The Importance of Personal Service

When C. Robin Turner retired from the insurance business in 1994 he sold his business to Eldredge& Lumpkin because he felt our agency would continue to provide the level of personal service to his clients that he had rendered for decades. For those who may have missed the news, Robin passed away earlier this spring. A student of the insurance
business, Robin was a dedicated professional with a strong commitment to consumer education, as well as a personal friend to many of his clients. Having joined the Robin Turner Agency in 1975 directly out of college, I considered Robin a valued teacher, mentor and friend. The independent insurance agency business has changed dramatically over 35 years. There were no computers in the agency when I joined, not even a photocopy machine. We typed every
policy in-house on IBM typewriters, sent every piece of correspondence to our clients by regular mail, and billed and collected premiums for every policy we wrote. We seemed to have had more time to call on our customers and to
get to know each of them personally.

Today our business, our industry and the world have become high tech; we do almost everything on computer (but we still have an old IBM typewriter for emergencies). Policies are downloaded electronically to our computers,
correspondence is sent via e-mail (very effi cient but often impersonal), and bills are paid by many of our clients on-line or by electronic funds transfer. Technological advances have
given us the ability to be more productive; we can accomplish more in less time with fewer employees. But those advances have led to less personal contact with our clients. So how do we continue to maintain a level of personal service with you when so much of what we do today evolves around the new technology?

While many of our competitors have moved to automated receptionists, at E&L your calls always will be greeted by a live voice. And while other agencies provide you with the option of leaving a voice mail message, at E&L if your representative is unavailable, you will always be given
the opportunity to have another representative take care of your needs. And although other agencies use generic newsletters available within our industry, we will continue to write all of our own material with the goal of personalizing
our articles to address current events which are of interest to and may affect our clients’ individual needs.

In today’s fast-paced and often-impersonal business world, our goal is to continue to provide you with the level of professional advice and personal service that would make
Robin proud of his 1994 decision.

- Alan Long