Time is More Valuable than Ever Before
Published: Thursday, October 2, 2014
Benjamin Franklin once said "Lost time is never found again." This sentiment could not ring more true to me at this time in my life. I work full time, am a loving wife and dedicated mother to an “all too quickly growing” nine month old little girl. My husband and I have agreed to make it a point not to sweat the small stuff and to really embrace each day. The grind of the day to day can easily become the priority rather than living in the moments as they occur.
Working in a customer service driven industry has helped shape my focus to what truly matters in life. My family owns Loadmaster Trailer Company in Port Clinton, Ohio. We build custom boat trailers and work one on one with our customers to design a trailer that best suits their boat’s hull and their needs.
Reflecting back: five years ago our business was much simpler. People would call in, let’s say, with a 2007 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer. They would add a couple of basic options and trust us to build the trailer properly for their boat. Fast forward to present day: if someone were to call in with the same boat model, the process has become much longer, detail oriented and thorough. It is not uncommon now for customers to add so many options that the total amounts to more than the trailer itself. We even have customers who will call us almost daily with more questions or last minute requests to tweak their trailer design, even while in production.
Customers devour the internet comparing numerous products, limitless photos, blogs, and forums to educate themselves, then wanting to “copy and paste” it all into one product. We are very blessed to have loyal customers who truly believe in our product and us as a company, however some of them have taken design to a whole new level fixating on the small mundane aspects that have no relevance. Sometimes, I’ll admit, my customers will leave me baffled at the importance they can place on something so meaningless, however, my job is to appreciate their concern and build them what they want (deeming it’s safe and legal to tow).
But, when I really think about the core to all of this recent fixation, I realize that our trailers are one of the key ingredients to providing our avid boaters with as much time as possible on their boats and with their family and friends. More and more, as a society, we are stuck playing with a double edged sword: we want to work harder/longer hours to make more money in order to afford these luxuries in life but then we work too hard and do not make enough time to truly relax and enjoy them!
Last week I had a customer call from Texas who had purchased a boat that came with a factory made trailer. While towing at 20mph the axles on his trailer literally fell off (the welds broke). Thank GOD, literally, that no one was injured! The factory whom made it did not want to see any photos. Our customer knew it would not fall under warranty as the trailer was 10 years old, but he thought they would want to see what happened in order to fix the problem for the future. Needless to say this gentleman wanted a durable trailer that he could trust because he makes fishing with his family and friends a huge priority. He creates the time to enjoy the lakes in Texas and owning a trustworthy trailer is an integral piece to doing so.
I remember when I was a senior in college telling my Dad how I felt the days flew by and I did not get a chance to catch my breath. He told me “Megan, as you get older the time flies by even faster”. My gosh that was 10 years ago!!
Time ticks on whether we are happy or sour, loving or disgruntled. Time. Just. Keeps. Ticking. We cannot get back any lost idle time, but we can cherish the most of the present and future to feel like we truly get a life’s worth! I challenge you to enjoy your time with your family and friends and create new memories daily… and hopefully, you can do all of that, on the water! Happy Boating!
