Work ethic drives constant improvement

All ABF employees share a work ethic based on a simple philosophy: Do it right the first time. It means approaching challenges with a balance of diligence and urgency. Timeliness is crucial, of course. But, we know if there’s not enough time to do it right the first time, then there probably won’t be time to do it again. This approach to customer service often means making an extra effort to ensure that our customers do it right the first time, too. After all, looking out for one another is the foundation of good relationships.

At ABF, nurturing good relationships with customers is fundamental to our way of doing business. For example, a new customer’s shipments to Hawaii were being routinely delayed because of incomplete documentation. It turned out that the customer was unaware of safety regulations requiring them to identify hazardous materials and flashpoints. Failure to properly document such shipments meant incurring not only delays but also potential penalties. Yet, the situation had gone unnoticed (or, at least, unreported) by the customer’s previous carrier. The delays had become so common, in fact, the customer didn’t think twice about them.

ABF always double-checks the documentation on hazardous shipments to Hawaii. So, when ABF became the new carrier of choice, the potential for shipping delays was quickly detected and brought to the customer’s attention. The ABF sales representative met with the customer and developed solutions to improve their internal shipping processes. These included upgrading the customer’s computer system and implementing a method of cross checking all paperwork before shipping. Now, because it’s always done right the first time, the customer’s shipments to Hawaii are moving free of penalties and without delay.

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Do you have a similar situation? Or perhaps you'd like to give us some feedback. We'd love to hear from you! E-mail us at marketing@abf.com.