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In the late 90’s as a young coach, one of my first major coaching positions was at the local YWCA as a gymnastics and cheerleading program director. It was located in a fairly low income city and barely staying afloat. I made pennies above minimum wage, but I loved the kids and the program. A couple years into teaching there the program grew significantly and I began competitive teams for both cheer and gymnastics. However, we truly lacked the equipment we needed for the children to be successful. I worked diligently with the families to hold fundraisers for the equipment, but we still came up far too short. As fate would have it, I was in major car accident being hit head on by a semi on the interstate. I received a small settlement above the value of my car and used the remainder to 

purchase the equipment my students needed.

A couple years and several change of hands later, the YWCA fell far into the red and couldn’t get out and was forced to close. Even though it was established with the YWCA that I would be permitted to use and store my equipment there, and all of it was clearly labeled with my name, the organization seized all of my equipment and it was sold in auction as part of their bankruptcy.

tumbltrakcs1I was devastated and the families were as well, but luckily I was able to find space at a dance center that already had mats and a Tumbl Trak to continue the cheer part of the program. Within one year the dance center had grown by so much that there was no longer available time slots to run the cheer program. Once again, I was without a home for my cheerleaders. I searched long and hard and found available space through our chamber of commerce at a reasonable rate. The big issue I was facing then was trying to find mats at an affordable rate, and since I had lost my previous investment at the YWCA I was in no position financially to put up funds for anything significant. I had heard of and used equipment by Tumbl Trak in the past and trusted the quality of their products, so I contacted them. I did not tell them any of the back story and all the headache I had went through. I wanted to stand on my own two feet and set a good example for my students. I explained to them that I was opening a new program and had very little startup funds. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was hoping they may have something in my meager budget that would work to get the program up and running at the new location. I talked to a customer service rep named Shirley. She was extremely helpful and showed an honest desire to help me with my situation. While the mats I needed were not in my budget, she took down my information just in case she could figure out an alternative.


Not long after, I received a wonderful email from Shirley. A school within a couple hours driving distance from me had a need to sell their cheer floor to buy new uniforms, and had contacted Tumbl Trak to see if they would buy it back, or knew of someone who was in need. Shirley set me up with the school cheer coach, who was able to sell me the cheer floor within my budget. Even though Tumbl Trak would not be making a single penny off of the sale, they took the time to help me reach my goals as a new gym owner. As time went on my program grew, and when I needed additional equipment I knew exactly who to call and reached out to Shirley again. Just as before, she was very helpful and knowledgeable and was successfully able to help me get what I needed within my budget, but this time through Tumbl Trak itself.

While good customer service is increasingly hard to find, I found it very refreshing to know that there are still companies out there who do genuinely care about their customers and have passion for their work.

Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long.

It’s all about bringing customers back; about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

There are no traffic jams along the extra mile, and Tumbl Trak went that extra mile for me.

Thank you Tumbl Trak and thank you Shirley!

http://www.heartofcheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tumbltrakcs2.jpghttp://www.heartofcheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tumbltrakcs2-150x150.jpgLeslieBlogIndustrycheerleading,equipment,Tumbl Trak,tumbling
In the late 90’s as a young coach, one of my first major coaching positions was at the local YWCA as a gymnastics and cheerleading program director. It was located in a fairly low income city and barely staying afloat. I made pennies above minimum wage, but I loved...