As our business has grown, the company has faced many challenges. We develop procedures to take care of our customers, only to have them fail as we grow. I have never liked how companies grow and their customer service declines. However, I have become aware of just how challenging it is to grow while maintaining the personal customer care we had when it was just Nathan, Cathy, and myself. We now have 27 people, and it’s much harder to maintain that continuity with a larger employee base. The tendency is to create procedures to overcome this lack of continuity. That helps, but nothing can replace the personal responsibility and respect a company should give its customers. There are no magic formulas, but I will tell you that it’s very much about morals and service, right and wrong. You cannot fool yourself into thinking that prioritizing the bottom dollar is solving anything. If you do, you’re part of the problem.
Recently, my sweet wife gave me a shark fishing adventure for my birthday. I am here to tell you that God blessed us on our trip. We fished from the shore from 7 PM to 2 AM. We caught a small bull shark, but toward the end of the trip, the line went taut, and for 45 minutes, we fought what was on the other end. It wasn’t until we had this fish within four feet of the shore that we saw the size of the shark. It turned out to be a 12-foot tiger shark. I was amazed at its brute strength and beauty. I was also amazed at its function: a pure hunter with the tools to get the job done. Indiscriminate, just a feeding, killing machine. What sets us apart from the shark is our ability to be moral, to know right from wrong. The tiger shark simply is what it was created to be.
I never want Litefoot to become that—a feeding machine looking for the next meal of cash or an opportunity to take advantage of someone. Our core values of honesty, respect, and genuine appreciation for our clients must stay at the forefront of our actions. I pray that the Lord never lets me forget that it’s not mine but His, and that in this morally void world, we are to be different and show the way. We will hold ourselves to a higher standard, and hopefully, you will see that in our service.
God bless each of you!
Vincent L. Brannan
President
LiteFoot Technology
5901 Shallowford Road Suite 135
Chattanooga, TN 37421
423-785-6769
423-305-5038
Vince@litefoottech.com