By Archie Messenger

Well I thought I had had every kind of call from a customer. Today proved me wrong again. I had a call this afternoon from one of our large customers and he expressed that we were doing a great job for him, but he saw the same people's names coming up on projects so often that he was worried that we would burn out our people.  He did not want that to happen on his account.

I spent the next five minutes having a pleasant conversation with him, explaining that whenever possible we like to keep the same customer-facing people on an account so we have continuity and build relationships.  But behind the scenes we work as a team to provide the support necessary to keep a project running smoothly and on schedule. 

I have been in this business over thirty years and this is the first time I've had a customer worry about whether my people are overworked.  It is a blessing to see that kind of positive attitude in the workplace and to know that people exist who watch what's happening and really care about people instead of just complaining when something goes wrong. 

His final comment I believe tells it all.   He said from his viewpoint we've built a partnership over the years that's made his people and my people one in the same when it comes to getting things done.  Wow.  This customer set the bar pretty high, and it's inspired me as a manager.  My goal is to feel that way about all our people- including our customers and our own staff- and to inspire those around me to feel the same way.  I guess you can teach an old dog some new tricks.