Week 4:
UCA

June 25, 2022

Week 4 was not as eventful as the previous week exactly as I predicted but in all fairness, week 3 set the bar too high that I am sure the following month will not reach and there are many reasons for that. Although, this week was unique in its own right as I gained new insight into the operations at Amazing Edibles.

The recurring theme regarding my work was sales calls. Even though I am not a salesperson for the company yet (just a sales assistant), I still enjoy picking up the phone and interacting with clients before referring them to the leadership team–if the issue in question is important enough. I estimate that I had to take about 39 calls in one week, which was exhilarating for me as a person learning how to interact with clients but was also exhausting.

On Thursday evening, I worked overtime to visit a new venue, see how all the planning I was involved in is executed by the AE team, and to observe a historic celebration. The event was the celebration of a 40-year-old company called S.N. Peck Builders Incorporated. I did not get to interact with some clients like I did at BOMA last week but I was honestly here to observe how employees work in a situation where there are 200 people in a single (albeit large) room. The venue was “Ignite Glass Studios,” and it was beautiful even though it was a bit small for a special occasion where lots of guests were invited. The second image above shows that I am standing on the spacious roof of the venue where events are mainly held when it is not too hot. If you look closely, some of the most famous buildings in the city, like the Willis Tower, are also captured.

UCA is short for Unique Competitive Advantage, and it refers to what your edge over other competitors is. The picture you see above is capturing what is known as a “Bridal Bites” call, and this was another highlight of the week because I got an insight into the operations at AE (which I referred to in the first paragraph). You may think that the company’s edge over other competitors in the catering industry is their quality of service; you would be partly right about that as a lot of emphasis is placed on it, but what makes AE special is their ability to really form a sincere connection with the client(s) and then the service part comes. Establishing a connection is why the Bridal Bites call is a crucial step in the process.

What happens is that Andrea (the CEO) schedules a one-hour call with the client to go over the basic details like what the company is, what its goals are, going over the proposal, and, at the end, scheduling a tasting. At the end of the third Bridal Bites call I shadowed, I began to understand why going through this one hour is vital even though it may seem long. It is because the clients are not only going to greatly appreciate you, which will result in great (current) sales and possibly a long-term relationship, but they are very likely to share our name with other venues and people in general, which will get us free publicity and even more clients + opportunities to grow our business. I am writing a summarized version of my conversation with Andrea about this here but her words of wisdom regarding their UCA were very enlightening.

I learned a lot throughout this week, and it was quite productive. Here’s to the next one (wine glasses clink)!