ECS West Palm Beach, FL employee Melissa was recently selected as our 2019 GRIT Award winner. Melissa shares some things in her story that we should all keep in mind – the value of trust, honesty, and hard work.
Earning trust and loyalty, especially from customers, is not easy. What do you do to develop and maintain those relationships?
“I’m honest and open with them. They’re not just my clients, they’re my friends. I might not be able to take care of something they’ve requested that day, but I tell them, ‘let me see what I can work out for tomorrow or later in the week.”
GUTS can be described as someone with a fearless attitude, with a goal to inspire and motivate others. How do you do this for yourself? How do you inspire your staff?
“I’m not always as fearless as I appear. I’ve had to have those really uncomfortable face-to-face meetings with an unhappy property owner or customer. After hearing their concerns, I tell them, ‘let me get back to the office and we’ll come up with a solution.’ Those solutions are always a group effort – our team gets together to figure out a solution.
And for my staff – I treat them like family, because my team is my family. If they’re having a tough time with something, I ask them how I can help you get through this? When you listen and help them, it shows that you care.”
Being tough is also a necessary part of having GRIT. Who in your life helped you develop this quality?
“My dad. We lived way out in the country, so I had to learn how to fix every single thing on my car before I could get my driver’s license. ”
Any Last Thoughts?
“I’m not afraid to jump in and handle whatever needs doing. In the days when we didn’t have a manager, I got the staff together and told them, ‘let’s step up and do what we need to do. We can’t let our clients down.”