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We have founded the company on simple values. My own
personal experience as a consumer when I was in college always made me feel
that big companies do not treat people right. Sometimes you are left with an
explanation "This is our policy", or "This is not covered" and all you can do
is feel bad. Here’s what we consider as Homespice’s Core Values. Our 10 Core Values
1. Deliver WOW Customer Service 5. Be Open Minded, Creative and Adventurous 6. Do the right thing, don’t be evil 7. Create Fun and maybe even a little weirdness 8. Bring Passion and be Determined
1. Deliver WOW Customer Service
"One day about 2 months ago I took a call from a customer who had ordered a large rug. I sent the order into the warehouse but after a few days we realized that we couldn’t find that rug. The customer, Judy, was desperate for this rug for a customer who had already paid for it. She asked me to call her back to keep her posted because we were still unloading pallets of rugs from the other warehouse, I still felt hope that it was out there somewhere.
2. Be Humble
"I myself have always been a very proud person, but working at Homespice has taught me the importance of being humble and realizing that working as a team and learning from others or accepting help from others is a very important lesson to learn. For example, every month or so we get a large container in from India, packed to the ceiling with rugs to refill our racks. On the morning that we know the container is coming, we get here early, got a game plan going, and then like clockwork we unload the container in no time. However, one day when a container arrived, a couple of the warehouse workers were out and myself and 1 other person had to unload the container. This was the most exhausting day I had in the warehouse. I realized that I really do need the help of the others and it humbled me."
3. Simple over Complex
"When we were moving into the new warehouse, we were looking at all sorts of expensive and technologically advanced systems to label the aisles and rows of our new warehouse. After much thought, the workers in the back and Junior came up with an Idea to do it similar to how a CVS or grocery store labels their aisles and rows. We just cut up boxes that we already had and mounted them up with numbers to number each bay and then used a list to number the aisles using a combination of letters and numbers. This is a very simple system that would allow anyone to walk in off the street and start working, not to mention is cost us practically nothing but a few hours of work."
4. Do more with less
"When we expanded our showroom in America’s Mart in downtown Atlanta, our visual merchandiser decided to put in wooden flooring. On the day that the contractors were supposed to come put in the flooring, we got a call that they were not coming. The work had to be done that day so after research and trial by error I installed the flooring on my own. By doing it myself, through the sweat and tears, we saved a lot of money and I also learned a new skill. "
5. Be Open Minded, Creative and Adventurous
"We needed doors for our conference room but we didn’t have the room for traditional doors. Also we wanted something that looked contemporary in design. Junior, Lisa and I searched around online and found a few systems but they were so expensive and couldn’t afford it at that time. So Cj and I went to Home Depot and searched around for something similar. We found a system that was exactly what we wanted but again it was very expensive and we couldn’t afford it. So we went back to the drawing board and came up with our own track system. We went back to Home Depot and came up with a system that uses two ordinary doors on wheels with a metal track system. For a contemporary look we added sheet metal on the exterior of the doors. The whole project was only $200. By thinking outside the box, we created door system that was inexpensive yet functional. "
6. Do the right thing, don’t be evil
"We received a return of a 2.5x9 Home Sweet Home rug. I opened the rug to inspect it for possible resale. The rug was in like new condition except that there was animal hair all over it. It seemed to me that it could be resalable. As I was vacuuming the rug I started to notice itching around my ankles. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but it started itching more and more.
I took a look at my ankles and notice little bite marks. I had been bitten by what I concluded was fleas from the rug. So t went to Mrs. Reshma to let her know what was going on with this rug. She immediately came back into the warehouse to check out the situation. After reviewing the rug carefully, we decided the best thing to do would be to through the rug out. It wouldn’t have been right to leave the rug there, where other employees could have possibly got bitten. And it definitely would have not been right to send the rug out to a customer or a rep. for resale, knowing the condition the rug was in. And so I did the right thing I was not evil."
7. Create Fun and maybe even a little weirdness
"When I’m back in the warehouse I move fast and have a distinctive walk. One day when I was walking back to the board to write the hourly invoicing figure, the guys decided to walk alongside me and mimic me, all in good fun. It seems that they could tell how well the day was going by how I was walking.
After that I decided to spice things up a little bit. If they could tell how the day was going by my walk, then I was going to make sure my strut was distinctive the better we did. So I set benchmarks. The next day we hit over 20K. I walked back to put the final number on the board, and broke into a funky groove. It had everyone laughing! Now we all know when we get over 20.
So I thought, “What next?” I couldn’t wait for 30K to come around, so I set the next benchmark at 25K. The next time we had a really good day all eyes were on me as I entered the warehouse at the 5 o’clock hour. As I drew even with the rest of the guys working hard at the tables I did a little dance spin. Hey, a new benchmark! Everyone was having a good time, and it’s fun to do things a little different
What will I do at 30K? Just another goal we will have to reach in order to find out!"
"One day while everyone was having a very stressful Wednesday, Jim and Will mentioned that there was extra meat in the freezer left over from our grand opening cookout. Instead of everyone going to get fast food or eat the usual lean cuisine, they decided to thaw it out and grill out for everyone. Consequently, for lunch we all sat around our big square “family” table and laughed and joked about the pressures of the day. It made for such a fun environment for the rest of the day. It served as a perfect short fun break just by cooking and having a “family dinner.” Nothing like laughing in the middle of the day with people that understand what’s going on and empathizes. So much fun!"
8. Bring Passion and be Determined
"One day while I was working in the warehouse, a customer ordered a 7’ 6inch round rug. We only showed one in our inventory system. I went to pull the order and started looking for it in our racks. I couldn’t find it in the first few racks (or where it was supposed to be). After much searching, I found the rug in the bottom of a rack under a bunch of other rugs. I unloaded the rack and pulled the order and asked the customer if we could unpack the rug to make sure it was the correct rug. This was a concern of mine, being that it was in the wrong rack. I wanted to ensure that we were giving our customer the correct rug, and not just assume it was so because of the labeling. I then decided it would be a good idea to double check all the rugs by opening them and inspecting them to make sure they were up to our customer’s standards. I did this because a happy customer will talk about the way we extend our customer service here at Homespice to other stores and friends. Word of mouth is a strong tool. We go out of the way for our customers and are determined to do things quickly, efficiently and right the first time. There is no end to our customer service."
9. Pursue Growth and Learning
"When I first joined the company in 2000, I had little to no experience with forecasting and inventory-related techniques. This company not only trained me with the necessary experience, but went above and beyond the basics. I was given the opportunity to attend a forecasting seminar in Florida, which inculcated in me the importance of forecasting inventory. The seminar taught me how forecasting was important in maintaining the inventory levels and that there were so many different aspects that needed to be monitored.
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