Every week when I sit down to write this column, I try to find a naturally-occurring overarching theme. I ask myself, “What have we encountered a lot of this week?”
I was having a hard time with it until late Thursday afternoon, at the last possible minute for me to write. One of my coworkers here in the office shared with me a conversation he’d had with an upset customer, who came into the office angry — but left feeling heard, validated and helped.
One of my sales representatives early in the week had a similar experience while out in the field, talking with a regular client of hers who was frustrated initially, but by the conversation was over, was feeling heard, validated and helped.
I take my own expectations for granted sometimes. I know that to hold and set an expectation, I have to model it, and it’s something that I do almost unconsciously. I move through this world looking for solutions, sometimes to problems that don’t even exist — yet.
I’m really proud of my staff for taking the cue I didn’t intentionally set out to give, and working to create a culture in which the customer is always valued.
We are your hometown newspaper. Every single person in this office has deep roots in this community. We have raised children here, or still are in some cases, and some of us have grandchildren, nieces and nephews growing up in this community. A couple of us still have siblings in our local schools.
We shop in local businesses and eat at local restaurants. We grill with our neighbors and sometimes swap eggs for garden produce.
When you walk into our office, odds are, at least one of us will know you by name. And if we don’t, we’ll take the time to learn who you are so you know you are welcome here any time.
When you have a problem, a question or concern, the very first thing we want you to do is let us know so we can have a chance to fix it. And if you’re angry, we’re going to give you space to be angry, because your feelings do matter. We’re not going to let you call us names, of course, but we’re also not going to tell you how you should feel.
We will listen to you. And will make sure that we understand you. We will validate your concerns, and we will do everything in our power to solve the problem with you.
People seem to be surprised to find this out about us, and that makes me a little sad. In my mind, we’re community. We’re neighbors, and neighbors look out for each other. This should be a given.
In the last few weeks, you’ve called to ask me to include game stats and sports schedules, and what I haven’t accomplished yet, I’m working on. You’ve asked for more puzzles, and next week we have a whole puzzle book coming your way. You’ve asked for more news about the local things you care most about, city council meetings and school board meetings, and those stories are in the works right now — some of them are even in today’s pages.
We won’t give you everything you want right away. Change doesn’t happen overnight. But keep telling us. We’ll keep listening, and we’ll keep trying.
Why? Because we wouldn’t be here without you, and we know this. You matter. Thank you for your continued support. We sure do appreciate you.