As an owner, I hear when there are problems and certainly I feel that is a critical part of being an “owner-operator”. The really pleasant part of the job is when one of our employees is singled out by a customer for a job well done.

This recently happened to Jim Wheeler, one of our Technical Field Reps. Jim’s job is to aid contractors in getting started on a project and occasionally trouble shoot field problems. Jim was recently sent to an offshore drilling platform to help the painting crew apply a Dudick coating for the first time. Timing was critical . . . first the tank lining failed unexpectedly. Then the initial lining supplier (a large paint company) could not get any material in time for the job. Someone suggested calling Dudick.

Dudick, along with its distributor, B & H Distributors out of Baton Rouge, came to this very large oil company’s aid.

Materials were sent from the B & H warehouse. Jim was dispatched from Ohio, his home base, to Louisiana. Jim then went through 2 days of shore based safety training which included being strapped into a helicopter that was inverted and sunk into a swimming pool. I don’t think Jim signed up for this when he came to work at Dudick!

The job finished great and on time saving the drilling crew $500,000 per day!

The project engineer from the oil company stated “Jim was an excellent teammate for the entire time he was out there even through several phases that have the tendency to typically be very frustrating to this type of vendor help. He was very practical and decisive in those times that decisions needed to be made. He definitely received a handshake of appreciation by ALL of the leadership before he departed.” The final inspection was literally minutes before his flight, but he never wavered. He knew that we HAD to deliver this task, and I never saw a frown through the long hours that it took us to get there. He did an outstanding job for us. For his significant help, we would like to reward Jim with an after tax Performance Award of $1000 for all his help! Please add this amount to your service invoice in addition to the direct hours charged.

How often do customers do that! Just add it to our bill!

To Jim, a great job above and beyond. To all Dudick employees, a great job behind the scenes.  For any of us to “shine”, it takes the entire organization to make things work.

Written by David Dudick
Dudick Inc.