Good Business

In 1988, my father, discouraged with the difficulty of finding someone local to do saw milling for him, ordered a portable sawmill from a relatively new company in Indiana named Wood Mizer. A young man named Mike demonstrated just how portable the mill was by towing it to Bushkill from Indianapolis. Wood Mizer asked people taking ownership of a new mill to allow them to demonstrate the mill and advertise the event for prospective customers. It was a grand day. Dozens of folks showed up to see this machine in action and, of course, pepper the factory representative with questions about the workings of the mill. In appreciation for allowing the demonstration to take place, the new owner was promised $75 if anyone buying a new mill said they had seen it at the event. The skeptic would say, "Yea, right. That's really gonna happen," The kind of company Wood Mizer is was demonstrated several times when Dad would receive an unexpected check in the mail because someone had bought a mill and used him as a reference.

Although the original engine has been replaced on the mill , it is still going strong and just like so many things Dad left to me, both tangible and otherwise, it works as well as it did all those years ago. When I made the engine swap a couple years ago, I had some questions concerning the wiring configuration and, as always, the service department at the home plant was extremely helpful. In response to one of my questions the man on the phone said, "Just a minute. If Mike is out in the shop, he'd know the answer to that." Well, how about that? The same Mike that delivered that mill 25 years earlier, was still a faithful employee and still answering questions about these great machines. Somehow, I was not surprised. I've no intention of making this blog into a tool review forum and it's unlikely that any of my readers are in the market for a sawmill. However this is not about sawmills. It is about doing the right thing; like really meaning it when you offer to reward someone for helping refer customers. One of the originators of the Wood Mizer company recently stepped down and passed the CEO position or whatever it is called to someone else. I am pleased that, just like his predecessor

, the new head man uses references to God and expresses appreciation to Him for the opportunity to interact with and serve customers long after the sale. Even in the business world, it is possible to honor God. I wish more businesses did.