Customer Experiences

Meridian Regional Imaging : Village of Vernon Hills : Dougal, McClellan & Sullivan Eye Associates
Five Star Distributors : Benham, Ichen & Knox

Five Star Distributors
Vernon Hills, Illinois

The Challenge
In 1992, Alan Davidove was frustrated. Trying to address the information technology needs of Five Star Distributors, a growing family-owned business supplying vending products, he worked with a software provider, a different hardware provider, and yet another network provider. Whenever a problem developed, there seemed to be more finger-pointing among the different providers than coordinated effort to resolve the issue. All he really wanted was an IT team that worked together productively to anticipate and meet Five Star’s technology needs.

The Solution
Fortuitously, about this time Alan happened across an ABN advertising flyer. "Timing is everything," he noted. He hired the firm to analyze his existing IT system and determine what was required to give Five Star the competitive edge it sought.

"They were very accurate in describing our business needs," Alan recalled. ABN developed highly customized IT solutions that have grown with the business, which now services 13 Midwestern states from its suburban Chicago location. According to Alan, the integrated approach has saved the company thousands of dollars in system development and hardware upgrade costs.

However, Alan’s complete confidence in the ABN/ABG team is at least as important to him as the financial benefits. “In an industry with extremely high turnover, the key people from 12 years ago are still there. That goes a long way in the level of service provided,” he said. “When someone from ABN/ABG walks through my door, I trust that person. It gives me a sense of family.”

From the beginning of their relationship, ABN President Alex Poltorak’s zealous commitment to customer service impressed Alan. “We have similar philosophies about service, and taking care of customers first and foremost. As owners of companies, we understand what has to be done.”

Alan relies on ABN/ABG not only to keep his system running flawlessly (“it’s virtually never down,” he noted) and to provide critical security, but also to keep the company on the cutting edge, technologically speaking. “ABN/ABG is proactive about recommending new technology before we know we need it,” he said. “Technology evolves faster than I can track it, but I don’t have to. They make it easy.”

Alan Davidove, Vice President
Five Star Distributors