My good friend and colleague Bill Hanifin, who I call the King of Loyalty and runs Hanifin Loyalty- is a true strategist and guru in the whole area of marketing and retention.In the true spirit of 'networking', we met years ago at a Direct Marketing conference in Florida where he was a speaker with one of his international clients. His contact information is below and he is truly one of the top business professionals I know and an excellent strategist and speaker.
We were talking a few weeks ago and he and his family were up visiting relatives and he told me the story of 'Taffy's' restaurant that is owned and operated by family members.
Read this story to really see on this Labor Day–the true meaning of the American Dream and giving the kind of customer service that is the heart and soul of business.
Toufic Eliah emigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon in 1927. Hoping for a better life for their children, Toufic's parents had sent he and his sister (at that time age 19 and 17) to the new world with thousands of other immigrants on a ship. Processed through Ellis Island, Toufic made it to Niagara Falls, New York where he resided with relatives and found work in an aluminum factory. At some point, he realized that working on an assembly line in tough conditions was not how he wanted to spend his life.The American Dream was to own your own business and as the country recovered from the depression, Toufic found a way to open a grocery store on Pine Avenue in Niagara Falls
It's interesting that in starting a customer facing business, he ignored one important point – he could barely speak or read English. As business grew, Toufic became known as Taffy and his language skills improved as he spread a newspaper out on the counter by the cash register and asked customers to help him understand words on the page.
To learn more about Bill and his firm–visit him at: [email protected]
www.hanifinloyalty.com Loyalty Truth – http://blog.hanifinloyalty.com
Here is just a snapshot of what his firm provides: