The Story of How it all got Started…
Written by: Joseph C Brooks III
I grew up here in Evanston and, except for my college years in sunny California where I met my wife, I’ve lived here ever since. I always knew that I would return to Chicago. I missed my irreplaceable family support (my family has lived in Evanston for over 100 years combined), and the Chicago weather. Although the change of seasons has become more challenging as I get older, there is still no better city than Chicago.
Sorry, I can meander a bit, but let’s get to the point here.
How did Joey’s Movers become the most referred mover in Chicagoland?
It all started with an Italian diner called “Fanny’s World Famous Restaurant”, that you may or may not be old enough to remember. In 1946, Fanny’s opened in Evanston on Simpson Street. Fannie, the owner, was a special lady. You don’t become World Famous by not being special and she really was! So, about three decades later, in the mid 70’s, I was attending middle school in Evanston. I heard Fanny’s was hiring and I really wanted to work. I really wanted the opportunity to earn my own money and prove that I was willing to work – not just work, but work hard for the money. I guess it must have showed. I was hired on the spot the day I met Fannie. There was no formal application or anything; we just had a quick conversation. She handed me a wet rag and told me to start cleaning tables. I’m not sure it works like that these days, but seriously, that was how I got my first job. After about a year working for Fanny, one day I was bussing tables and overheard her tell one of the waiters: ”Joey is the hardest working kid I’ve ever hired…if I had 10 more of him I’d retire.”
Retire? Really?
Wow! I couldn’t believe it. My great grandfather, who owned one of the first farms in Evanston, had always told me the key to success was to outwork the competition. I had never understood what he meant until I heard Fannie mutter those words. That moment has impacted my entire business philosophy up until now. When I look back and think about it, those words really helped propel me to always push myself and over-deliver to my customers.
“Hard work isn’t much of a secret I guess, but I’ll tell you what is. When you work hard on the right things like taking care of your customers, they take care of you.” That’s what Fannie did and that’s what we do at Joey’s Movers. You see, I may not be a business genius but I’m smart enough to know Joey’s could never compete with the national moving companies.
Joey’s gives personalized service which goes above and beyond your average moving company.
Yes, there is actually a Joey (I’m writing this right now). I’m aware that our exceptional brand and continued level of service has inspired 3 generations of North Shore families to use Joey’s for all of their moving needs. The good news is that we don’t want to compete with the big national companies. We are a family-oriented company and we plan on staying that way.
I personally get to know all of our customers. Even though we don’t allocate excessive funds on advertising budgets, we have grown and prospered due to that simple secret that I learned from my great grandfather, my grandfather and Fannie:
When you take good care of your customers….your customers take good care of you.
Referrals are the ultimate “thank you” in business!
So I want to thank everyone in the community who has used Joey’s Movers in the past and all of you who have referred us to friends and family. I also promise that we will continue to provide the hometown, customized and friendly service that you have come to expect well into the future!
JOEY
