The Shelby Williams Approach to Building a Unique Identity in a Low‐Technology Market

It was late Thursday afternoon when employees at Shelby Williams Industries learned it would be impossible to deliver fifty chairs in time for a cocktail lounge opening at a Phoenix hotel. Rather than shrugging off the customer's dilemma, the company quickly assembled fifty upgraded chairs and shipped them via air express to Phoenix. Obviously, the $1,500 cost of the express service took every cent of profit the company would have made from the sale, and then some. But it was worth every penny, because it maintained a customer relationship—and the company's reputation for service.