In today’s economy consumers and companies have more choices than ever before when deciding who to do business with. This decision is even more critical when the choice is about more than just a onetime transaction, but a long-term partnership or experience. If you make a mistake and choose the wrong pizza restaurant for dinner, the regret only lasts a few hours. But if you make the wrong choice on a company to replace the roof on your home, the regret can last for years.
When it comes to selecting who you do business with, what can you do to increase the chance you’ll make the right decision?
Checking reviews is a good place to start, but a bad place to stop. Making a purchase today without first checking reviews and ratings online is becoming less common, but despite these efforts, it’s still possible to be disappointed from time to time. With the explosion of engineered reviews, social media bots and reputation management software it’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate the genuine reviews and experiences from the fake; and with the onset of Artificial Intelligence this task will not be getting any easier in the future. While getting feedback from other customers who’ve had experience with a company is helpful, it’s not a silver bullet.
Some of the best interactions you can have as a consumer are when the owner is closely involved in the day-to-day operations, even remembering your name and preferences. In these instances, the owner will likely go the extra mile due to the pride they have in their work.
Wouldn’t it be great to have the option to do business with companies where you would be able to actually talk to the owner, knowing they’d take care of you because the future of their company and their livelihood depended upon it? Wouldn’t it be great to only work with a business that cared as much as you do about the experience you receive after they have your money?
Compare that previous scenario to the actual experience you receive when you interact with most businesses today. The majority of the time you’re dealing with an unengaged employee who’s merely exchanging their time for money, and the service delivered to you is marginal at best. The “owner” is usually just one of thousands of people who own a small portion of stock in the company and they could care less about you, just as long as the company posts a profit each quarter.
These days it’s difficult to avoid the “big box store” experience or bureaucracy of large corporations. Unfortunately, businesses that have the owner involved in the day-to-day care of their customers are usually too small or lack the infrastructure required to meet larger needs. But perhaps there’s an option out in the market that provides the best of both worlds. Large enough to scale and grow with your needs, but still has the involvement of the owner at every step of the customer journey. What might that be? An employee-owned company.
Choosing PFSbrands, a 100% employee-owned company, as your foodservice partner benefits you in several ways compared to other foodservice companies with traditional ownership structure. Three of the biggest advantages are below:
#1: Improved Service and Quality
An employee-owned company is completely different than a typical business because everyone you interact with at every level of the company is an owner. All the employee-owners are naturally incentivized to provide the very best service and support possible to ensure enthusiastically satisfied customers because their personal retirement is impacted by the success or failure of the business.
#2: TRUE PARTNERSHIP
Working with an employee-owned company means you aren’t simply getting another vendor, but a true partner. The challenges and problems faced by the customer become the challenges and problems of the employee-owned organization, and the two are more closely aligned because the employee-owners’ success is ultimately dependent upon the customer’s success. The employee-owner is dedicated to bringing their expertise to helping their customers achieve long-term growth and maximize efficiencies while saving the customer money.
#3: IT BENEFITS OTHERS
If all things are equal, choosing to partner with an employee-owned organization versus a traditionally structured company directly helps the “little guy.” The employee-owner is the recipient of the positive outcomes of successfully helping their customers, not the just investors or a single owner at the top of an org chart. You can take satisfaction that your dollars are helping real people and not just impacting numbers on the stock exchange. Finally, if you’re currently an employee-owned company you can give back to the EO community by choosing to partner with employee-owned companies!
As you begin to explore all the options on the market today for your needs, consider partnering with an employee-owned company. Interested in foodservice? Learn more here.
