@Eugene,
I semi agree and semi disagree. Without a doubt, customer service and after-completion service is very important, and a track record in low-rise in that department can go a long way.
However, the reputation of the team is extremely important as well. What are the architects history, the construction-teams history, the sales teams previous experience, and such. That all contributes, in my mind, to the "builder reputation".
That said, a lot comes down to the experience of the actual lead builder/developer, as they are signing off. A lot of the BIG architects still come up with terrible floorplans, which need a lot of tweaking by the developer/builder, and same goes for the keyplate of the building. An inexperienced developer/builder may just rely on the trust they put into the architect and team, opposed to actually giving good input and insight into what actually works from their experience. Same goes for the sales team, if they are pricing the building.
Just my two cents!