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Mid-County
Spring
INSIDE:
Messenger
Spring 2018 • Vol. 33
Page 2 - 3 Energy
Page 4 - 5 Agronomy
Page 6 - Auto, Truck, & Tire
www.midcountycoop.com
Making it easy!
We want your communication with Mid-
County to be fast, easy, and pleasant.
More and more, I fi nd that the companies
that I do business with believe that
technology and automation is improving
what is called the “customer experience.”
Many of the companies are doing
Bill Reimers
everything in their power to eliminate the
General Manager
person-to-person experience. That would
(952) 466-3721
lead
me to believe that these companies
[email protected]
are attempting to have less people in
customer service, and hoping that technology will save them
money. That all sounds good, but many of us have experienced a
30-minute phone call, with many of those minutes on hold, to get
a simple question answered. The dilemma is they won’t let you
talk to a real person.
Being locally owned allows us to step around many of the
customer issues that large companies struggle with. So what do
we do at Mid-County to make it easy for you to reach us?
We have again updated our website. Most of the information
was there in the past, we have just moved things around so it is
easier to read, easier to fi nd information, and accessible from your
smart phone. If you need to reach a staff member, you can click
on the “Staff ” tab and see their phone number, email, and even
a short biography on that person. Need to look up your account
balance quickly? Click on the “My Account” button. We also have
a new feature for businesses that need a product SDS (safety data
sheet) that is available in every departmental tab on the site.
When it comes to answering telephone calls, we will only use
automation when it makes it convenient for the customer. We
want you to reach the proper person as fast as possible, and not
make you stay on
My Account Button
the phone guessing
which button to
push.
On the fl ip side, we
leave it up to you if
you want to use the
new technology. If
you want to place an
order at midnight?
Just call our main
phone system and
leave a message, or get on our website and put in an order on
our contact page. Or, if you need to reach a certain individual by
email, once again, click on the “Staff ” tab and use the link to their
email.
You can even make a service request at our Auto, Truck and Tire
Center on the website.
Modern technology is very important in our daily operations,
whether it be GPS tracking of our fl eet for effi ciency, or the latest
software for accurate billing.
Hopefully, you were able to attend our annual meeting in
December. If you missed it, I am pleased to report to you that we
had another good year, and many of you will see the results in
the form of a dividend check for last year’s business in May. We
will again be paying a dividend which is right up there with last
year’s.
Thank you for your support and keeping Mid-County a strong
locally owned coop for over 82 years.
As always, I appreciate your comments and suggestions to
make your coop better.
New director elected to Mid-County’s board
In December, Jonathan Henschen was elected to a three-
year term on Mid-County Coop’s board of directors. This was
a natural fi t for Jonathan, who has been a proud customer of
Mid-County Coop his entire farming career.
“I was happy when [General Manager Bill Reimers] called to
tell me there was an opening,” he said. “It’s been on my radar
for quite a long time.”
Jonathan and his wife, Barb, live on a farm in Benton Town-
ship, a few miles southwest of Cologne. They grow corn and
soybeans, and also raise heifers for their neighbor’s dairy farm.
The focus of Jonathan’s work has changed somewhat over
time; he had pigs for a number of years, and also cared for
hereford beef and beef steers for awhile.
Jonathan Henschen “I’m the fi fth generation to farm here,” Jonathan commented.
In his 30-plus years of farming full time, Jonathan has always
relied on Mid-County Coop for his agronomy needs.
“The people are good to work with – and it’s only four miles
from home,” Jonathan said. “The staff are knowledgeable, and
everybody’s real friendly. They call me by name when I come
in there.”
As a board member, Jonathan is looking forward to learning
as much as he can about the business side of Mid-County. He’s
been enjoying the monthly meetings, where he hears about
agronomy equipment purchases and other news.
In addition to being involved with Mid-County, Jonathan is
active with the Cologne Lions Club. His other hobbies include
ice fi shing, collecting tractors (he’s a big fan of International
Harvester), and making maple syrup with two of his friends
each spring.