For twenty five years I have maintained an enormous effort toward delivering the very best customer service I can. To this day I attribute much of my firms success to this endeavor.
The last few years however, I have come to realize that this is certainly not the sole reason for this success.
Although not a direct conscious principle, managing and directing a team of individuals in an uncompromisingly ethical manner has guided all my decisions and has surely been pivotal in my firms longevity. It is simply who I am. I didn't require any coursework or seminars to know that this was the only way in which to run a business. I am convinced that the reason I am still conducting business - albeit at a slower pace - is due to quality customers wishing to deal with quality vendors... in this case, an ethical land surveyor who refuses to cut corners or circumvent legal statutes.
Surely I could have resorted to gifts, bribes, unstructured "profit-sharing", or offered the ubiquitous "washout" and amassed an amazingly dense list of customers.
But where would all those customers be now? So many of them either going out of business or even being indicted for fraudulent operations. And if my business were reliant upon theirs... where would I now find myself? Most likely meandering the long lines of the local unemployment office along with 10 % of our population.
Instead, I enjoy a core group of like-minded customers committed to delivering ethically sound quality services and sure, we are battling a slump right now but we will all still be here to enjoy a return to normal housing activity... and profit fairly once more.
Of course I would enjoy working with more of you. You may visit http://www.landtechsurvey.com/ for full details of what we offer.
I find myself quite proud of what I have accomplished and what I have shared with both my customers and my employees. The very best result from all this is the slight welling up of my eyes and the slight lump in my throat when my 14 year old son looks at me, speaks of his respect for me, and tells me he wants to grow up "just like you dad".
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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I just read an article yesterday about how companies that operate according to an inner moral compass and a higher purpose tend to outlast their competition (costco was mentioned as a leader). It seems that you have certainly tapped into that. As for me, it is definately a pleasure dealing with companies that care more about their customers than the bottom line. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI was recently marketed with a new survey format. The survey has a banner across the top which has (advertising) information, e.g. copy of the realtor's, title co.'s, and mortgage co,'s business cards. Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think that it should be looked upon as "something of value in exchange for preferential treatment" or simply an innovative survey? Do you think that if I opt to have my business card included on it that I expose myself to increased liability in case of issues with the survey--in other words, am I associating myself with the survey itself?
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous on 9/10/09...
ReplyDeleteIt seems odd to me to offer or be included in advertising on a survey (assuming you are refering to a drafted sketch of survey that has been sent in electronic form) as such a survey typically is not seen by many people other than the parties already involved in the real estate transaction.
Insofar as liabilty exposure - I don't feel there is any for the reason stated above as well as the fact that it is the Surveyor alone who is liable for his or her actions regarding the survey... although simply being associated with a firm can have its own (positive or negative) exposure elements.
Thanks for sharing!