Top Notch History

Hard work, persistence, and above all doing the right thing. This was the mantra of Tom Chipps, and this is the essence of Top Notch Service Group, the company he founded. Tom grew up in rural West Virginia, graduating from West Virginia University with a degree in Civil Engineering. After college, Tom, like many in the Appalachian region, took a job in the mining industry working as an engineer. He spent the first part of his career, approximately 10 years, in the fossil fuel industry, often traveling across several states to get the job done.

But soon the coal industry began to suffer, and West Virginia was not immune. Seeing the coming changes, Tom began exploring other options to support his wife, Jane, and their family. His engineering background provided him with the intellectual tools and the coal industry was a training ground for developing a solid work ethic. He just needed to find a niche to apply his skills and commitment to excellence. This is when a friend suggested the commercial cleaning industry. At the time, Southern West Virginia lacked a professional cleaning firm and Tom pounced on the opportunity.

Like most small startups, Tom began selling by day and cleaning by night. The year was 1986. Every customer was important to Tom, a company virtue held to this day, and he personally made certain each customer was serviced right. Slowly but surely, Tom built a company that would dominate the Southern West Virginia market. Old-fashioned values, like hard work, excellence, and integrity, are the foundations the company was built upon.

During the early 2000s, Tom’s son Jason, a West Virginia graduate, began to express aspirations of joining the leadership at Top Notch. After a few years in the real estate development field, Jason joined the company, assuming an operational leadership role. It wasn’t long before Jason expanded the company’s service area, creating a thriving Charleston branch, and firmly established the company as a full-scale regional service provider. The firmly held company values passed down from his father ensured the continued success of the company.

The history of Top Notch Service group is not fully written. Under Jason’s leadership and Tom’s guidance, the company is poised to continue their service excellence tradition for years to come. Their aim is to build an enduringly great company, serve their regional market with excellence, be a great place of employment, and ALWAYS hold firm their values, no matter the cost. Top Notch Service group is truly top notch.