I've heard that Facebook originally started as a platform to rate people's attractiveness and desirability. That's all fine and good if you're an icon of beauty or handsomeness, but what if you're just a regular Joe or Joanna?
No clue if that's actually true about Facebook, but getting rated happens in business. Especially in the outdoor service arena. The bigger you are and the more revenue you offer, the more important you are. You get better treatment. Priority treatment.
Now entering my 36th year in the world of service delivery, I've seen time and time again where the medium and small customers get the short end of the stick.
Most big companies in the market have exceedingly high year over year sales goals and load up their schedules with almost impossible workloads. Customers sometimes wait weeks for a simple proposal; sometimes months for work to be completed. Service commitments get missed. Quality suffers due to inability to effectively train new staff.
I lived that cycle for years at one of the best companies in the industry at a time when the company was at it's very best.
We're on day 4 of inclement weather. Most of us have been able to piece together a half day or two, maybe even a full day. Everyone's schedules have been impacted though.
When you have a responsibly full schedule, recovery from this kind of stretch can be challenging but by no means impossible. All customers can be serviced as expected without too much trouble.
When you're over-committed under best circumstance, the rating and ranking kick in under stress such as a four day rain. At one company, the names of trees were used to paint the ranking pretty - Sequoias, Oaks and Cherries.
Coming out of a week like this, all the Sequioas would be scheduled first. If there was time to squeeze in some Oaks, they'd come next. Cherries would be sidebarred until further notice.
In that system, you had to be a 6 figure client at minimum to even be considered a possible Sequioa. Often times, it would take more than just the 6 figures to get that ranking.
When 21 & Seven was started, the goal was to provide outstanding service to medium and small sites; To customers that had become frustrated with not being prioritized. We continue to keep that priority in place and maintain a responsibly full schedule. Our growth is organic and we make sure to keep a steady pace, keeping our staff and workload well matched.
Know your value. It's ok to expect priority service. Make sure you're well matched to the company you're choosing! Find the one that will always treat you like a Sequoia.