PPB November 2017

Service Superheroes | FEATURE John Jacobsen Account Executive SanMar Corporation Issaquah, Washington Years at SanMar: 19 Nominators: Anna Ondracek, sales operations manager; Dawn Hays, senior account manager; Eileen Rausch, senior sales support; Elizabeth Hensley, senior sales support specialist; and Meghan Falkner, supply chain manager—all at Sunrise Identity What Makes John A Service Superhero “There have been many instances when I have questions about decoration locations and techniques to use on a certain product,” says nominator Dawn Hays, senior account manager at Sunrise Identity. “John is quick to respond and get me the answers I need. I never feel like I’ll be left in the dark when John is on the case. He is a true example of the ‘Just Be Nice’ motto at SanMar. He is always nice, cheerful and super helpful. Even when things may not be working out on a project, he is truly a professional. Just by speaking with him, you know that he cares about SanMar and about his clients. Somebody get this guy a cape!” Jacobsen’s skills in customer service were formed early on—he started out at age 16 working in food service. He helped in the kitchen, worked out front with customers and was a delivery driver, too. His mother also managed a restaurant throughout his childhood. He and his sister went to work with her on many weekends, and he got to see her interact with customers and coworkers. Those early lessons shaped the customer service professional he later became. How John Saved The Day “I had a decorator print the wrong logo on some shirts and needed replacements immediately, but it was getting close to end of day,” says Eileen Rausch, senior sales support at Sunrise Identity. “John stayed and made sure my order went through, and we got the shirts we needed in time. This is one of many similar situations. He also saved me from a huge mistake when I typed in the item number wrong. He really knows his product. He saw it and let me know so we were able to fix it before the shirts went out.” In His Own Words Best Part Of The Job: The interaction with my customers is my favorite part of the job: fixing problems, coming up with ideas and products for their projects, and building their sales. Basically, just helping where I can. Biggest Challenge: I’m not sure what I’d call my biggest challenge. My accounts keep me pretty busy, so I guess my biggest challenge is always making sure I get their projects, orders and service issues taken care of as quickly as possible. Most Valuable Customer Service Lesson Learned: The biggest lesson I had to learn very early on is do what you say you’re going to do and follow through. Part of that is common sense, but I’ve heard stories from my customers about how my competitors hadn’t followed through with what they promised and lost their business. No. 1 Tip For Great Customer Service: Again, follow through with what you say you’re going to do. If you lose your customer’s trust, it’s very difficult to get it back—and there’s no guarantee you will even get a chance to. Most-Wanted Superhero Power: I’d love to have super speed or extra arms to get stuff done faster. Best Personal Customer Service Experience: Years ago, my mechanic was working on my car, and he gave me an estimate and told me my car would be ready the following day by 11 am. But when he took the car for a test drive, he realized he missed a needed repair. It wasn’t a big item, but it meant the car wouldn’t be ready until the early evening because he had to have the part delivered. He called me right away, waived the cost of the repair and gave me four free oil changes (a year’s worth). He didn’t beat around the bush about the mistake; he just apologized. That was over nine years ago, and he’s been my mechanic ever since. No one else touches my car now. | NOVEMBER 2017 | 29