In the broad spectrum of home improvement projects, a new roof carries its own unique stress because – when you need a new roof, you need it!
One evening this past Fall, while looking out the window above our kitchen sink, I noticed that our neighbour’s roof was missing a tile and that several others were loose and starting to make their way down the slope.
Uh oh!
My husband, David, went over with the news and in the coming weeks there were several discussions about finding responsible roofers, getting quotes, the lack of return phone calls and their hope that the job would get done before the arrival of rain, ice, snow and high winds.
This past week the roofers arrived at 7 am on Thursday and Friday. They worked diligently and efficiently. The roof looks great and given the bits of snow in the air, the job has been completed just in time!
Our neighbour’s are thrilled with everything about the new roof. The job has been done at a very reasonable price (which they shared with us because we have a new roof in our not-too-distant future). And the roofer has a solid reputation. “He’s owned this company in Halifax for 25 years,” my neighbour said, her voice indicating how much this meant to her.
Then her voice got slightly lower, as if she was about to share a secret with me, something wonderful and amazing. “And you know what?”, she said. “I was talking to the young men and one of them told me how much he loves his job.”
This is what mattered. It made a tremendous difference to my neighbour’s comfort level and ability to trust the roofing company. The fact that someone would openly share their delight in their job made something stressful, noisy and inconvenient a great experience.
So this week I leave you with this thought: When was the last time you told a customer you loved your job? When was the last time you heard this from a supplier? Because my neighbour’s right – it’s a phrase that speak volumes about the quality of service.
One Last Thought:
“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
— Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist
What a fantastic article! As you know, MJ, this is a subject near and dear to my heart … especially since I hated … hated … my job for so many years. I didn’t realize the harm I was doing to myself. I espouse that it is possible to find something … something … to love about just about any job ’cause “no matter where you go, there you are” (Jon Kabat Zinn). Thank you so much!
I’m inspired to respond… because I’ve been letting technology problems get me down lately. The fact is that I do love my job but every job has pieces that aren’t so great… so I need to suck it up. At least I don’t have to lug roofing tiles in this cold weather 🙂 It’s so cool that we have such diversity: a job to love for everyone!
As the owner and operator of AV Self Storage I would not say that I am passionate about my daily office activities however, I would say that I love meeting and helping my customers. When they leave and they tell me that I helped to make a difficult time so much easier, it makes my day! Colleen
So true. Loving what you do makes a statement in so many ways and in a way that nothing else can beat. And if you’re not able to tell a customer that you love what you do… it would be a good idea to find something you love doing.
steve
Hi Mary Jane,
What a great blog! So true that if you don’t love what you do how will or how could you do a good job.