“So you’re asking one of us to don a red Speedo and run five kilometres in peak hour traffic? We’d love to. We’ll be there to cover the daREDevil Run and we’ve got seven gutsy guys who can’t wait to sport a Speedo…”
“You’d like us to develop and manage the social media accounts for a fictional hominid? No problem. We’ll make Harry Hominid a star!”
“A live webcam of the aquarium on your site? Of course we can do that for you!”
These are just some of the quirky conversations Flowstars have had with clients as together we strive to deliver excellent service, unprecedented value and smiles.
“At Flow we’ll do just about anything to make our clients happy. We don’t just speak ‘value’ and ‘service’, we do it,” says Flow Managing Director Tiffany Turkington-Palmer.
“We’ve been known to take off most of our clothes, travel to China and teach hominids to tweet, all in the name of client happiness,” she adds with a giggle.
It’s true. Flowstars carry service orientation in their genes and added value in their chromosomes.
“We did a location assessment for Sasol Mining earlier this year, where we looked at signage installation options at each of the client’s sites,” says Flowstar project manager Ros Caboz. “In five days we travelled to the headquarters in Germiston, two sites in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, two in Nelspruit and Komatipoort and another in Maputo.”
Her jet-setting client service isn’t unique at Flow though.
Flowstar writer Mildred Thabane flew to Hoedspruit last week and fiddled with rhino dung for her client, South African Tourism.
“The experience was astounding. But I had to wear khaki,” she jokes.
Writing studio manager and wordsmith of note (you’ll see the pun later) Colin Ford rewrote the lyrics to an old pop song for Hollard Insurance.
“The client wanted a song that reflected their values. So instead of getting in a songwriter, they found a song that they liked and asked us to rework the words to reflect their business philosophy. It was great fun to write, although I battled for days to get the tune out of my head,” he says. “And there it is again… back in my head!”
Roy Barford is the manager of Flow’s Cape Town office. He has been known to bring a sleeping bag to work while covering large-scale events.
“I have twice slept under my desk,” he says, without qualm. “Loeries 2010 and New7Wonders announcement 2012 – both good times!”
“Loeries 2010 was simply a rookie error. It was my first time attending the awards. I got some great photos and interviews at after parties in the early hours of the morning, but had to get a few hours sleep under my desk before I could write the blogs,” he reveals.
“Table Mountain becoming a New7Wonder of Nature was one of the proudest moments of my career, so I celebrated hard with colleagues and clients after the announcement. There were however many web pages to update, so I did what I could before catching some sleep on the boardroom floor with a pink pillow.”
Sometimes the going at Flow can get downright strange.
“We’ve had some pretty odd quote requests from clients too,” says Ros. “We had one client recently who asked us to quote on the branding and delivery of 5 000 mini trees in pots, 5 000 mini dustbins and 5 000 fortune cookies,” she says. Go figure.
Revealing some quirky client projects that Flow has delivered on perhaps requires a little insight into what we ask in return.
We’ve demanded blood on occasion, but then again, it was voluntary.
One thing we’ve asked for very nicely is the ability to successfully host all 50-something of us for our annual staff party. In 2010 we spent the weekend at Jaci’s Safari Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve, and in 2011 we spent the weekend at the Maropeng Hotel.
Both parties went off without a hitch and were a huge hit among Flowstars.
With December just around the corner, Flow is on the lookout again for a place that can host our annual bash. But never fear, we’ll bounce back in the new year with more commitment and drive than ever. And yes, we’re almost ready to take off our clothes again.