Greg details the hiring and training process, briefly touching upon Winston’s company culture:

There is a 7-step Client Relationship Program that was created 12 years ago and is still used to train every new hire today. The entire company, all departments, uses this training system. There is no set-in-stone curriculum for the Special Services Concierge. I hire from within; the people in this group were personally selected by me, and people I keenly watched train and work; people that “get it.” What I look for is an innate ability or intuition to discern right and wrong, there is no teaching that. That is the Winston culture, and anyone who works here must reflect those same values.

That’s what makes the work great; everyone aims to exceed client expectations in any way they deem fit.”

Greg Mastroianni, Director of Client Relations

Accountability of employees in the workplace enhances the quality of company culture. Greg describes the flexibility given to frontline Winston employees, and how that improves service and delivery:

What I love the most about Special Services is the latitude we all have to solve customer issues by finding the best possible solution for each client. The solution may differ throughout the group depending on the employee. That’s what makes the work great; everyone aims to exceed client expectations in any way they deem fit.

Step 7 of the Client Relationship training program is to follow through and follow up; if the client experience wasn’t positive, we do our best to rectify the situation. Feedback is immediate, and social media has been a great asset for that reason. Customers are able to leave comments on our pictures on Facebook, or tweet us on Twitter about our products and services. We have an operative who runs those channels, and is there to answer, accommodate and fulfill all needs of our customers. The client holds the key, and we’re constantly working to keep them satisfied, and we love it.

Rewards programs are common in service centered companies. We asked what makes the rewards program at Winston Flowers stand out. Greg explains:

We have a Preferred Customer Card program (PCC) and every client has access to it. I don’t want my employees to sound like typical sales associates, or drone-robots, reading a script. We send the PCC in the mail to all customers. Even if the customerthrows it away, they are automatically entered into the program. With this eligibility, customers are able to have complimentary upgrades, free deliveries, cash-carry bouquet, all after a certain amount of purchases. The more customers spend, the more we give them in return.