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Elevate Your Building's Safety with Honest Elevator
Jared W. Cramer
In 2017 I was laid off from my last job in the vertical transportation industry. This is a field that I had poured my time and energy into. I started in Pennsylvania, then moved to Washington DC, and eventually made my way back to my current home in Richmond, Virginia. I created a lucrative territory and felt knowledgeable, helpful, and most importantly secure in my career. When our new Branch Manager was hired it wasn’t long until I learned not even your talent, knowledge, or revenue stream can keep your job safe.
No matter what I had accomplished, no matter the size of a service contract I secured, nothing was good enough. I spent months working overtime to nail down one of the biggest colleges in the country. Not even that could save my job. The day came that I had been dreading. I was called into the corner office and there sat my branch manager, an HR representative, and the district service manager. Prior to being called into this dreaded final meeting, I had a white envelope sitting on my desk. To my satisfaction I had won an award for excellence in customer service. Yes, you read this right. I won an award five minutes before I lost the job I loved. I received the highest rating in my region from my accounts. Every customer I had, and I had 500, gave me a 10 out of 10. This was not enough to save the career I worked so tirelessly for.
I was given approximately ten minutes to pack up my things which consisted of homemade gifts from my daughter, notes from my wife, other awards I had won from my company, and a sign that read “in the end, the only people that fail are those who do not try”. I walked out of that brick building, got into my Uber they had so graciously ordered for me, and I endured the longest ride filled with frustration, disappointment, and a sense of failure. I looked down into my box and saw the quote on that sign. In that moment, I knew I had built a career that thrived off of relationships and responsiveness. My customers bonded with me because I was honest and willing to go above and beyond for them.
Upon walking through my front door, I started to think through all of the things that frustrated me about the job I had just lost. Unrealistic contracts that could not be broken, small businesses that could not afford such contracts, unfulfilled promises and maintenance, and the lack of rapid response times. I wanted to create a preferred provider organization where we cater to the needs of small business owners and churches. I wanted to give them quality service and maintenance on an as needed basis. I had this idea that I could provide honest work and quality work while making customer satisfaction my top priority. In that moment, Honest Elevator was born.