Shawn Padman's right of reply

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By Dwain Duxson - An Ag Enthusiast

Shawn Padman's right of reply - This is another two-part newsletter where we have our commentary and a letter to follow.

We invited Padman Stops to reply, and they were good enough to send something in and dedicate a phone call our way to explain it from their angle through Shawn Padman, one of the owners. You may want to read the original article here.

Shawn outlined that there might be some confusion from the ownership structure of what are two separate businesses. Looking at it from my angle, I think one is more of a tech company that probably doesn't know what's required to deal with Farmers. The other is the original Padman Stops business, which Irrigators have been dealing with for years. To use a bad pun, there has been a muddying of the Irrigation channel waters.

I just love these sorts of outcomes where someone isn't happy with a company's service; the service company then respond and tries and correct the mistake. As businesses, we all have blind spots, and unless pointed out, we miss them. We are all ugly enough to know that things aren't linear in these dealings, and the best outcome is that we all learn something, and we respond and get better at what we do. Shawn and his team were a little concerned that this might damage their reputation, but dealing with these things head-on can only be a reputation enhancer. Well done to them. See the start of Shawn's letter below and the link to the full letter at the end. Do you think businesses and people's reputations can be enhanced when they deal with what might have been a blind spot? Reply to dwaind@farmtender.com.au

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Dear Editor, We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the recent editorial and letter regarding Padman Stops and its associated businesses. At Padman Stops, we highly value the feedback from our customers and the broader community, and we'd like to take this chance to clarify some points to avoid any misunderstandings. 

We understand there may also be some confusion regarding the relationship between Padman Stops and Padman Automation. While John Padman and I are shareholders in Padman Automation, it's important to note that Padman Stops and Padman Automation are two separate entities. Padman Stops does not handle the day-to-day operations of Padman Automation, with the majority share owned and operated by the Envirada Group. 

Two years ago we sought a strategic partner who would have the technical knowledge and experience to be able to support our products into the future and continue to look after our customers from the automation division within the Padman Group, this was to allow us to focus on what we do best, and where our expertise lies – being Australian manufacturing of innovative precast concrete structures for the surface irrigation industry. 

We are deeply sorry to hear that some of our valued customers feel they are not receiving the service or communication they have come to know and trust from either companies. We understand that communication is key, and we want to reassure our customers that we are committed to maintaining the highest levels of service. You can read the rest of the letter here…..

End of message.