Most of Preferred Pump's branch managers do a little of everything, according to Tom Bowers, director of marketing/group manager. “Their obligation is to their customer first,” he says.
Everyone is on call all the time, he notes. “Customers have their cell phone numbers. I was at work the day after Thanksgiving and a customer called up for a pump - our salesperson was right there! Most of our salesmen get called out on the weekend.”
If a dairy runs dry and the cows don't have enough water, it is in trouble. If a customer is unable to irrigate in the middle of summer in California, a whole crop of pistachios or grapes or tomatoes could be lost. “When you are in the pump business, you are married to your customer,” Bowers says.
“When employees get to work, what they do that day is governed by the phone, whether it be a salesman calling with an order, or a customer looking for an exotic or out of production pump. Employees are cross-trained.
“We look for people who are willing to do whatever needs to be done, whether it be getting on a computer, loading a truck, making a delivery or even sweeping the floors,” Mike Floyd, group manager, says.
“Employees can't be locked into just one thing,” he adds. “We are all here to service the customer.”