How long has Glenn Elbin of Doing Better Business plied his craft in the technical service space? He debuted in 1984, the same year that the first personal computer, the Apple Macintosh, was released. That year also saw the first consumer cellular phone, courtesy of Motorola.
That really puts Elbin’s career in perspective. And if you look down the list of this year’s ENX Magazine Difference Makers, you’d discover that quite a few hadn’t even been “invented” yet. But one thing hasn’t changed in the 37 years of Elbin’s career, and that’s an unwavering commitment to the best customer service possible while ensuring the dealership itself is able to maintain optimal profit margins.
We’ll spare you the Energizer Bunny jokes—after all, Elbin had a five-year head start on that beloved marketing icon.
Elbin is a man of few words and is succinct in summing up the value he derives from his career at Doing Better Business. “I enjoy helping and watching employees advance in the company,” said the 2021 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “This is rewarding because it is great for the employee and the company. I enjoy building a service team that helps other departments within the company.”
Armed with a degree in electrical engineering, Elbin answered a want ad for a copier technician at Word Processing Services, the predecessor firm founded by Vincent and Marcella Ann Dellaposta (later acquired by their children in 2017). At that point, Elbin viewed the job as a temporary one until he could find a permanent position within the electronics field. But he fell in love with the company and found his true calling with Word Processing Services.
Problem-Solver
Elbin worked on Savin liquid copiers in the beginning and demonstrated an uncanny ability as a troubleshooter, which led him to become a certified Savin trainer and service supervisor. He entered the managerial ranks in 1999 as vice president of service, with oversight of the entire service team and warehouse operations for the company’s three locations.
It was Vincent Dellaposta who had a profound impact on Elbin’s career. “He hired me and I respected how he cared for employees and strived for customer satisfaction,” Elbin noted of Dellaposta.
When the company began to grow via acquisition, Elbin played a pivotal role in integrating the accompanying service teams into the company’s corporate culture. One of his crowning achievements occurred beginning in 2016, when Elbin and his supervisor team set out to achieve Pros Elite 100 certification. Impressively, the quest took only 18 months to complete.
Elbin continues to leave his fingerprints on customer service metrics. Doing Better Business has attained top 10 honors the last two years from CEO Juice for customer survey responses. He also shares his knowledge with the office technology service community, having served on the Ricoh National Dealer Service Council while also speaking at service meetings for the Select Dealer Group peer organization.
Demonstrated Success
He takes pride in the fact that Doing Better Business has achieved the Ricoh Circle of Excellence award and the Sharp Platinum service honor. With the pandemic fading, Elbin looks forward to continuously achieving service benchmarks.
“I’d like to improve on communications within the departments,” he noted. “I want to coach the supervisors to have weekly meetings with the employees and discuss problems and challenges.”
In his spare time, Elbin—an avid golfer and hunter—continues to fuel his love for electronics, repairing audio gear and operating his sound reinforcement business. Elbin and his wife of nine years, Sharon, have a daughter, Jennifer. The family is dedicated to public education.
