Putting the 'Service' in Serviceman
by Tom Walch, Chief Executive Officer
GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. - (April 1, 2025) As Grand Valley Power’s resident grumpy old man, one of my contributions to delivering great hometown service to our members is identifying things that don’t constitute good service. That way, we can avoid them.
These are the things that make a grumpy old man even grumpier: Being helped by someone with a dour expression on their face — or in their voice. Or even worse, being dispatched to talk to a computerized attendant without having the option to talk to a real person. Bad service comes from folks who don’t give you their full attention or don’t know how to help you. The worst service comes from people and organizations who are always looking for a reason to tell you “no.” These are all things that make this curmudgeon’s blood pressure rise! The first step to delivering good service is to avoid these service pitfalls that we all encounter on a daily basis.
Over the years, Grand Valley Power team members have established a tradition and culture of great service. Year after year, leaders within the ranks have demonstrated what it takes to provide great service to our members.
Chief among these leaders is Doyle Scott Bradley, a journeyman lineman who, over the course of 44 years, put the “service” in serviceman. Scotty always looks you in the eye, and with a smile on his face, takes care of whatever issue you have contacted us to address. He has always been there, racking up more overtime on after-hours calls than anyone else in GVP’s history. I doubt if he has ever encountered an electrical problem that he couldn’t fix. And maybe most importantly, I don’t think he has ever told a member “no.” And very often when he says “yes,” he’s doing something that would make many bosses cringe — like going beyond our meter to replace an electrical breaker or light a pilot light so that an elderly member wouldn’t be left cold or in the dark. He is the kind of man who rescues a cat from high atop one of Xcel’s distribution poles, after Xcel has said no, they won’t do that.
All these things constitute great service, but Scotty takes it beyond that. The thing that elevates “great” service to “hometown” service is relationships. I see this in our office when a GVP front desk representative greets a member by name when they walk in the door. That even happens in our call center when a member support representative recognizes a familiar voice on the phone.
Scotty has scores — probably hundreds — of Grand Valley Power members who he knows by their first names. He has built those relationships over the years, and each is important to Scotty. That’s what you get with hometown service. Scotty stepped away from Grand Valley Power last month, retiring after more than four decades of exceptional service to our members. He can’t be replaced. But before leaving, he made sure that those of us he leaves behind know some of these keys to providing great hometown service to everyone they come across.
Join me in wishing Scotty and his wife, Sherry, all the best in their retirement!