Gilman Brothers Sales Team Reorganization Redefines Customer Service
GILMAN, Ct. — August 30, 2018 — Customer service continues to be the driving force at The Gilman Brothers Company. In a bold move to create a fully supportive and productive relationship with every client, the company has turned over leadership of its inside sales team to Ari Luna, Business Development Manager. In taking on the new role, Luna was tasked with one objective — to relook at everything to support global market. Under Luna’s leadership, the commercial team has been redefining the market with exceptional customer service and information accessibility. Communication is key as the company can now offer 1-hour quote turnaround, 24-hr order acknowledgments and pooled truck tracking. In addition to 24/7 phone support, customers now have access to online order tracking and product specifications. Luna also personally oversees the Customer Experience Center (CEC) which produces custom prototypes and printed samples on the Vanguard printer and Zünd digital cutter.
“What Ari has done with the inside sales team is nothing short of amazing,” says Bill VanHorn, Director of Sales. “The result is a level of customer satisfaction that is turning heads in the industry.”
Luna stresses that superior customer service can’ t happen without a top notch commercial team. By taking advantage of each team member’s particular strengths and talents and placing them in key positions, each team member brings a level of expertise to the customer experience. Team members are also cross trained to step into another team member’s role to seamlessly meet all customer expectations effortlessly.
“This is the team that makes the ‘impossible’ possible,” says Luna. “Each person’s role has been crucial in bringing our company to where it is today. I have lead other teams in the past; this is by far the most inspiring and rewarding.”
Let’s meet the team…
Leslie “The Gatekeeper” Pendleton, Strategic Administrative Leader, keeps everything running smoothly in the sales department while fielding all incoming communications and coordinates all company visitors. She oversees the day-to-day managerial tasks in the sales office and is often described as “the glue that keeps us together”. Pendleton enjoys karaoke and can frequently be heard singing as she works.
Liz “The Hammer” Partington, Strategic Sales Leader, works in partnership with scheduling, production, inventory control and logistics to bring together special programs designed to give customers a competitive edge. Partington brings a contagious passion and energy to the customer service team. Partington is a diehard Patriots fan with a laugh like no other.
Joe “The Data Guy” Rossi, Business Process Manager, is the team’s costing specialist and interdepartmental metrics liaison. Rossi works closely with Ari handling all custom quotes to get customers the most competitive price and lead time.
John “Eagle-Eye” Kerchis, Order Processing Specialist is tasked with confirming each and every purchase order, paying the highest attention to all order specs, requests, notes, and special instructions, to ensure that all orders are entered into the system completely and accurately every time. All details are methodically and meticulously noted, resulting in "expectation execution" throughout the entire order-to-delivery process.
Ingrid “The Creative One” Skinner, Strategic Communications Leader, brings word craft and artistry to all marketing materials. She also maintains the company’s online presence ensuring that promotional videos, instruction sheets and technical data are all just a click away. Ingrid enjoys exploring new graphics art techniques and has a passion for vintage prints.
“Douglas Adams said it best,“ says Luna, “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity”.
