Committee Member Spotlight: Delilah Palacios
“It's a safe place where members can be vulnerable and feel comfortable saying, ‘I don't know everything,’ and it's an environment where asking for help is received with a sense of courage and strength.”
Delilah Palacios, Director of Service, Preferred Technologies, LLC
PSA Service Committee Founder
For Delilah Palacios, Director of Service at Preferred Technologies, service isn’t the final step in a project, but rather where the real relationship begins.
“Service can more often be an afterthought, but we are the icing on the cake,” she says. “When the installation team phenomenally completes an installation, we grab the baton and close the race with a solid win!”
With over 19 years of experience in electronic security and networked systems, Delilah leads with a balance of structure and empathy. She’s implemented clear operational cadences and developed “Core Processes” to help her team deliver consistent, high-quality service with confidence. But her leadership goes beyond systems. She believes the strongest service teams are rooted in relationships.
When asked what led her to found the PSA Service Committee, Delilah shared that service-related conversations were generally missing. Through engagement with external alignment forums, she worked to provide her team with partner perspectives, but she felt there was a greater need within the network.
“I had experience with foundationally building a service department before but wanted to be exposed to methods being used by other integrators,” said Delilah. “I also wanted to share all of my experiences considering I was experiencing this very complicated, multi-layered situation for the second time. I thought... how amazing it would be to have a group of folks to share these experiences. What an impactful journey it would be!”
In her experience, Delilah notes that what separates an average service department from a high-performing one is seeing the customers as people, not dollar signs. This people-first philosophy also led her to found the PSA Service Committee, which provides a space where service leaders can share openly, ask for help and learn from one another. She states, “It's a safe place where members can be vulnerable and feel comfortable saying, ‘I don't know everything,’ and it's an environment where asking for help is received with a sense of courage and strength.”
Delilah is also candid about the challenges of leadership. Growth, she says, depends on facing difficult conversations head-on. Whether related to performance, cross-departmental tension or home life, having tough conversations inevitably fosters an environment for growth in both the individual and the team. She highlights that it takes courage to have these conversations, but more importantly, “The desire to love each other and truly care about the well-being of each individual must be greater than the win or the award.”
Over the course of her career, Delilah has learned that service can truly be the differentiator that pulls a customer in and holds them confidently through the ebbs and flows of growth. Conversely, it can also be the reason that breaks customer relationships. With this, her message to the network is clear: shift the mindset about service toward recognition and inclusion. “Don't let them be an after-thought,” she challenges.
Done right, service goes beyond support. It’s what builds trust, loyalty and long-term success.
Interested in joining a PSA committee? Learn more!