When Carol Brammer retired from her position as branch manager with Western Financial Group, a life of basking in the sun was not in the cards.
“I was intent on retiring, but people kept asking me to come back,” she said.
Unable to turn her back on the many clients she forged a relationship with over nearly two decades – starting under Jim Flemming in 1992 – Brammer decided to start her own agency out of her home.
Despite the fact she had many past clients asking her to return, Brammer admits to a few nerves.
“I came down the stairs on that first day and said, ‘If the phone doesn’t ring, I am going to die,’” she remembered.
Not only did it ring, it “rang all day and into the night.”
It didn’t take long for Brammer to realize she was too busy to operate out of her house. In 2010, she moved to her office at #17 205 1 St E. Her business also grew, taking on more staff: Now-partner Trisha Fordyce, Brokers Darren McDougall and Angela Richards and Brammer’s daughter-in-law, Brittany, doing administration.
While competing against the bigger brokerages might be daunting for some, Brammer said it hasn’t been a factor in her business and the reason for that is simple: great customer service.
It is also the reason Brammer believes she and her team are receiving Cochrane Eagle Best of Cochrane Awards this year – Brammer gold for Best Insurance agent and Fordyce and McDougall silver in the same category.
Brammer prides herself in providing stellar customer service and that extends well beyond answering and returning phone calls – though many of her clients say they are impressed and surprised by that as well.
“I wanted to do the kind of service you don’t get anymore,” she said.
That means getting to know the clients, and not just herding them in and out the door. Brammer said her customers know they can come in and chat. They also know Brammer will go the extra mile when needed – from making house calls to hand-delivering pink cards.
“The personal touch … that is what I built Riverside Insurance on,” she said.
