He's Working For His Living

There are still people out there who take pride in their work and in the impression they leave with customers.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the men at our church questioned why we were working with our particular propane vendor. The rector answered the same way the rest of us would; they were here when he came on board. Seems this vendor is the most expensive in this area and while others are less expensive, many of them provide, at minimum, the same service and some more and/or better. A particular vendor was recommended and it pretty much stopped there.

When I was in the office, I mentioned something about propane and the rector suggested I look into this vendor, "JS West". I called them, asked their charges, what promos were available, what services they provide, what happens to the old tank, etc. I couldn't have been treated with more courtesy. Then I called my current provider with much the same questions and discovered I could save about $300 for the first year and and my costs would continue to be lower in following years. The new vendor even contacts the former vendor to cancel my old account for me and advise them to pick up the old tank. This doesn't sound like a big deal except that they can't ask me why and try to convince me to stay, blah, blah, blah. I like that. Now I have to say, I really like the young lady I talk with and the route driver from the former vendor; they're extremely pleasant. However, you know the old adage: "money talks" and I made the change.

Yesterday the young man came to switch out the tanks and renewed my faith in today's younger work force. He was professional and knowledgeable, courteous, polite, and personable. He wasted no time, yet he answered all my questions, wasn't flustered while I watched and asked yet more inane questions. He cleared a path under the tank for winter rains and when he saw a couple of pieces of heavy brick that no longer needed to be out there, he didn't just ignore them and leave them, he moved them away from the area to where they can no longer be seen. He even checked my BBQ propane tank and assured me that I'm good through the rest of the summer. He relit pilots, cleaned out the water heater shed and wall heater of spider webs and made sure the other pilots were working properly.

He also told me that when the route man comes to top off my big tank, he'll be happy to check and top off the BBQ tank as well, something the previous vendor said couldn't be done. Let's face it, I can probably unhook, lift and carry an empty 25 gallon tank and load it in my car. Taking a full tank out of my car, and returning it to the BBQ and hooking it up ... dream on! Before he left he called the office to make sure their paperwork and my understanding of the service were in sync and to check when I could expect my new route man and whether or not I'd need to be home. He finished with, "Is there anything else I can do for you or do you have any other questions?" I am very impressed!