Doing Business with Heart in North Carolina
By: Jan Bolick
In this rough, tough, seemingly heartless, bottom-line oriented world of strategizing for survival through takeovers, layoffs and budget cuts, don’t you love it when people do business with heart?
They seem to love their work. They get the job done. They really care. They make you feel good. They warm your heart doing business with heart.
Here are a few stories about people in North Carolina who do business with heart.
Five Star Grocery
from Wade in Burlington
One Sunday last month Ellen and I took guests to the Five Star Grocery in Saxapahaw for lunch. We had a wonderful meal which is normal.
Several hours later Ellen discovered that her purse was missing. Aside from the credit cards, she had over a hundred dollars in cash in the purse. Since that was the last place she remembered having it, I called and asked the person who answered the phone about it. She had the purse. We drove back to pick it up and everything was there.
Isn’t it wonderful to realize that there are people in business who have so much integrity throughout their organization. It says a lot for their clientele as well.
It is worth a trip to Saxapahaw for their delicious food, but that is not the only special thing about Five Star Grocery.
C.H. Russell Trucking
C.H. Russell ran a trucking company and was as passionate as we were about not just meeting, but beating our delivery deadlines.
When we had a job for him to deliver, he would take off right after loading and drive straight through to Kentucky, or Iowa or whatever the destination, arriving early the next morning, just in time for the recipient’s loading dock to open.
Once he helped them unload the truck (another unusual service), he would call us to announce in his celebratory voice, “Mission complete!”
It was not unusual for our customers to call us after C.H.’s departure to say, “That’s some trucking company you’ve got there!”
We admire the way C.H. did business with heart.
Wellspring Grocery
Kermit used to work at Wellspring Grocery (now Whole Foods) in Chapel Hill. He rescued our dog, Hurley, who had run away from home, gotten all the way to Whole Foods and then got hit by a car in front of the store.
When store employees couldn’t reach us by telephone, Kermit took Hurley to the vet and waited there until we arrived.
Anna, the store manager and several other employees called us that day and for about a week afterwards to check on Hurley’s condition.
We continue to be grateful that they all did business with heart.
A Great Landlord
It snowed the other day and the landlord actually came out and shoveled the walkway himself!!!
The tenant/business owner was so impressed and appreciative that she decided to re-sign the lease (she had been a bit on the fence). And she called a friend about taking the empty space next door….because unlike many landlords who are never around and hardly seem to care…this landlord does business with heart.
Frances, at the Furniture Store
from Megan in Chapel Hill
One Sunday afternoon, Meghan’s two year old decided to color one cushion of the new sofa with pink marker; the other with black.
Thank goodness, Meghan had purchased stain resistant treatment with a lifetime guarantee which meant that if “self-cleaning” didn’t work, the company would send out an upholstery cleaner. If that didn’t work, they would replace the sofa for FREE.
Meghan called the toll free number and was told, “The warranty doesn’t cover ink. Only food, beverage, human/pet stains, tears, rips and burns.”
Next Meghan called the store where she had made her purchase. Frances listened patiently as Meghan explained the situation, ending with “we haven’t even finished paying for it!”
“Marker isn’t ink,” Frances said, then hesitated. Maybe she wasn’t sure?
But then, “Don’t worry, Meghan. We will order new covers for your cushions. Your sofa will look as good as new very soon.”
Thank you, Frances for doing business with heart.
VIETRI
From Frances in Hillsborough
One Friday after closing time at VIETRI, the last three employees were shutting off the last lights in the reception area, when the phone rang.
It was a store owner in Georgia who said she had a top customer standing beside her who desperately needed four place settings of dinnerware shipped to her overnight. Her husband’s bosses were coming to dinner Saturday night(the very next day). Could they help her? She was desperate!
Read rest of story: VIETRI Does Business with Heart.
Sun Trust Bank
A customer drove up to the service window at Sun Trust Bank and wanted to withdraw cash, an amount over the limit allowed at the window. Though the service associate noticed there was a child sleeping in the back seat of the car, she asked the customer to park and come inside to complete the transaction.
As she pulled into a parking space, another service associate went outside and offered to tend to the child while the mom went inside to complete her business.
Starbucks
Stefany Picquet, otherwise known as “The Rock”, works at Starbucks in Chapel Hill. She totally embodies the spirit that we refer to here at Business Class as “doing business with heart” which tends to works wonders on morale, productivity and customer loyalty. Read the story here: Stefany Picquet Does Business with Heart at Starbucks.
Elygantthings
from Stephen on his colleague, Mark Prokop.
Mark has shown dedication time and time again for his non profit organization Granville. The number of charities and fund drives he has conducted and/or announced. You can’t find to many businesses as busy as Marks. Constantly there are blogs being written and catchy advertisements that keep your attention from beginning to end. Mark is also a people person. I have had talks with Mark that have left me feeling great about what he does and how i have helped him and how he has helped me. Mark always has something positive to say and do. I would love for everyone to visit his personal page which is located at Elygantthings Business Network and leave your positive feedback on what you like about his services. They are truly wonderful.
Does anyone in your state do business with heart?
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