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Here is a close-up of the precision machined parts floating in the barrel of a pen.

A few years back, I had the opportunity to wear a new hat—that of a customer needing some work done by a precision machined parts maker. The company I chose to contact was Barry Podmore, Inc., a family-owned shop located in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. (.)

The company’s specialty is production of small, complex parts, some with major diameters of 0.010 inch, for the test and measurement and electronics industries.

I came to be a customer by default because of a promotion for the magazine that our marketing department dreamed up. The staff thought it would be a good idea to make “floaty” pens with our magazine logo and a selection of precision machined parts floating in the barrel of the pen.

This is where it gets good. I called Barry Podmore with my request for a selection of ten different parts, small enough to fit into a pen. I asked for several different materials: steel, aluminum, brass and copper. Since we planned to order 2,000 of these pens, I needed 20,000 pieces. The answer came back: “No problem.”

I called Barry on a Friday, and being new to the role of customer (and because he was doing me a favor), I asked if he could get me the parts in three weeks or so. He laughed and said I’d have them by Wednesday of the following week. Sure enough on Tuesday, a box arrived for me with exactly the selection of parts, materials and quantity I asked for with each group of parts individually packaged. “Wow,” I thought to myself. “Now that is customer service.”

If my experience is typical, and I think it very well may be, then I am quite confident that Barry Podmore will continue to be a successful and growing company. Moreover, if many of the rest of our industry’s shops are as responsive to customer needs, and I am equally confident they are, then I harbor no fears for the continued viability of our industry. Exceeding customer expectations is a unique competitive advantage.