Just last week I caught a flight from Birmingham Airport to Dubai, on my way to Singapore for a big freight network event. I stowed my bag in the overhead locker, made myself comfortable and got chatting with Frank, the guy next to me – as you do. 

Now, it turns out that he’s quite the entrepreneur. In fact, he’s the ideal client for me. You see, he was on his way to Bangkok, where he owns several bars and properties. But that wasn’t what caught my attention… What really piqued my interest was when he mentioned that he was there to meet his suppliers – the ones that supply his manufacturing company in the UK. Turns out this guy imports three containers from Thailand every week! 

Now, I’ll be honest, I was keen to convert him. I mean, he’s a freight forwarder’s dream, but I played it cool, thinking to myself… I’ve got him for the next 6 hours, by the end of that time I’m sure he’ll be willing to give Millennium a go…  So I bided my time. 

A little while later the conversation turned to freight prices. I mean, they’re a big thing now for anyone moving goods regularly. We’d been getting on well, we’d built up a good rapport and I genuinely wanted to help this guy out. So I asked him a little more… 

Turns out, he’s paying over the odds and I reckon we could save him around 50% if he gave a shot so I told him so. And what he did next gave me such huge respect for the guy…

He said to me “Chadd, I can tell you’re a good guy and yes, you probably could save me some money if we moved to you. But I’ve been with this company for 30 years, I know the owner personally and they’ve looked after me – even in Covid when times were really tough. I’m sticking with them” 

It’s what every business owner dreams of isn’t it? Completely unshakeable customer loyalty. So I thanked Frank for his honesty, commended him on his loyalty and respected his decision. I didn’t try to convince him or change his mind. Why not? Because loyalty like that is a real virtue – and there’s always plenty more fish in the sea. 

Now, here at Millennium I know we’ve got some of those customers too. Building relationships is a big part of what we do here – you’re not just a number to us – but a valued customer who we want to support, look after and serve for many years to come. 

Some of you guys have been with me from the start nearly 26 years ago – so thank you! Thank you for your loyalty and thank you for choosing Millennium each and every day. How about you? Do you have loyal customers in your business? Got any loyalty stories? I’d love to hear from you…