One of the guys my partner Greg and I really admire in business is Louis Copeland.  He is a very practical guy, full of positivity and like a breath of fresh air every time we meet him.  I remember when the storm clouds first came in on the economy we were listening to a national radio station and heard Louis being interviewed with loaded questions of doom and gloom.  The interviewer asked him how he would cope with this recession and Louis just said “I’m just going to get to work earlier, stay at work later and give my customers an even better service.” He added that this wasn’t his first recession and this is what he did for the others and was still around to tell the tale!

It was so refreshing to hear such a simple solution and both Greg and I vowed we would do the same.  This was over two years ago; our alarm clock goes off now at 6am every morning; we are at our desks for 7.30am and I can’t tell you the last time I was home in time for Coronation Street at 7.30pm!  (Although Greg doesn’t complain about that last part!!)

Greg, our Ringmaster, drums into us the value of customer service and going that extra mile for clients.  Within Fuzion we are instilled with an ethos of hard work on behalf of clients with lectures of “Good to Great” and “Purple Cows” from Greg, that most of it does stick!  Because of this we have all become great practitioners of going that extra mile for clients.

One example is this photo; on a rare day off we went on a Charity Walk that a client was organising; Doreen our colleague came with us, even though she didn’t have to – she wanted to.  Not just content at taking part, there were record numbers of participants and she couldn’t get a good enough shot of the crowd so Greg had to lift her onto a pillar to take the shot.

She took time out for a client and then went that extra little bit to record the successful event.  Now that’s going that extra mile for a client (or 10k in this instance)!  It’s not going to appear on an invoice or a time sheet, but the client will remember it and so will Greg and I!!  For me this photo sums up going that extra mile for a customer.

There are other things we have done within Fuzion.  I joke that I dropped a dress size for a client!!!  Well my client Kate, was starting a really fab weight loss programme (DietDeli.ie) that I totally bought in to, thanks to her enthusiasm and passion for the product.  I wanted to be her first paying customer.

I went on to lose over a stone in weight in a month (badly needed) but was able to prove that the product was as good as our press release said.  I admit it was a big motivating factor that I didn’t want to let my client down by failing in my mission to lose a stone!!!  I was able to send messages out on facebook, once a week on my progress; received great encouragement from my friends and my client got some new clients as well as good exposure for her product.

Another example would be our work with Cystic Fibrosis.  We were once asked by a member of the board, who belonging to us had CF?  They felt we were so passionate about the issues that we must have a family member with CF!  We went on to win a major national award this year for our work with this client.

I don’t think a week goes by without one of the team going that extra mile for a client and I continue to be impressed by them and so glad they are part of the Fuzion family.  I know I can rely on them through thick and thin.  This past year has been especially tough, with not just work stuff, but losing my mum and others not being very well.  But they have shown me that not only do they go the extra mile for clients but for each other.

Such teamwork has helped us through so much and despite all the craziness around us we still have fun, we work hard, play hard and on the eve of our 10^th birthday, I just want to dedicate this blog post to them and to thank them for focusing on what is important.  Happy Birthday Fuzion Love Dee xxx : )