End of the week

My phone rang twice this afternoon.

As a busy commercial interiors rep. and having two children, my phone rings a lot. When it rings at 2:30 pm on a magnificent Minnesota Friday afternoon, it usually spells trouble.

Not today!!!

Not to toot my own horn, but the first call was from a designer. We’ve worked on several projects over the last few years. She is creative and thoughtful and thorough. She called to say thank you. Specifically, “you are always just right there helping us along every step of the way. You are so easy to work with.” ?She was driving home from closing out a project. “I just wanted you to know that I appreciate all you do.”

Wow. When I think about the kind of rep I aspire to be, helping people find solutions and answers is at the very heart of it.

She went on to rave about the customer service team at Friant. “They always answer ALL of my questions and do a good job of explaining it over the phone when I have questions.” ?Kudos to the Customer Service Team! In a world where they never know what is going to be thrown at them on the other end of the line when they pick up the phone, it is a credit to them that the person on the other end of the line feels supported and helped. “Oh, hey… and did you know that DASH is now on CET?” she enthused wrapping up our call.

The second call was from someone who I have known for a long time. He doesn’t buy much from me. He has a pretty specific business model that has worked for him for decades (way before I was in this business). ?“Why rock the boat?” he always asks. Despite that, I keep in touch. That’s my job. You never know when things might change.

Today, the tides turned. He’s ready to come to the showroom to discuss making a switch from a vendor that is no longer working for them. I’d like to think it is my persistence. It could also just be this: “You picked up your phone on a Friday afternoon?”

?Yes, I did. Big wins are great. Driving around town and knowing that I have had a hand in product selections in so many of the commercial buildings I see is neat. But it is the small stuff that I find myself reflecting on. Reliability. Relationships.

Being a rep. is pretty great even if you do find yourself answering calls on a Friday afternoon.