By Justin McLain, CEO, Endeavor Telecom

Next month, Endeavor turns 10 years old. This past September, I turned 34.  I started my career in manufacturing and electronic commodities. After I sold my first company, a software development company, I invested in Endeavor and later was named its CEO. In the early stages of Endeavors development, we landed a contract with a company called CTC Communications out of Waltham, Mass.  Like all relationships, we had some challenges that required many hours of meetings to deep-dive into every service issue, determine its root cause, and issue a durable corrective action. Many of the issues were related to “perception and feel” versus the actual quality of the service delivered. My comfort zone was in the “black and white” based on my history of handling stringent specifications associated with manufacturing, finance and software development. These service meetings were a point of personal discomfort and, honestly, my first inclination was to take a defensive position upon the report of each issue.

A gentleman at CTC named Rick Riley managed the Endeavor contract and was my primary contact. Rick had been in the industry for decades and was tolerant of my youthful inexperience.  With the tens of thousands of people Ive encountered over the years, Rick was and is among the most passionate in matters of customer care and delivering excellence. During one of our meetings, Rick pulled me aside and politely said:

Justin, a complaint is a gift. When a customer tells you they are unhappy, they are doing you a favor. Theyre giving you the opportunity to make them happy and that is how you grow a relationship that is really worth something.”

Rick gave me a homework assignment and recommended I read the book, A Complaint is a Gift.” I did and really took to the idea to heart. Over the years, Endeavor has maintained a solid business relationship through CTCs mergers, name changes and ultimate acquisition by Earthlink Business. Thanks to Ricks patience and a little bit of much-needed advice for a punk kid, Ive learned to turn a negative into a positive in a manner that has helped my career and Endeavor grow to the company it is today. Despite Endeavors size and complexity, I still make it a priority to personally hear the feedback from our customers.

Whenever you have a customer who is less than satisfied with your service (even if it is performing perfectly), there are a few things to consider:

Adopting the philosophy that A Complaint is a Gift” has proven to be a tremendous benefit to me personally so I encourage you to promote that idea in your organization as well. Complaints are not a necessary evil. Rather, they are critical opportunities to transform customers into partners and make meaningful improvements in your business.

As

Endeavor Telecom’s
CEO, Justin McLain is responsible for overseeing company operations.  As the steward of Endeavors value, he is focused on the development of new service products and strategic relationships assuring the companys continued growth and success within the telecommunications industry and is actively involved in managing Endeavors relationships with its largest customers. McLain has been in executive management with Endeavor since its divestiture in 2002.  Prior to that, he worked for HealthSource and Shin-Etsu Polymer Corp. McLain earned a bachelors degree in business administration and a bachelors degree in biology from the College of Charleston.  He also is a member of the

2011-12 Channel Partners Conference & Expo Advisory Board

.