Because we sell products you might conclude that we are in a product business, but I don’t see it that way. I see Motionwear as a service business and that it is our job to deliver the best product on time as promised.
Sometimes I hear about competitors of ours not delivering goods for one reason or another – miscalculations on up front ordering overseas or computer mix ups with delivery dates on orders. While it is not my practice to worry about competitor’s practices it is my business to set the standards for the way WE do business.
So in many cases we end up getting the last minute call to see if we can deliver something pronto. And 9 times out of 10 we can say “absolutely.” We understand the panic a customer or retailer feels when this unfortunate occurrence happens and we try to alleviate that stress as easily as we can.
We Don’t “Bump” But We Still Try to “Save the Day”
Of course, we take care of the folks that pre-plan and put in the forethought about their orders and never bump them for the last minute guy, but we understand that things happen and we are set up to be the “go to” guys when the crisis order is needed. We hear often that we have that reputation as the go to company because we do pick up the ball and get the goods delivered and often, I am proud to say, save the day.
My theory is that we do what we say we will do.
Our goods arrive on time because we know how important meeting deadline is. We tell customers upfront what we can and cannot do. If we say it will be there we will go to any extent to keep our word. I don’t believe in the practice of telling customers one thing and calling up two weeks later with another story. It hurts our reputation and business, it damages the retailer or distributor who is selling the goods and more importantly it lets down the end user – the kids.
Bottom line is… If the costumes or uniforms do not arrive by performance times the kids are left undermined and deflated. We just won’t have that.
99% Success
Many organizations have to watch every penny when placing orders and may be swayed by someone promising price and delivery. They put faith in this business without knowing their reputation or history. Then delivery date comes and the order is late or wrong or not of the quality they’d been promised. We get the call and get the job done right. Of course, when it’s the next time to order I hope they remember us and make us the number one choice.
I’d say we have about a 99% success rate in making deadlines. Yes we have had the occasional glitch and my policy is to take care of the customer so we do just that. One time we had a customer in Texas whose dance team uniforms didn’t arrive on time for the first football game of the season. Our mistake. So I went out to my team and asked who wanted to see a football game tonight because I was going to put someone on a plane to get those kids their uniforms. It turned out we were able to make other arrangements but I think that is the only way to do business, you mess up you fix it, whatever that takes.
Since we do not want to make this type of delivery often, we build in checks and balances to insure that we can do as we promise and have the system also set up for those last minute panic calls:
“I NEED uniforms by TOMORROW, can you help????”
How nice to respond with a big:
“Sure, tell me what you need.”
Since everyone has one of these “crisis” stories, please share with us and let us know what you did to rescue the situation.
