Vending’s favourite wholesaler, Automatic Retailing, recently launched their new blog site here and this is the first in an occasional series of extracts. We focus today on the fabulous people behind the scenes. PV
Internal Sales at Automatic Retailing is a department that thrives on teamwork and humour or – put another way – on really cheesy jokes. Yes, ghastly gags run through our Customer Service team like Brighton runs through rock and our Tuesday morning meetings are always accompanied by corny comedy groans…
Pictured: The Automatic Retailing Internal Sales Team, Louise Bloomfield, Jackie Gorman; Rachael Jackson, Anthony Hall; Claire Toner, David Tait and Lyndsey Baxter.
When you pick up the phone or send us an e-mail, you’ll connect directly to a member of our Internal Sales team. So, we thought you might be interested to find out just what goes on in this very busy office. What’s more, we wanted to give you the opportunity to put faces to names, so you can see exactly who you’re dealing with.
Here we go then: and don’t say we didn’t warn you…
Lyndsey Baxter: Sales Coordinator. Lyndsey maintains an overview of the whole shebang and it’s her job to see that everything possible is done to ensure our service improves constantly, to meet the changing requirements of you, our customer.
Lyndsey’s laughing at:
‘What do you call cheese that isn’t yours….Nacho cheese!’
Claire Toner: Assistant Sales Coordinator. Claire is to Lyndsey what Watson is to Sherlock! She joined us 6 months ago and her stock in trade is ‘facts and figures’. She undertakes the ‘methodical stuff,’ which used to drive Lyndsey ga-ga. Claire also feeds information to both suppliers and customers; she analyses performance and evaluates promotions and if you need proof of delivery or a copy invoice, she’s your knight in shining armour.
Claire’s laughing at:
‘What kind of cheese do you use to disguise a small horse….Mascarpone’
Louise Bloomfield: Sales Order Processing Office Manager. 12 years into her career at AR, Louise heads-up a team of 4 in customer service. When you give us your feedback- good or not so good – it’s Louise who records it on AR’s CRM system. She also liaises with our Transport and Warehouse departments when we receive an urgent order. In a nutshell, she keeps everything running smoothly.
Louise is laughing at:
‘Did you hear about the explosion at the cheese factory …..There was de brie everywhere!’
Anthony Hall: Senior Sales Order Processor. Anthony’s also been with us for 12 years. In fact, he and Louise both started as temps within a few weeks of each other and (thank goodness) both stayed on! Anthony’s main duties are in customers service, processing orders and reporting. Let’s just say his role is a little bit varied: in fact, Lyndsey, Claire, Louise and Anthony watch each other’s backs to make sure nothing slips under the radar and no customer is ever left high and dry.
Anthony’s laughing at:
‘Which cheese would you use to coax a bear down from a tree…Camembert!’
Jackie Gorman: Sales Order Processor. Jackie will soon clock up 6 years with us. You won’t speak to her on the phone, because she has hearing difficulties. Jackie’s a complete keyboard wizard: she spends all day – every day – inputting your orders into the system and she pummels her keyboard so hard and so fast for so long that we’ve had to get her a replacement three times. Where would we be without her? It doesn’t bear thinking about…
Jackie’s laughing at:
‘Why was the cheesemonger’s lopsided? Because they only had one stilton!’
David Tait: Sales Order Processor. David joined 18 months ago. He has a call centre background with Orange / EE, where he was identified as something of a star to be trained up for higher things… Fortunately for us, we get the benefit of his brilliance! He really is up there with the best of them and we’re delighted to have him on board, looking after the online side of things. Not that he’s a geek at all, mind…
David’s laughing at…
‘A kid threw a lump of cheddar at me, I thought: ‘that’s not very mature!’
Rachael Jackson: Sales Order Processor. Rachael’s another relatively new recruit, having been with us for almost exactly a year. Her role is similar to David’s: she’ll speak to you on the phone or take your order from the web site. On top of that, she makes sure any feedback you provide is acted upon.
Rachael’s laughing at:
‘What does the cheese say when it looks in the mirror? Hello me (halloumi).’
Automatic Retailing – It’s Your One-Stop Shop
Since more and more of your orders arrive via the Internet, we’ve been able to develop our sales office. It’s a one-stop-shop for you, our customer, whatever your requirements may be. So for instance, if we don’t have a product you want, the team will inform our buyers. Likewise, if you want to notify us of a change of address, or get through to Accounts to clarify your bill; these wonderful people are your first port of call. Not only that: they’ll tell you what’s on promotion at any given time; they’ll jog your memory if you’ve not re-ordered a product you’ve sold successfully before and they’ll fill you in on new products and best sellers.
