The Fruits of Trust
After buying a new house, I (Jeff) was searching Craigslist for a contractor to remodel my master bathroom. I came across Deborah's ad, which seemed to meet all of the requirements that I was looking for. Thinking nothing of it, I responded to learn more about her ability to do the job. After some quick back-and-forth over email, Deborah agreed to stop by to provide a quote. My first impression of Deborah was an excellent one and one that would later turn out to to be extremely accurate. She was more focused on customer satisfaction than any contractor that I had ever worked with. It was obvious that she measured success through my eyes - a rare quality that I value very much. Before leaving, we agreed to enter into contract and I wrote a check that covered half of the total cost. When Deborah (Deb) left my house, I thought to myself - "this is too good to be true". Here was an extremely kind, caring and capable contractor that said all of the right things. A sense of skepticism rushed over me and had second thoughts regarding my decision to hand over a large amount of money to someone when I didn't know where they lived, didn't know for sure that they could deliver what was promised and didn't know whether or not I would see or hear from again. In my state of skepticism, I decided to call Deb and ask that she not cash the check just yet. After conveying the request, Deb responded in disbelief. After all, it is standard practice to provide half of the payment up front. Deb, being keen to sense my skepticism, decided not to take on the work due to the lack of confidence that I had in her. When we got off the phone, I wondered whether or not I had made the right decision. Here was someone who had all the attributes that I was looking for, yet I refused to believe it was possible. I pondered the situation for several days, until my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take the 45-minute trek to Deb's house to uncover the truth. When I arrived, I was welcomed by the same kindness and sensitivity that I assumed was "too good to be true". Deb's generosity and hospitality led me to quickly understand that my skepticism was unfounded. After some convincing, Deb agreed to take the job and, needless to say, delivered outstanding results and even exceeded the high expectations I had. Her determination and dedication to customer satisfaction resulted in a finished product that I am very proud of. Deb's character is a testament to the fact that "trust" can lead wonderful things, not least of which is a life-long friendship. Shortly after my bathroom was finished, Deb and I decided to go into business. Deb's experience in construction, fabrication, engraving and sandblasting and my rediscovered love of creativity, as well as our mutual inclination for looking at things from the customer's perspective, led us to a great friendship and business partnership. In 2014, we founded CREATEit LLC, a company focused on creativity and customer satisfaction. The fruits of trust have never been so satisfying.
