My experience with Leonard & Son’s felt like the good old days when service was personal, based on integrity, and able to respond to a customers need.
I put a bid on a house and needed a fire-place inspection during a time of year where getting one was next to impossible. You know the drill when buying a house; the rushing and second-guessing things left me a bit unsettled. While talking with Jillian on the phone, I found myself sharing personal concerns regarding my situation. She provided perfect service. She remained professional and yet personable. She gave me what I needed as a consumer to make my decision and stepped in as a friend when I felt vulnerable and need extra emotional support. She spoke frank and provided the information I needed to make a good decision for myself. After the call, she took it upon herself and requested special accommodations from her service group that would meet my needs in the tight schedule, she called me back unexpectedly and offered me options I never expected. Jillian was fantastic, she heard me, listened to me, went out of her way to accommodate me, helped empower me in the midst of what felt like a high-pressure situation, and showed up for me in ways I never expected. She was a gem.
Then, Malik came out to check on my “soon-to-be” (fingers-crossed) fireplace. He did all the typical things a person does to attend to the service call however, there was just something about him that was different. He was engaging, but not over the top. A quiet voice with a present attentive spirit. AGAIN, he heard me when I spoke, he responded in a genuine manner, he assessed the situation and said that he could save me money on this service call because my fire-place wasn’t that dirty. (He could evaluate it without having to clean it first.) I just really can’t explain it. There is something different about these folks. All I know is that I felt attended to, cared for, and like these folks were looking out for me.
Being in my 50’s, I remember a time when things like service, quality, and integrity really mattered in business. When you actually had an exchange with a person, who heard your need, and did their best accommodate your request. As a consumer today, it is rare to find myself in a human exchange at all anymore let alone get someone to hear my personal need or respond to me with any sense of flexibility. All the “self-serve stations” and “self-check-out portals” aren’t much of a help. Often, when I do find myself dealing with a person rather than a portal, it seems like I feel a need to protect myself from the scripted sales techniques designed to drum up more business. My experience with Leonard & Son’s felt like the good old days when service was personal and based on integrity and “response-ability” to a customers’ needs.
Folks like Jillian and Malik are a rare find these days. After the inspection was complete my significant-other and I stop at Leonard and Son's business location to offer them an extra-special “thank you’ for their help. When we drove up to their location, we knocked on the door and they let us in to meet Jillian face to face. The owner came out and greeted us, and the rest of the staff joined in too. We all chatted for a couple minutes and it was one of the warmest welcomes to a community I could have received. In a matter of seconds, it felt like we were among old friends. When I went to shake Jillian’s hand as a thank you she reach out and gave me a hug!
All that to say...not only did I get the services I paid for, I got so much more that money can’t buy these days. I felt welcomed, genuinely cared for and supported. I haven’t known these folks very long, however, they already feel like friends.
They have something special going on there at Leonard and Son’s and they won my trust in the future.