Where One Fails, Another Prevails !

Below is from one of elite agents from Oklahoma...

Where One Fails, Another Prevails!

I screwed up the other day. I hate to admit it, but I will when the situation shows I didn’t meet expectations. My customer was an agent for the Dept of Transportation and was granted a transfer but had to cover the move herself. After much research, she chose to go with Arpin because she compared our service and safety record to all the other big boys in town- Allied, United, Mayflower, All My Sons (who the hell are they by the way). She said we had the best record and that if the price was close then she’d go with us. We were just a little higher, so she went with us.

                After browbeating my operations manager about how important this move is and how kick-ass it would be to have a testimonial letter from a DOT employee- I went and forgot to put the frigging flat screen TV kit on the service order! So when it was brought to my attention that the driver was out loading and that the TV was still not prepped, I reviewed the service order- immediately slapped myself after seeing I left the field blank for the TV Kit, and began to graciously seek suggestions. My operations manager looked at me with a slight grin and said, “Don’t worry, I sent it out with the driver this morning.” He could have started off with that, but he likes knowing I screw up sometimes. So, I immediately gave him a High Five and yelled, “Damn Good Job! You see! That’s Teamwork! Where One Fails, Another Prevails!” The new lady in our office kind of laughed nervously, probably wondering if she should work in this kind of environment. She’s still here, so I guess she’s adapted.

The point is if there is no teamwork, the customer will suffer. Then we will suffer. My operations manager could have easily passed the buck to me and said, “Hey, you wrote the order, you made the mistake, you need to take care of it.” And I would have, because I did. But, when the initiative is taken, no matter who makes the mistake, the customer sees no break in service, no delay and never knows a mistake has been made. She benefited from us acting as a team. We benefit as well.

                I depend a lot on the people around me and sometimes solely on people I’ve never met. I depend so much on the people in our office they put me down as a dependant on their taxes! But it is important to know that they have my back and I have theirs- especially when we screw up.

Well said......