Erb Transport’s culture has acted as a pillar of this organization since 1959. It expresses itself through our inclusive, honest, and respectful employees and business practices. At no time does our culture take a back seat, and at no time do we waver on our values and ethics. We have always sincerely believed that it is our culture and integrity that make us stand out from our competitors; and we continue to practice this today. Our organization has, and will continue to change and advance, and we will always integrate our innovations with our values. Treating our customers with respect and honestly is always the best policy.
Vernon Erb, the founder of The Erb Group, once shared his thirteen imperatives that defined his business philosophy:
- Be honest and maintain integrity in your business dealings at all times
- Have a vision, be proactive and carry through with it
- Gather all relevant facts before making a decision
- Take a genuine interest in people and treat them with respect at all times
- Be determined and do whatever it takes to get the job done
- Be service focused, listen to customers’ concerns and don’t say no to a reasonable customer request
- Build business success on strong relationships and mutual loyalty
- Surround yourself with people you trust and can rely on and allow them to grow within the company
- Only ask employees to do what you would be willing to do yourself and lead by example
- Be compassionate and give people the benefit of the doubt – everybody deserves a second chance
- Grow naturally alongside your customers and expand in response to, and in anticipation of, customer needs
- Reinvest profits into the company
- Ensuring profitability and growth, while crucially important, is only one aspect of business leadership. Focus on the customer and on service, and profitability will come.
These imperatives were, and still are, firmly relevant to the entrepreneurial and business world. They come from an experienced, thoughtful, and insightful man’s perspective and his experience in creating a successful and thriving company. Although it has been nearly 60 years since this company began, and we have been through substantial changes and innovations, we still rely on these core values; they are proven to work. It is imperative that we are not scared of change, but instead welcome and accept it. We are confident that no matter what the future holds, treating our employees and customers with respect will never fail us.