One of my favorite places to visit was at a distributor’s place in Pennsylvania. The customer service staff was composed of two of the most unusual characters I have ever met.
Their respective mothers were best friends in high school and, when they married, had their own homes bordering each other.
In time, each born a little boy and the young women sat the cribs next to each other; and with high chairs opposite, the boys learned to food-fight at an early age.
This situation seemed to have continued during grade, middle and high school, then onto college; the boys were seldom apart, taking vacation with their parents to the same places, at the same time.
Forward to their independence years and you still will find them together at work, same office, same apartment, same life.
Their customer service skills lacked tact, but their work ethic was superb. The people they worked with understood their lack of respect and life was good.
On one of my trips I found the customer service desk abandoned. There was no one at the front desk, no one to care for the clients or their needs and the counters were covered in paper work. I asked the reason why it was so empty, and one of the managers said the boys had been fired because of their fights, their irreverence, their lack of respect, and other misdemeanors; they were no longer needed at their stations. How ungrateful of the management office, after all, they knew the boy’s antics were legendary.
I was surprised, as everyone knew how they behaved and how they were tolerated because of their diligence and respect for their positions. Sure, they could get rambunctious at times, but the overall performance of their jobs was faultless.
The owners had posted a want-ad on the local paper and were anxiously waiting for people to show up asking for the jobs. No one called; no one came asking for the jobs. No one could compare to what these two young men accomplished every day.
After a couple of days of the work not getting done, the boys returned. They thought it over and decided no one could do the job as well; they came back, clocked-in and went to work as usual. They took over their desks once again and started to clean up the mess of the last couple of days without saying a word to anyone. There was silence from the management offices. No one dare to speak a word, lest they became upset and left again.
I was relieved when I saw them at their desks when I returned. They knew how to run the company’s daily business and you could hear a sigh of relief from the management office, as they realized no one wanted or could get rid of them for very long.
Many years have gone by and still you can call and find them at their stations being helpful, diligent in their work and answering the client’s questions with the correct answers. Should you need construction equipment or sundries, call the office; they are still at their jobs. Their food fights have been relegated to the lunch room.