There is just a certain amount of grit that it takes to be a Latina. I don’t know if you are born with it, if it’s passed down from traditions, or somehow infuses in your blood with the amount of spicy salsa you consume. What I’ve learned in this line of business is that it takes that same amount of grit to excel in customer service.
We’ve all heard it: “The customer always comes first,” but what does that mean practically? How can we provide our customers with the best work and make each of them feel like our most valuable client (which they are)?
Do what it takes, even when all you have is a dollar.
While working with a large national brand to create some videos we ran into an issue. The client had a fantastic set created for their videos, but it was being stored at another production studio. Presented with this challenge, we set out to accomplish—by any means—what the client was asking us to do. We decided we’d take an extra day and build an exact replica of the client’s set, so that we could shoot the videos the way they wanted them. In business, we take risks. We invested the time, energy and money it would take to guarantee a happy client.
The general build out of the walls, platforms, and towers for the set was easy enough. However there was a brand element that we wanted to get exactly right—and we didn’t just try to get it “good enough.” We wanted to go the extra mile for our client because that’s who we are, and that’s what we do. So that afternoon, while I was out running errands, my team called me with the latest update that we needed the dimensions. So I switched lanes and made for the nearest client store-front. Their stores all feature the same prominent brand element, and I knew if I got there I could get the exact dimensions. But when I arrived I realized I didn’t have a tape measure on me. Or a ruler. Or anything that would precisely mark the size my team needed. But with some quick thinking I found a way to use what I did have to accomplish what we needed. A dollar bill.
I pulled a dollar out of my wallet and set it up against the wall and used it as my measurement source. I snapped a few pictures and sent them to the team. We now had everything we needed to deliver the best possible work on time and on budget. Before I even walked out of the store my team was back at the studio using the photo I sent, and a dollar they had, to continue the work on the set.
The rest of the project went on without a hitch, and our client was so appreciative that we had done so much to make things so easy for them.
Sometimes, when people hear that it cant be done, they shut down. Not me. And not the Latinas that I know. I’ve worked hard to create that same culture in my business. A culture that takes risks and makes a way. We are, after all, image makers. And it is our job to help our client’s vision come to life. We took the risk, and these bills that measured the brand element have multiplied. What I’ve learned is to always do what it takes, because it’s an investment that pays off.