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November 14, 2008
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When a contractor in New York City needed a Gator on a Saturday night, Greenlee’s Myra Reisman delivered. |
On a Saturday afternoon Myra Reisman, a territory sales manager for Greenlee, received a desperate call.
Rodney Concha who works for Graybar, a national leader in electrical distribution, needed a battery crimper for a contractor customer who was on deadline and working through the weekend. His customer's crimper was down. Could she help?
Although Concha was familiar with Greenlee products, he had never worked with Reisman before.
“I was more than happy to help,” Reisman says. “I have lots of tools that I use for demonstrations and I happened to have a Gator (one of a series of Greenlee tools that cut and crimp wires). I told Rodney his customer was welcome to ‘borrow’ it.”
Concha immediately offered to drive from his home in Queens to her home in Long Island. But it turned out to be his lucky day, Reisman says with a laugh.
“My husband Lou and I were planning to head into the city that evening for dinner and a show. I offered to bring the Gator with me to make it easier for him,” she says.
Reisman carried the Gator on the train and handed it off to Rodney at Manhattan's bustling Penn Station. From there, he hurried to the contractor's jobsite and the Gator went to work.
"That's what I call going above and beyond," Concha says.
"She not only saved my customer's job but she saved me the hassle of going out to meet her on Long Island,” he says. “You ever ride the Long Island Expressway on a Saturday during the summer? It's no picnic.”
“When you get an opportunity to turn a customer into a loyal fan you have to seize it,” says Adele Suddes, Textron's executive director of marketing and sales.
“A customer who is a fan will tell family, friends and peers about their experience,” Suddes adds. “As we know from research, word of mouth is more credible than any form of marketing or communication.”
Suddes says that the biggest opportunities to create a loyal relationship often come from customers who are either disgruntled or anxious about something.
“Because they need our help, it’s a turning point for us to either disappoint them or be there for them. If we disappointment them we may permanently lose them as customers,” she says.
Reisman has been a territory manager with Greenlee for 15 years. From the beginning of her career, she was determined to go the extra mile.
“When I first started with Greenlee, I didn't know a nut from a bolt. I basically asked my customers questions over and over until I understood what I needed to know,” she says. “I guess what they really like about me is that when I tell them I will do something, I do it. And I do it quickly.”
Concha is now an even bigger fan of Greenlee products like the Gator, which he describes as a "fantastic tool and fairly priced.” But most of all, he's thrilled with the customer service he knows he can count on.
“I'm grateful to have Myra on my team. Having the confidence to rely on her in a pinch makes my job that much easier,” he says.
By the way, Concha’s customer never returned the borrowed Gator. He bought it.
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