President of NWMAP Lennie Green decided years before NWMAP came to fruition, that customer service was crucial to a business. But how he got to this point is a story in itself. Lennie worked in the customer service industry, many of those years under a man named Bob Farrel- who started out as the ice cream guy of Portland, Oregon’s Farrell’s Ice Cream that had lines from opening to closing. Nobody was more enthusiastic about customer service and business than Bob. After the ice cream business he began investing in chain restaurants.
Bob coined the term “Give ’em the pickle”, becoming a motivational speech that lives on today. He was an excellent example for many business owners, including Lennie. When Bob bought the seafood company that owned Newport Bay restaurants where Lennie was employed at the time, Lennie recalled Bob Farrell from high school when Mr. Farrell stopped into the high school restaurant where Lennie was working and learning. He imparted some wisdom on the young Lennie. He made an impression on him so much that Lennie began to take notice of the importance Bob placed on customer service.
While Lennie was learning the fine art of customer service at Newport Bay, he also learned some things from his mentor Bob Farrell. He learned a business can’t afford not to treat every customer with quality care. Give ’em the pickle! The main points within that speech that stuck out to Lennie were attitude and choosing to be happy and present with your customers no matter what else was going on at the time.
Lennie remembers a Greek deli during his college years at Oregon State University. At this deli, all this chaos seem to ensue in the background of the deli, behind the scenes, but Lennie noticed something remarkable- these guys never let one customer suffer. Never! They would put on that smile and say “What can I get for you boss?” Ironically, Lennie ran into Bob Farrell at an event in college too. It soon became obvious this guy was showing up in Lennie’s life for a reason.
After working for a telephone systems company, he became well versed in the technology and customer service aspect of Telecom and was able to branch out on his own. Today, Lennie owns NWMAP where he consistently handles the balance between customers and technology/Telecom with ease. Well, at least he makes it look easy because he still believes the customers should never feel the pain of the situation.
Lennie/NWMAP Telecom is the middle man so that customers don’t have to deal with anything but running their business and taking care of their own customers. He not only anticipates (technology) wants and needs of clients, but he actively gets to know their business as well. Over the years he’s been honored by friends and partners in his field and customers who show their gratitude with their long term loyalty.
