Back in 1974, a 12-year-old boy found himself eager to earn his own spending money and contribute to his family of nine, despite not being legally employable yet. Determined, he decided to craft a shoe shine box using scrap wood, a couple of old hinges, and a hasp. Every Saturday, he would venture out and offer to shine shoes for twenty-five cents each.

One Saturday, he encountered a man sporting white shoes, a challenge for which he had no white shoe polish. Undeterred, he attempted to clean and shine the shoes using a different cleaner he had available. Unfortunately, instead of improving the shoes, it started to remove some of the existing polish.

Realizing his error, he promptly apologized and continued his day. After several hours and numerous shines later, he had earned enough money to purchase white shoe polish. Returning to the unsatisfied customer, he humbly asked if he could rectify his mistake. Upon completing the job correctly, the man praised him, saying, “Great job son,” and handed him a dollar bill.

Looking back on this incident, it became clear to him, Bill VanLoon, the 12-year-old shoe shine boy, who is now the president of Salem Overhead Door Co., Inc., how crucial customer satisfaction was, is, and will always be. This early lesson shaped his commitment to ensuring customer happiness and delivering exceptional service throughout his career