Where Are Yesterday's Paperboys?

What do Warren Buffet, Martin Luther King Jr., John Wayne, Walt Disney, Jack Welch, Harry Truman and Jerry Seinfeld all have in common? They all started their careers performing the same job.  They were paperboys.  A paperboy's job is to deliver to a deadline, every day. No excuses. You do what you promise and give the customer what they expect by being dependable, honest, and reliable.

I am honored to be a newspaper man.  I started as a young paperboy at the age of 10, with between 30 and 40 customers on my first route. Bigger papers required several trips, and on the days when the papers were larger, the route took longer. When the weather was bad, the route would take longer, and I had to work harder, but I always delivered.  

Back then, I spent as much time looking at how I was performing a task, as to why the task was being performed. One of the things I learned fairly quickly as a paperboy was my income was limited not by the number of papers I delivered, but by delivering exceptional customer service.  Because of that, I always got the papers to customers on time, and always delivered where they wanted.

To expand my route, I would sell subscriptions door to door, or by phone.  By doing this, I mastered a key sales skill without realizing it. If you sell the value and merit of the newspaper with enthusiasm and integrity, people will buy. I also learned the importance of retaining repeat customers and discovered that exceptional customer service was always rewarded.  These great lessons I use to this day.

My job running  NewspaperCallCenter.com isn't much different than that of a young carrier.  I know our customers should always feel listened to, valued, and respected.  I know our business exists to serve these individuals.  The way customers are treated resonates with this idea.

If you wonder where exceptional customer service has gone, or where the ethic of the paperboy went, give me a call.  I would be happy to give you a “no-cost” test of my company's telemarketing services.  My job is to deliver to a deadline, every day. No excuses. I will do what I promise and I will give you what you expect by being dependable, honest, and reliable.

Respectfully,


Chris Howell, Newspaper Man
CEO, NewspaperCallCenter.com