Our laboratory has now participated in The Barnes Group for two years. We have a twenty-five person, full service laboratory in Prince Albert, Canada. Just over a year ago we moved into our new facility complete with a multimedia learning center, offering continuing education seminars to our dental clients. Prior to joining the Barnes Group, we had put a succession plan in place bringing two of our managers into an ownership position. They are younger than me and have the skills, ambition and desire to continue the further development of the organization, securing their future, that of our employees and myself as well. We had worked with Alan and Coaching for Service, Inc. in various capacities for over ten years. We began in 1993, with his twelve part video series on laboratory customer service, sales, marketing and leadership. The series gave us a perspective on service that assisted us as we developed a long range plan that brought us to the point of building our new facility. In 2002, I participated with my partners, Crystal Helm, RDT and Vince Phaneuf, RDT, in a one year laboratory leadership program facilitated by Alan. This program gave us hands on in-depth training on the facilitation and development of effective team meetings which has positioned us to standardize and systematize our lab operations and training procedures. On completion of the leadership program we felt so comfortable working with Alan that we joined the Barnes Group. Within one month of his onsite evaluation of our facility, through his observations and with just two easy to implement recommendations, I completed the transition of "getting off the bench". We have enhanced through Alan and his co-workers, Jan Ouellette and Laura Murphy, the art and science of customer service that we implemented ten years ago. Our participation in the group is assisting us in high-end growth in every department in our laboratory. Our marketing and continuing education program "has life and depth" on a daily basis. It is not that we couldn't have done this on our own, but the networking in our group and from Alan's office has placed us in a position of leadership and remaining at the cutting edge of the dental laboratory profession. We recommend without reservation that you speak directly to Alan, myself and other colleagues in the group about affiliation with this fine network of independently owned laboratories.

Jeff Scheirer, RDT
Carlton Dental Ceramics
Prince Albert, SK