News and Stories

“Be dramatically willing to focus on the customer at all costs, even at the cost of obsoleting your own stuff.”

I love this quote from Scott Cook, the founder of Intuit, as it’s the foundation of excellent customer service. It explains why so many consumers and businesses insist on buying Intuit products—they are a company willing to go the extra mile.

It’s the same in the produce world. Of course there are many options for foodservice operators to choose from when buying fresh fruits and vegetables, so selflessness must be practiced more than ever. At Markon we go above and beyond normal expectations to ensure that the customer gets more than they bargained for. As Scott Cook advises, the more we passionately focus on our customer’s wants—even if that means putting our own needs on hold—the more loyalty we will build with them.

Recently, Markon’s Customer Support team got together to discuss some examples of selfless service. Here are a few things we do to make the sales experience better:

• We all work hard and need to take breaks, but when necessary, push through and grab our lunch a little later in the day to make sure we meet that morning deadline requested by our customers.
• Instead of sending a quick email, we pick up the phone and actually call our customers. We get to know them and what makes them tick. Do they have kids? What are their hobbies? What’s the weather like in their part of the world? Making personal connections helps us know how to best support their needs.
• We are honest with our customers if a project is taking longer than originally expected and commit to a new deadline—we don’t make excuses and never blame another person or company.

 I’m proud to be a part of Markon. We work hard not only to get the account, but to earn loyalty with our customers because we care. Together we strive to meet our customers’ highest expectations each and every day that we walk through the doors of this exceptional foodservice produce cooperative.