Best Practices of Best Companies
Moments ago I filled out our company survey for Best Company to Work for in BC! Wahoo! Bring it on! One of the tasks I was asked to perform at the end of the survey was to list 3 areas in which my company can improve. Hmmmm….opportunity knocks! This actually, is an easy task for me as I know my company aims to be exceptional in all areas, which of course requires a great deal of learning through challenge, gathering best practices, and implementing these best practices successfully. Yes, we learn from other “best companies”, and when I spot this opportunity, I always get excited. I’m going to share with you a couple of recent examples.
This past March we held our annual conference, with franchise partners from all over Canada, the US, and Australia gathering together here in Vancouver. One of our speakers was Christopher J. Zane, President of Zane’s Cycles, a world famous bicycle store started by Christopher when he was just 16! Today Zane’s Cycles still has just one store, but it has grown to be the largest P&I (Premiums and Incentives) distributor of bicycles in the United States! How, you may ask, has Chris done this? Well, to hear his story is truly a privilege you should experience if you ever need a stellar speaker on the subject of customer service. But I’ll narrow it down for you in the company’s own words: “In a business where bicycles and accessories are pretty much the same, it’s people and policy of company that make a difference.”
Our entire company, franchise partners and staff, were so inspired by Chris’ stories of winning over customers, that we have created a new role to do the exact same thing. The new role goes above and beyond 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s already successful loyalty program and reaches out personally to the unique needs of a few of our customers, with the goal of impacting many. Thank-you, Chris!
Another great example comes to mind after recently visiting a local Whole Foods store. I declined the paper bag offered as I only had a few items with me and had my own cloth bag anyway. But the sales clerk’s response has stayed with me these past several days. “Which charity would you like us to donate your 10 cents to?” Pardon me?
Many of you may be aware of the large campaign Whole Foods rolled out in time for Earth Day exactly 2 years ago now, to sack the plastic bags. But, forgive me if I’ve been living in a cave, I didn’t realize the company donates 10 cents to charity for every customer who uses a reusable bag! Wow! Having just wrapped up an off-site leadership team meeting where we all agreed to make new, green commitments, the timing could not have been better!
As 1-800-GOT-JUNK? gets set to take on the Best Company to Work For challenge, we’d like to thank those companies who inspire us to be better and better!
