PPB November 2021

Tony Poston Founder and President College Hill Pullman, Washington I n 2004, while in college, Tony Poston sold customapparel. After graduation, he worked in themusic industry (managing bands, a screen-print shop and a small record label) for two years before launching his own distributorship from his bedroom in 2011. He credits all those experiences with helping him sharpen his customer service skills. “I feel like everything you do has a customer service aspect to it,” he says. Managing bands—thosemusicians are your customers/clients and you need tomake sure their experience with you is remarkable. Their careers were in my hands, just like in the promo industry, people’s orders are in our hands. Everyone has a story tied to their order, and when we started out, many of our orders were tied to collegiate events.” As president of a small company, he’s deeply involved in all aspects, but his favorite part of the day is interacting with his team and clients. “I love client phone calls and meetings to hear about their needs and how College Hill can help. I still love to hand-deliver orders, write thank you cards, take clients out to coffee or lunch and hear their story,” he says. This summer, he hand-delivered ice cream in branded coolies during a heat wave and regularly invites clients to football games in his hometown with free tickets, food and drink. These small touches have a big impact and are unexpected among company CEOs, even those at small companies. Poston’s focus on customer service also extends to his community, say his nominators, President Jen Gangwish and Senior Account Manager Gabi Gebauer. For example, when he learned his hometown school district’s food pantry program that provided at-home meals for children in need distributed the meals in brown paper sacks, he knew he could help. The paper sacks made the children stand out from their peers and others often bullied them. Poston had his team source sporty cinch packs decorated with one of the school’s mascots and donated them to the school district to use in place of the paper sacks. “Whether it helped them blend in or stand out in a good way, it was a small gesture with a life-altering impact,” say his nominators, who call Poston a role model for the entire team. In Tony’s Words What inspires you to go above and beyond what customers expect? I really love people and want to make sure they have a great experience with my company. Word-of-mouth has been such a great sales tool for us and when we deliver an exceptional experience, people talk. That inspires me, obviously, as it benefits my business. But what really inspires me is building a relationship with my customers and being their “go-to” guy. I found something that I love to do and always strive to be their best option. What’s an example of the best service you’ve received, why was it impressive and how did it make you feel? I recently refinanced my home and was working with a loan officer (who happens to be a client now). He is the principal of his branch and I know he has a lot of bigger deals going, but he handled my small re-finance himself, always calling and checking in with updates. When we were closing, he drove 275 miles to get me the documents because we were on a tight deadline. I’ll never forget that and have since referred dozens of clients his way because I know he’d do the same for them. What’s your best advice for others wanting to improve their customer service skills? I don’t think it’s something you can teach if people don’t want to naturally please others. You have to genuinely want to make people’s day better, and that can come in the form of a check-in email (not a sales email), a thank-you card or small gift, or a “great experience working with you.” Work hard to generate a smile on your customers face at least once every time you interact with them. PPB Service Superheroes | FEATURE | NOVEMBER 2021 | 35