Priorities are something that every business, and every person, deals with. Ever changing, there is usually more than one priority competing for the top spot.
First and foremost, our number one priority is always the quality of our work. Nothing is ever allowed to top that one. There is an old poster that circulated years ago that reads “Good, Fast, Cheap — pick two”. While it is a joke about priorities, picking any two always excludes the third. We have chosen to pick one –Good. By focusing on quality, we can always be proud of what we send to your home. Our goal is for the quality of our work to exceed the client’s expectations.
Lately posting to this blog has, by necessity, been given a lower priority. To those who look forward to somewhat regular posts, I apologize. Also, I hope you will agree with my decision after reading the explanation.
We recently completed a project for the “S” family that we considered a high priority. We restored and repaired approximately 75 pieces of furniture from the “S” family’s home. In number of pieces, it is the largest project we have ever handled from a single home. The family became the victim of a flood late last year that devastated their home and all the contents. I have been a flood victim in years past and I can tell you that it is a real mess. Mine was on a much, much smaller scale, so I can barely begin to understand what they went through. Restoration of flood damage, or storm damage, is fairly common for us. But, this was catastrophic.
I began to see the real impact of their loss as we were making the deliveries of the completed pieces. As we delivered and set up the completed furniture it hit me that we literally had every stick of furniture they owned. Each trip we were met by Mrs. “S” and we began hearing the stories of where and when the furniture pieces were obtained. The drop leaf table in the den holds the grandkids photos. The console in the hall came from a hotel in Houston. Mr. “S”‘s favorite chair went back in the den. Some pieces were passed down from older generations. It was a joy to see her smile as old friends came home.
Some extra hours, some evenings, and weekends were required before the work was completed, but it was all worthwile. It was easy to see that our efforts were genuinely appreciated. In the end we felt honored to not only restore the furniture, but preserve some of the family’s history.
So now it’s time to prioritize again! The blog just moved back up the list a little!
