21 expd 02 Growing in a demanding economic climate requires two keys: delivering superior service to customers and con- taining costs. In the South Pacific region, training remained our focus. Every manager was involved in our training programs designed to connect managers with customers. In fact, 50 percent of a manager’s time is spent face-to-face with customers to ensure consis- tently high service and access to Expeditors’ value- added solutions. We also work closely with carriers to contain costs. So, in a tough economy, we were able to make certain that our expenses grew less than our revenue, despite substantial expenses in new facilities.