As Business Development Manager on the manufacturing side, I have the chance to give tours to customers and potential customers fairly often. They are blown away by the services we offer, the excitement that exists in the building, the passion we have for our mission and drive to meet our customers’ needs. Recently, a potential customer toured our James O. Wright Center for Work and Training (JOW) hoping to have Goodwill paint parts for his heat treating business. It’s not something our team has done before, but in true Goodwill fashion, the team embraced the project as a great opportunity.
In the days following the tour, we provided the potential customer with a quote that was accepted and planning for the first shipment began. It’s always exciting to be rewarded with new opportunities especially when they are something a little different. The exciting part for me wasn’t so much the new project coming over to JOW, but it was the conversation I had with the customer in the weeks that followed.
The customer called me and wanted to discuss a personal matter. When we talked, he mentioned how he was blown away by the tour and he couldn’t stop thinking about the mission at Goodwill. He talked about the passion that exists within the walls at JOW. As he walked through the halls he was greeted with smiling faces from everyone he met, and it made him smile!
He has been with the same company for 30 years and this was the first time he thought about what his work-life meant to not only him, but the community as a whole. What was he doing to make an impact with his customers, his co-workers and his own personal growth? He couldn’t stop thinking about his tour and the people at Goodwill.
This was the first time a customer toured one of our facilities and then called me to discuss the impact it made on his life. When I think about why I work at Goodwill Industries, my customer summed it up the best when he mentioned: the smiles that exist within the building, the passion for the mission he heard in a lot of voices and drive to meet the customers’ needs throughout.
My customer is contemplating a career move into the non-profit world. He wants to work for an organization that makes an impact in the community. He wants to work for an organization that helps train, motivate, rehabilitate, mentor and support people with disabilities and disadvantages. This is why I work at Goodwill and consider myself a very lucky man. I’m blessed to experience this on a daily basis. I have a chance to work with so many talented individuals that have the same passion for the mission and the people it serves. Why work at Goodwill? Very simply put—the people, the passion and the impact we all can provide to the people we serve.
