It's a Team's Life

YES

By Linda Caffee
Posted Apr 10th 2015 2:00AM

Immediately I started calling around to local computer repair shops in the town were we were stopped for the day.  Each local computer shop said no to what I thought I needed.  Not one asked if I could bring it in to see what they could do they all said "No" maybe next week we could get a part.

I then remember a place in Kansas City where I had sent my last computer after it had an accident.  Yes I caused that accident as well when my fingernail polish remover spilled in the keyboard.  I called IresQ and they said yes...  I explained what had happened and what it looked like and once again I heard yes.  I really thought I was hearing things so I explained again my predicament and that if I brought my computer into them I would have to wait till it was fixed.  Again a Yes and no problem, we will fix it in the morning and have it done by noon.  Mind you this business was 150 miles away and I had to rent a car.  When they opened I was standing at their door with my broken computer and once again I heard Yes the computer will be fixed in no time.  I left to go get some breakfast with a smile on my face knowing they would do what they said they would.

We use the power of yes in our business as we are often asked to provide a solution when picking up our customers freight.   The customer might not have a dock, they might have stairs coming out of their building, and they might not have any way to move a box.  Sometimes the freight requires being blanket wrapped or secured in the middle of the box instead of to the side of the box.  Our job is to solve a problem or come up with a creative solution to a customer’s problem and say Yes we can do this.

This is one of my favorite memories of the power of yes and our truck:

We were to pick up signs that were going to be used for a grand opening at a small bike shop in Rhode Island.   These signs were delicate and had been warned of this when we accepted the load. 

We backed into the dock and started loading the signs while using a lot of blankets and corner protectors.  Each sign was treated as a priceless treasure and all were loaded and secured.  The dock supervisor told us that as we were pulling onto the property the manager of the plant had asked him to recrate the signs so they would travel safer.  He said I told the manager maybe you should come look at this truck as I do not think we have anything to worry about.  They did not recrate those signs,

Once we arrived at the consignee we knew we had our work cut out for us.  We were in a small very old upscale shopping area that did not have room for a Volkswagen Bug much less us.   The store was in a flurry of activity as the Grand Opening was the next day...  When we told them what we had he asked how much held did we need and we told him we could handle it.  The look of relief on this poor mans face was almost comical.   We set out our safety cones and proceeded to use the lift gate and move all of the signs inside the store to where they were needed while the continued to set up the rest of the displays.   They signed our paper work and we left them with a smile on our face as our "Yes we can solve your dilemma” made our day and we had a happy customer.

Our motto is to say "YES" or to give an alternate solution to a customers problem.  

Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
[email protected]


Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.