My name is Pete Katai and I run the Midwest region for FLS Transportation, a freight and shipping brokerage company with a presence all over North America. I had initially met Bill because our parents had a relationship with his parents. When my firm taped me to open and run the Chicago office I reached out to him.
Though I knew a 2 person office was far below his pay grade, he still made me feel like I was his top priority and best client. He found us a great shared office space and helped us get settled in. Not long after we were experiencing fast growth and needed a larger office space. Again I called Bill and again he treated us with the utmost respect by being responsive, following through with what he said he was going to do, and finding us the perfect space for our small but growing business.
A few years after our first project together, we were once again outgrowing our space and needed to find a more long term solution. At this point, we knew exactly who to speak with and sure enough, it felt as if Bill dropped everything to make us his top priority. True to past experiences, he found us an amazing location at a great price that really fit our culture. We had a loft building in River North with stained concrete floors that really showed the young people who work for us that we cared about their office environment.
I think this last chapter really surmises Bill’s true character and what he is all about. My firm once again was ready to grow and we would finally have an opportunity for Bill to earn more than a nominal fee for his hard work. However, the CEO of our firm was tricked by the owner of the building (Friedman Properties) that using a broker would only add cost to the deal and that they could work something out between the two of them.
I tried explaining to our CEO that Bill had helped us when we were starting out and at each step along the way. He always put our best interests first and while he worked very hard on several deals, he never really made much money. The CEO ignored my request and went direct with the building to complete the expansion and extension.
Though we had essentially failed him as a client and turned our back on him when there was finally a deal worth having, he remained a loyal friend and to this day still connects me to great people for growing my business. Bill is truly a man of integrity, one that does not hold a grudge, and continues to look out for my best interests.
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