The House that Service Built, A Message from Bill McMahon, III
As we pack up our desks and close up the Asbury Avenue office, I stopped to think about our history. Â 37 years on Asbury Avenue. 37 years.
My sister, Maura, found pictures the other day while packing up. Yes, actual Kodak developed pictures. I remember when I used to drop off my film and pick it up later with developed film strips along with my prints. It used to be a matter of dropping off a roll and choosing between one-hour and overnight processing. Now you can go to a kiosk and photos are printed in seconds. Or upload images onto the internet and have prints delivered to your home.
Ah, the good old days. These were also the days of Blockbuster Video. For families, driving to Blockbuster was a Friday night ritual. Many people haven’t seen a Blockbuster — much less gone inside since 2010. However, when our receptionist describes our new location, she says, “it’s where the old Blockbuster used to be”. And almost everybody knows exactly where that is. Be kind, rewind.
Let’s hit rewind for a minute to get a glimpse into the evolution of the agency.
My dad, started his insurance career in 1959 in the mail room of the Maryland Casualty Company at 320 Walnut St., Philadelphia. My mom and dad always loved the shore, so when the opportunity presented itself for a position at NJ National Associates in Cape May, they discussed the possibility of moving to the Jersey shore with 4 kids and decided to go for it. Then my three brothers were born.
[Row]
[Column xs=12 sm=6]
[/Column]
[Column xs=12 sm=6]
[/Column]
[/Row]
In 1981, my dad, who always wanted to be in business for himself, decided to purchase the agency which was originally at 1315 Asbury Avenue. The agency’s roots were there since the original agency was a real estate and insurance business owned by Haney Lloyd Chattin, who lived upstairs. Then my parents bought another insurance business, Insurance Services of Ocean City and the building they owned at 2131 Asbury Ave.
Dad started with 3 employees (one being Barbara Muller who is still working at the agency) and it quickly grew. He instilled the “service first” mentality that is still with us today. His philosophy to “return every call” gave customers confidence in our team and cultivated relationships between our account managers and clients.
My dad calls the agency, The House that Service Built. And it’s not just clients that we take care of, but our staff as well. Our average employee tenure is 14 years. We have eight employees who have been with the agency for over 20 years and we have ten millennial generation employees as well. Our staff cares about their clients and we all take pride in our duties. As Account Manager Bonnie Ash, quotes, “Kindness and courtesy are at the root of a good relationship”.
In 1997, we made improvements and additions to the Asbury office. Business continued to grow and in 2009, we opened our Marmora office with 10 employees. (Just in time for Hurricane Sandy to sweep through our area. Thankfully having the Marmora office enabled us to stay open and help our clients who landed in Sandy’s path).
[Row]
[Column xs=12 sm=6]
[/Column]
[Column xs=12 sm=6]
[/Column]
[/Row]
In 2015, we started looking into refurbish the Asbury office. Replacing wall paper, turned into replacing the carpets, and then ideas of putting another addition onto the building. Well, after many meetings and architect designs, the decision to build a bigger office looked more and more like the right choice. Now, we’ve completely outgrown the current offices, even with our Marmora office and newly added Cape May office (Winter 2016).
Let’s fast forward – as of November 20, 2017 we will officially close the Asbury Ave office and move into 901 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City, NJ. The current Ocean City staff (28 employees) will move into the Simpson Avenue building on November 17th. Our phones may be down during the move, but you can still contact us via email at: info@mcmahonagency.com. Our Marmora and Cape Offices will remain open and available. We plan on hiring more account managers once settled into the new office.
With streaming services replacing Blockbuster and internet sites replacing film development, this brings convenience to customers. Well, so is McMahon Insurance Agency.
Our investment in our new location- being at the foot of the 9th Street Bridge, will allow us years of growth. With convenience in mind, we have built a facility accessible to our customers and with space available for educational seminars & meetings and convenient parking available in the back.
Insurance is not a small investment and having experts available for our customers to talk with face-to-face is a convenience we will always offer.
[Row]
[Column xs=12 sm=6]
[/Column]
[Column xs=12 sm=6]
[/Column]
[/Row]
We are thrilled for this new chapter on Simpson Avenue and look forward to continuing to service you and your neighbors.
Sincerely,
Bill McMahon, III
McMahon Insurance Agency
President & CEO