At the age of 19, Bob Kennedy wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew that the next opportunity that came his way would see him pour his heart and soul into it.
That was back in 1976, and Kennedy, who suffered a football injury that dashed his hopes of playing pro ball, took a job with AquaSoft in Brantford.
He dove into the job headfirst, and three years later, was given the task of running the company’s Chatham outlet.
“Basically, I was moving to Chatham in two weeks,” he said. “As young as I was; 22, and a branch manager.”
He said he has no regrets for making the move.
“Chatham is a great place to do business. There is a very loyal customer base.”
Back then, the work was mostly water softeners and filtration, he said. While it’s still a mainstay with Kennedy and Water Elite, the refillable bottled water side of the business has really taken off.
It’s an element Kennedy admits he was slow to embrace.
“I got tired of saying I didn’t handle bottled water,” he said, referring to phone calls asking for prices on jugs of water and dispensers. “I sourced out the cost.”
Now, the bottled water and dispenser side of his operation comprises about 20 per cent of his business, Kennedy estimated.
A veteran of business in Chatham, Kennedy knows the value of good customer service.
“There are accounts I’ve had since the ’80s,” he said. “We have second- and third-generation clients.”
Kennedy said he keeps it simple. He’s not a high-pressure sales guy, but rather prefers to listen to his customers.
“I’m supplying you, the client, with a lifetime supply of water,” he said. “Making a sale is about making the client happy. That’s where I get my satisfaction.”
