PRESIDENT’S TURF A Culture of Caring
2018 TPI Board of Trustees
Jimmy Fox
I received one of those calls yesterday… “restricted number.” I never answer those calls because they are usually irritating sales people or automated messages. Tis was a customer who went out of his way to get my phone number. “Mr. Fox, we have never met, but you have impressed me.” I was thrown off guard at his introduction. “Te people in your company have impressed me. From the first lady who took my order, bilingual and professional, to the lady who took my complaint, calm and patient, to the salesman who came to my house, you have impressed me. Your salesman didn’t have to come by my house, but he did. He patiently explained, in terms I could understand, the problems that I was experiencing, how to resolve them, and then he gave me some herbicide to spray my weeds, which was not even your problem. Trough every interaction with your employees, each of them exceeded my expectations, and none of it was forced, it was natural.”
“Now, Mr. Fox, you need to know my background. I trained customer service personnel for Intel for many years, 5,000 customer service employees. I understand customer service. Mr. Fox, I have never seen customer service that exceeded yours. You have developed a culture of caring that is engrained in the people you work with.”
Creating a genuine culture of caring is one of the hardest things to accomplish, yet when people in your organization “buy-in” and begin to care for each other, amazing things happen! Employees look for the best in others, they look to protect your investment, they put others’ needs before their own—all with a smile and without complaining. Te “drama” disappears and productivity rises. What? No drama!? Yes, it is possible. How do you create this culture?
1. It starts with hiring for attitude. You can teach people about grass, but you can’t teach attitude! Te saying, “people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” will come shining through when you hire people for their attitude first.
Officers President Jimmy Fox Evergreen Turf, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-480-456-1199
jimmy@evergreenturf.com
Vice President Eric Heuver Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply – CANADA +1-403-235-8873
eric@eaglelakelandscape.com
Secretary-Treasurer Hank Kerfoot Modern Turf – U.S.A. +1-803-713-8873
hank@modernturf.com
Past President Linda Pittillo Bradley Turf Mountain Sod, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-828-685-3642
turfmountain@bellsouth.net
Executive Director Casey Reynolds, PhD Turfgrass Producers International – U.S.A. +1-847-649-5555
creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org
Trustees John Coombs, Sr. Coombs Sod Farms, LLC – U.S.A. +1-856-358-4763
jhc@coombsfarms.com
Steve Griffen Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-518-664-5038
steve@saratogasod.com
Randy Jasperson Jasperson Sod Farm – U.S.A. +1-262-835-2826
rj@jaspersonsod.com
Jim Keeven SelecTurf, Inc – U.S.A. +1-573-634-3444
jim@selecturfsod.com
2. Develop relationships with your employees and let them see the relationships you develop with your customers. When your people know you genuinely care about them, and they see how you genuinely care for others, it creates a holistic environment of caring.
3. Communicate your vision to everyone in your company, personally. It’s not about “vision statements” and “mission statements,” but personal communication and relationships, your vision in action.
4. Focus on strengths, not weaknesses. Tis creates an environment of positive attitude and feedback. Yes, weaknesses need to be addressed, but the strengths are highlighted, praised, and recognized.
I hope you are fostering an attitude of caring in your business, it makes a difference! I hope you feel and see an attitude of caring in TPI…
May God bless you abundantly,
Mark Tribbett JB Instant Lawn, Inc. - U.S.A. +1-503-581-7823
mark@jbinstantlawn.net
Keith Wittig Central Turf Farms, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-979-657-1122
kwittig@centralturffarms.com
Tim Wollesen Sales Midwest, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-913-254-9560
tim@salesmidwest.com
Legal Counsel Monte B. Lake CJ Lake 525 Ninth Street, NW- Suite 800 Washington, DC – U.S.A. +1-202-789-8644
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TPI Turf News July/August 2018
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