Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

That sentiment rings true again and again at FedEx where Purple Promise stories, or accounts of staffers going above and beyond for customers, are numerous and are rewarded. My contact at FedEx recently emailed me the latest Purple Promise story that impressed one of the company’s clients—Lamar Advertising Company in Baton Rouge, LA—so much that the CFO’s executive assistant wrote a letter to FedEx:

The majority of all companies within the state of Louisiana were impacted in various ways due to Hurricane Gustav. Lamar Advertising Company was not exempt.

Lamar's corporate headquarters is located in Baton Rouge which provide daily accounting functions for approximately 200 locations for over 3,000 employees around the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The building lost power and was not able to perform “on hand” daily functions.

With the hurricane looming, our payroll department opted to get the company payroll checks issued and placed in Federal Express packages to go out after the storm. After the storm hit Tuesday, Lamar's payroll needed to go out Wednesday. All Federal Express service areas were closed due to the aftermath of the storm in Baton Rouge and all surrounding cities.

Let me preface this by saying this would not have occurred if it were anything other than employee paychecks—given the state's circumstances, anything else could have waited.

We were told there was a drop-off in Lafayette, but in speaking with our account representative, Eric Newman, he could not confirm that information was accurate. Eric volunteered to personally handle our situation in the following manner: His plan was to drive down from Shreveport, meet a Baton Rouge Lamar employee in Lafayette, and take the packages back to Shreveport to ensure everything went out timely.

Eric drove down through the storm in horrible traffic, navigated his way to a revised meeting location in Opelousas, Louisiana, to meet our employee, retrieve the packages (approximately 150), and make his way back to Shreveport to deliver them to the Fed Ex office there.

I have been with Lamar for 22 years as the Chief Financial Officer's Executive Assistant. We all wear many hats in our company and make small and large decisions outside of our responsibilities. We pride ourselves in representing Lamar and its employees in the best light possible.

Eric Newman went above and beyond in this circumstance for our company and represented Federal Express in an impressive light. Because of his actions, thousands of employees were paid on time all over the United States and Canada. It was a selfless act which left me speechless.

I am tough on those who provide a service for Lamar, I expect perfection and all systems on constant go. Eric is a man I know I can count on regardless of a situation and believe me, I have never spoken those words of anyone outside of Lamar Advertising.

You have a very special individual in Eric of which you are already aware. You are very fortunate to have him in place as a face and reliable person representing your company.

I will be forever grateful for his personal act and will never forget it.

Theresa Doran
Lamar Advertising Company

Let Eric Newman be your inspiration today and ask yourself, "Am I really doing all I could be doing for my customers?"