Intersections

Last week, I wrote about work ethic and the ideal that motivates us to give our very best effort to the organizations that employ us.  We are motivated by Paul’s encouragement in Colossians 3:23-34:

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Do you see your work as service?  More importantly, do you see your work as service to the Lord?  I admit that it may be difficult at times to remember that we are working in service to the Lord as we run the gauntlet we know as the work week.  However, regardless of the difficult situations we may encounter or the prickly people we run into, we are called to do our best and serve others in love and respect.

The company I work for is in the service business and we make a conscious effort to remind ourselves daily that our company exists to serve our clients’ needs.  One way we keep this in mind is through a recognition and awareness program we call “Always On.”  This program is intended to reinforce the notion that we should always be open to opportunities to delight our clients with superior customer service as we go about the details of our everyday jobs at PFSweb.  Over the years, I have received numerous letter, emails and phone calls from our clients recognizing the superior customer service our associates provide.  One of our account managers received this note from a client just last month.

Matt,

I got a call on Wednesday morning from an agent at PFSweb on my cell phone stating that one of my customers had just called in to cancel their plan (to cut cost). It was due to this effort, that I immediately called the account and spoke with the same person. She was surprised at how quickly I responded to them and how agreeable that I was to work with them. In net, she agreed to set up an appointment for next week where I could show them some other options with their plan and gain them back.

In the old system, I would receive an email after the cancellation causing a delay to reach the customer, making it more difficult to gain back the business.  The expedience and teamwork of that Customer Service agent was really appreciated by my customer and me.

Regards,

Rick

It is gratifying to know that we have so many associates at PFSweb who routinely go the extra mile in serving our clients.  Clearly, it is a good sign for the future of the company that so many of our folks are focused on providing outstanding customer service. 

However, I am most proud of the ideal that is at the foundation of the Always On program.  Notice that the logo proclaims that we are “people responding to opportunities to serve.”  We recognize this ideal is larger than just good customer service and extends to many other opportunities to serve within our workplace.  Our Always On ethic is also evident when our associates support the Special Olympics through Corporate Challenge, when we support local food banks with food and volunteer hours, when we donate money to providing Christmas gifts to underprivileged children and to relief efforts in Haiti and when we support and serve one another in the various teams working together to support our clients.

I know that many of my fellow PFSweb associates have Colossians 3:23 in their hearts and they are working for PFSweb as if they were working for the Lord.  I am humbled by their service and I am proud to be associated with them.  I recommend their example to you and I offer our slogan as inspiration for you wherever you may work.

Let’s all be “people responding to opportunities to serve!”

Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!