‘WOW’ IS THE GREATEST GIFT
from a local bike shop from which I’ve bought bikes in the past. They told me that the bike I wanted was on order, and they didn’t know when it would get here, but they encouraged me to put down a deposit and place the order. It’s been six months, and I’ve heard nothing — not a call, not a peep. When I finally called to check in, they said maybe it would get here by February. Maybe. I get that they can’t control the supply chain, and I believe that they truly don’t know what to promise, but I’m unimpressed with their view of me as a customer. No effort at all on their part to keep me from drawing whatever bad assumptions my mind will conjure. This is the world we live in. It is so easy to set ourselves apart right now. A bike shop that devoted itself to educating its customers about what is going on in the supply chain and, in the process, showed it cared about its customers would have an instant advantage over the other bike shops. The same is true in building supplies. Our salesmen have been on this hunt all year. We’ve been setting ourselves apart by focusing on early and honest communication. There is nothing fun about telling customers what we can’t do, but it’s much worse if we don’t tell them. It is not only our salesmen that have this opportunity. In every corner of the company, we can exceed expectations and make a customer happy they chose us. Getting a WOW from a customer is the best gift an employee-owner can receive.
It is an amazing time to be in business. We have never had a better chance to set ourselves apart, and we never will. Look around, and you see businesses everywhere struggling to provide what they used to routinely do every day. People hoarded toilet paper and cleaning supplies early in the pandemic. Things like ketchup, flour, and bicycles have been difficult to find from time to time. Now, a seemingly random collection of normal products can be scarce, and there are rumors of coming shortages of Christmas presents. We tend to believe these rumors because we also feel labor shortages in our daily lives. Businesses all around us have altered hours or shortened hours of operation. That can be very inconvenient. Very close to home, we know that supply chain problems in our industry have caused incredible upset. If we can feel it this close, and we can feel it daily, it invades our mood. What an opening this is! It’s as if the entire world is expecting to be disappointed. If we can alter that expectation even a little bit, we can create a WOW moment. We can create the sticky sort of customer relationship that will serve us well for years in the future.
The secret is that most businesses don’t think this way. Let me give you an example. I went to purchase a bike
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
LOCATION - EMPLOYEE - YEARS
Scott Ranstrom Rick Swank Stan Buscher Robert Henry Andrew Johnson Makenna Cooper Bart Hutcheson Wayne Luker Jakob Jacaway Mike Taylor Shane Harrison Moe Matys Jeff Thomas Mo Martinez Robyn Walker Pete Moore Javan Stansell Vidal Gil Jimmy Granados Juan Rodriguez Darren Calder Kobe Hutchinson Jay Tegethoff Gary Cooper Trevor Parkin Miguel Heredia Caleb Baker Heidi Magdaleno Freddy Real
17 17 18 18 18 20 20 20 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 28 29 29 30 31 31 31
Jerome McCall
1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3
Richard Belmontez Kory Kautz Jerry Cheney Ashly Sisco
Boise Truss Sawtooth Door Jerome Boise Truss Bellevue Boise Boise Truss McCall Boise Supply Jerome Boise Caldwell Boise Supply Jaguar Twin Falls Pocatello Sawtooth Door Boise Supply
Miguel Heredia Donovan Moye Tim Morrell Christopher Morgan
3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 8
Chandler Anderson Ian Beane Efrain Rangel Gutierrez Brandyn Williams Heather Hill Osvaldo Rodriguez Dustyn Casady Rick Runyon Victor Elias Manuel Gomez Bryce Luker Brandon Daigle Tyler Krueger Lana Bryan KC Croner Christopher Whillock Willy Cowan Nate Lish Schuess Schuessler Brayden Danner Bob Davies III Eric Grant Austin Rydalch
1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 8 9
Boise Boise Caldwell Pocatello Jerome Twin Falls Jerome Truss Jaguar Sawtooth Door
Trent Griffith Trevor Parkin Andrew Hawley
Daniel Midby Keigan Helm
Michael Zimmer Matt Farnworth Marcus Hardy Curtis Hansen Mike Taylor Shane Ellis Greg Schofield Kent Jobe Tracy Hansen Rob Chandler Dixie Garrett Justin Brown
Chris Hunt Juan Sanez
Lily Sheridan Judy Dudley Michael White
Fruitland Fruitland Boise Truss Boise Boise Truss Boise Boise Truss
Zachary Downer Adam Harfmann Cole Slagle Danny Montgomery Steve Morgan David Cruz
10 10 10 13 13 13 14 14 15 15 15 16 17 17
13 20 22
Spencer Urie Allen Johns Jr. Steve Cloyd Kellen Palmer
3
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