Customers, vendors and friends know that I have taken considerable personal time recently, few know the reason why. While the seeds were planted nearly six years ago, our family embarked on a journey that started three and a half years ago. It all began with a friend, an international hosting program and a little girl named Fernanda. At the time, she was an adorable 5 year old poverty stricken Nicaraguan girl, spoke no English and I was the only one in the family that spoke any Spanish. Our time with her was to be limited, 30-45 days. The experience surpassed our wildest dreams, filled our hearts with love and taught our family lessons about life and giving. Fernanda’s family had never met us, knew nothing about us and yet allowed their child to travel across the globe in hopes that this experience would enrich her life. Possibly provide opportunities that were never available to her. Well, six years later Fernanda is now eleven and scheduled for a July visit along with her older sister, Marina. She comes and goes as the program and circumstances allow, her English has improved tremendously and will provide her opportunities that her family has never had. As the hosting program continued, we discussed adoption, foster care and even hosted a foreign exchange student last year.
In November of 2012, my wife and two daughters made the decision, as a family, to adopt internationally. After many trials and tribulations, this past April, I made the trip to pick up our eight year old son, Heritier (Ay-r-ee-tee-ay). Although our family was required to attend countless education courses nothing prepared us for what was to come.
We as Americans forget, not everyone lives the western lifestyle with all the amenities available to us on a daily basis. So I started compiling a list of Heritier’s first encounters. Keep in mind, he is eight years old. The realization started almost immediately while in a hotel room. The act of opening the door with a lever style door knob was new and completely foreign to him. It required multiple attempts throughout the week to teach him to push down on the lever to open the door, even locking himself inside the bathroom one morning. It took days for him to comprehend the operation of the door knob. That was the last time he closed the restroom door all week! Just last week, he was locked in the office at the factory when the door was blown shut by the wind. I had previously locked the twist lock knob with the intention of him closing the door, however, the wind caught the door. I promptly walked back, knowing he would need help. I heard the handle jiggle, then stop. I unlocked the door from the outside and there he stood with a huge smile on his face. His first encounter in a pool was at the hotel. He was beaming with excitement, but that was little comparison to the joy of a Cannon Ball into the pool! He’s been home for five weeks and “Heritier’s Firsts” continue. From opening a garage door with an opener, to honking a car horn incessantly at every opportunity, experiencing new foods, or opening a soda can correctly, each and every day he is finding new challenges and experiencing new activities and objects that he has never experienced.
This experience has made me question our own practices and policies; to reevaluate how Square 1 procures products, capital expenditures and even the way we interact with our customers. We have begun reaching out to suppliers, not considered our top tier vendors seeking new opportunities and advancements alien to our industry. We have met and will continue to meet with vendors that may be able to provide us with innovative experiences, new opportunities and an overall enriched buying experience. All which, we hope will bring a better experience to our customers. Although I believe we have always tried to provide quality service, I also believe there is continuously room for improvement. We have begun developing new ways to enrich the buying experience of each customer. Initially, we began with improvements in the quoting process, making it easier to receive, customize and accept a new quotation. Recently, we have begun focusing on communicating steps throughout the process. Links to pictures of your equipment throughout production will soon be available. Automatic notifications of payment status and payment receipts, international and local tracking updates of new equipment. Simultaneously, we have begun the development of new designs and advancements, foreign to our industry. In the end, we are searching for new ways to provide “Heritier’s First” experiences to you, come experience your first with Square 1 Design & Manufacture Inc.