage Doors work to ensure a welcoming and respectful experience for every customer?

Byron Burland: Unfortunately, there can be challenges for LGBTQ homeowners or business owners as not every individual or organization is open-minded.  At Besser, we work hard to ensure a warm, welcoming and respectful experience for all our customers by focusing on hiring individuals that align with our core values of Open, Honest, Nurturing and Thankful.  We are so appreciative of all our customers as we wouldnt be in business without them and focus on hiring the people with our core values and then training them in the trade.  We find that hiring the right type of people and coupling it with our training and processes to ensure a consistent experience for all customers, every time is key.  We invest a lot into our people and the technology and training to make sure of this.  

Eric Gray: What kind of legacy do you hope Besser Bros Garage Doors will leave in the Coachella Valley—both in terms of industry reputation and community impact?

Byron Burland: Hopefully a lot more beautiful garage doors for everyone to enjoy and make our whole community have a lot more curb appeal!  In all seriousness, our Besser Mission statement is Better Employees, Serving Society, Economically Responsible and we do feel our legacy in the Coachella Valley rests on being successful in that achieving that mission.  If Besser can continue to invest in great people, give them a great career path with excellent earning potential, service our customers by taking care of their garage door problems and give back to the community through philanthropic efforts, we will have a tremendous impact on the Coachella Valley Community.  If we can do all of that while being Economically Responsible with the business, we can continue to support and giveback to the community for another 50 years!