Stay Strong with Basic Values at ETCO
David Dunn, Chairman
ETCO Incorporated was founded in 1947 as Electric Terminal Corporation. The original company produced wall plug blades in strip form for attachment by the customer on a patented air operated machine. ETCO still produces wall plug blades, although the production speeds have increased from 175 parts per minute to as fast as 3,000 parts per minute.
As the years went by, the company expanded the product line into thousands of different products, both catalog and custom-designed products tooled for their customers’ individual needs. The proprietary products now represent approximately half of their sales. Later, the company was divided into several divisions representing distinct product areas. The reason for the divisional structure was to allow the divisions to act as responsively to customer needs as would a smaller manufacturer with the resources of a larger manufacturer. This formula has worked well and it is still the management’s philosophy.
At ETCO we believe that old values and customer service should still be the rule. The mergers of today seem to have created companies that operate as if their needs supersede those of the customers.
- At ETCO no one will put you into voicemail unless you request it.
- At ETCO you will not be put on hold for more than 15 seconds without our checking back with you.
- At ETCO we won’t take an order unless we can guarantee on time delivery and exact conformance to your requirements.
- At ETCO all managers, (including the Chairman, himself) are accessible and will call you back.
The founders of ETCO had very basic values based on integrity. Today we still live by those values. Please feel free to call us if you have a question; we promise you–a human will answer.
Hi Linda,
Wow, ETCO sounds like a very ethical and totally customer-oriented company with great core values starting with the Chairman, David Dunn.
What is your connection to this great company? Many other companies should follow in their footsteps and deserve your promotion.
Thanks for sharing this success story!
Dawn and (Dave)
Dave and Dawn Cook recently posted..Phishing- SMishing & Vishing
Hi Dave and Dawn,
Actually ETCO is a company that is in your area! David Dunn is friends with a fellow entrepreneur friend of mine, so this is how I learned about ETCO. And I agree wholeheartedly about the ETCO model. “Exceptional Customer Service” is what brings customers back.
I had an experience with Best Buy recently. I cannot believe the shoddy way that they allow sales to happen. The customer (me) walks away not even knowing for sure what they got and what they still need to complete their requirements. And then, they even sent an online survey, to which I filled out and agreed that I wanted a call back, and to date this has not happened! Grr.
If company decision makers could only experience what we experience as customers, a lot of changes would be made in the companies that care.
Take care, Dawn and Dave, and I know you are surrounding yourselves with entrepreneurs!
Linda
Hi Linda,
Thanks for sharing about your wonderful company.
If all entrepreneurs took such pride in their product
and service, we would have an amazing world.
I look forward to hearing you share more about the
values and service that we can all implement in our
own businesses.
Mentor Mama
Hi Linda!
About time someone came out with such a customer-centric business model as the one you’ve featured in your post here.
I can clearly sense ETCO is one of the rare breed of companies who’ve effectively streamlined their entire business into a fail-safe system. That ought to be the way; People running systems, which in turn run the businesses.
Yasser
Yasser Khan recently posted..Battle Cry Of The Online Warrior
Hi Yasser,
I agree, some companies just have the right idea, and I love their fun energy!
Got to see what your Battle Cry of the Online Warrior is all about!
Linda
Hi Linda,
This is a great post ! Thanks for sharing. I have not come across any Giant Corporation ever has such rules as mentioned by your goodself and the philosophy is the best of all.
What a great example you have just shared with us especially ETCO basic value !
Thanks again Linda and I look forward to learn more from your post.
Cheers
Pearly
PearlyPQ Quah recently posted..Man and Energy
Hi Pearly,
Great to hear from you, and glad you enjoyed the Basic Values information in the ETCO post.
I agree, wouldn’t it be great if all companies worked this way!
All the best, Linda