Company News | 6996ɫ��.

6996ɫ��’ 50th Anniversary

SPW — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Since 1972, 6996ɫ�� has been dedicated to customer service and employee support. To celebrate our 50th Anniversary, owners Troy and Michelle give their current insights into the company.

Secret to Success

From its start “in an unheated garage in West Des Moines, 6996ɫ��, Inc. is in the business of servicing our customers and providing a good, stable place for people to build their careers,” Michelle says. Early on, William Paterson—Troy and Michelle’s father—taught that ‘the customer is always right,’ empowering everyone to go above and beyond to take care of customer needs. “Without customers,” they say, “none of us would have a job.”

6996ɫ��’ core values impassion and inspire employees each day when building customer relationships. These values, naturally, abbreviate to CSI:

C-Commitment to the Long-Term Success of our Customers, People and our Business

S-Service the Customer above all else

I-Integrity in all of our Relationships

These virtues can’t be trained or taught; rather, C��’s culture and identity must be embraced as these values influence who we hire, train, and retain. It is this foundation that has enabled 6996ɫ�� to grow from 5 to 35 employees and continue to expand within Iowa and Illinois.

Early Days

Though 6996ɫ��, Inc started in 1972, William Paterson joined in 1978 as the 3rd employee—using his no frills, red and white striped cargo van to deliver inventory. His wife, Sheryl, helped support his vision for 6996ɫ��, Inc. from buying the business to working as an employee starting in 1980, filling positions throughout the company early on.

Family vacations were mostly camping, or “roughing it in the sticks” in that same van despite lacking backseats or carpet for the kids. They improvised: using cushioned redwood patio furniture for the trip. From riding in style in a Ford Mustang to trading it in for a minivan, Michelle and Troy grew up learning to appreciate what matters most: family, friends, and relationships. Troy recalls his father’s commitment to those relationships from one New Year’s Day on which they delivered a machine to a customer’s door, reiterating customer service as C��’s bedrock today towards customers, employees, and vendors like Kyocera, Quadient, Epson, and Connectwise.

Connecting People with Technology

Though CSI originally provided office and mailroom machines, these offerings have expanded. Troy and Michelle boast of their current 4 business divisions. As one source for all office needs, C��’s SMART series sets them apart from competition as the only dealer to offer these solutions:

NetSMART, for automated Security, Virtual CIO, Managed IT, and Backup Disaster and Recovery.

PrintSMART, for optimal development and delivery of custom prints with tiered color options and tracking software.

MailSMART, providing innovative mailing solutions for automated physical and digital mail.

FileSMART, enhancing daily operations with secure document storage and retrieval for any business.

With “Service to the Customer Above All Else” as their motto, CSI continues its goal of customer satisfaction by allowing personal contact to owners Troy and Michelle, linking people to technology.

Employee Development

Rated one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Des Moines, C��’s 50 years of quality are credited not to luck, but to our employees who act on the same family integrity.

Both agree “none of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of our employees.” Encouraged by a company culture that inspires them to achieve the best results, Michelle states “It’s a blessing to have such an amazing team.”

Employee support comes from C��’s 100-day onboarding period. Troy calls training “the most important time for new hires” to review their online programs while reflecting whether CSI suits them. Quarterly reviews also allow the company to receive feedback from employees using ASK: if Attitude is lacking, what Skills or Knowledge need work.

6996ɫ��’ Future

The Paterson family all express tremendous optimism for C��’s future. Having bought 2 companies in the last 4 years, Troy foresees potential growth as the company actively expands, confirming a “forward moving direction” from Michelle with the addition of their Iowa Falls branch. Likewise, C��’s sales and marketing productivity hopes to improve with automation technology in coming years. As a family business, the family looks forward to the company’s future as the next generation starts to actively take part in 6996ɫ��’ future, which holds promise for continued prosperity and dedication to quality care as started by Bill.

An exciting but challenging path, Troy and Michelle look forward to 50 more years within the next phase in C��’s journey. Contact us today to learn more about 6996ɫ��, Inc.’s services.

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Employee Spotlight: Ryan Fry

SPW — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

6996ɫ��, Inc. has built its foundations on providing the highest level of quality service to our communities. We credit these years of responsive customer service and success to our employees, so we wanted to take a moment to highlight one of our dedicated managers, Ryan Fry, and his experience working at 6996ɫ��.

What led you to join 6996ɫ��, Inc. and how has your life changed since going into sales?

6996ɫ�� was my first job out of college 26 years ago, starting as a Service Dispatcher. Having stayed here since then, I worked my way into Warehouse Manager, then into the Sales department, and finally to my current position: Sales Manager. I watched the salespeople and thought maybe I could do that, too, even though I did not go to school for marketing. It was intriguing, and I wanted a bigger challenge.

I started at 6996ɫ��, Inc. 1 month into my marriage, and we have had kids and moved a couple of times since. So, I would say pretty much everything in my life has changed in that time.

How would you describe the company culture and community at 6996ɫ��?

6996ɫ�� has a small company feel despite being a large organization. Because of that, we are a close-knit group that feels more like family.

Many of us participate in volunteer programs, boards, and committees within the local communities, schools, and churches.

What do you find to be the most rewarding part of working at 6996ɫ��, Inc.?

Being able to make my own decisions and make a difference both in our company and in helping our customers be their best regarding their technology.

Reviews from both clients and coworkers speak very highly of your dedication and work ethic as Des Moines’ Sales Manager. How would you say your sales team and supervisors at CSI have helped you become the person you are today?

I think sales is largely self-driven and requires internal motivation. If you are waiting for someone to tell you what to do, you are probably in the wrong position. Largely, my supervisor has allowed me to earn his trust in making decisions for the best of the sales team and the company. That freedom has helped me flourish.

Please describe the most difficult order or problem you had to fix for a client. What steps did you and your team take to fix it?

Haha! This can be a daily thing in our business. With slowed supply chains, we have had to become more and more flexible with shifting stock, providing loaner equipment, and installing equipment quickly when it arrives.

To be specific, just yesterday we found out that a competitor of ours pulled out of a copier agreement because they couldn’t get stock. We found a suitable copier quickly and the guys are out right now installing it for a new customer. We do that type of thing a lot.

What are your hobbies outside of work?

Fishing, reading, sports, and family time with my kids.

We’d like to thank Ryan for all the hard work he has put in as Sales Manager at 6996ɫ��, Inc. To check out some of the services Ryan and our other sales representatives have to offer, check out the SMART solutions on our home page or take a look at our careers page today! for a consultation.

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6996ɫ�� Rolls Out Uptime Guarantee for Customers

SPW — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

6996ɫ�� is committed to handling every interaction with our prospects and customers in alignment with our core values. We will escalate any issue and do what it takes to make it right.

The UpTime Guarantee provides numerous benefits for our customers including the following:

If you call with an issue, CSI help desk support will help you live, or return your call within an hour.
If your issue requires one of our factory-certified technicians to come onsite, they will be there within 4 hours.
If we cannot fix a copy/print/scan device in a timely manner or while onsite, we will offer a loaner replacement with the same capabilities until yours is fixed, at no charge.*
In the event of a machine being down and an impending deadline, CSI will complete the print projects that you need.**
If you have any dissatisfaction with a machine you leased or purchased through us, please feel free to call our owners, Troy and Michelle Paterson, at 515-262-2100. If the issue is not resolved within an agreed upon timeframe, we will replace it like for like.

*subject to availability of high volume consoles
**does not apply to mail or shipping projects

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Company News | 6996ɫ����.

6996ɫ����’ 50th Anniversary