Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I live in Kendal; only a 20-minute walk away from the showroom, although if I’m honest I am ridiculously lazy so will drive 99% of the time… those minutes saved are precious to me as I am most definitely not a morning person! I have two children, aged 20 & 21 who have only ever known me as an Atlantis employee, as I’ve been here since 2001.
What is your role at Atlantis Kitchens?
I originally came from a job in accounting and knew absolutely nothing about kitchens – other than how to cook a mediocre meal in one! After receiving on-the-job training and asking incessant questions (which must have driven my manager mad) I was able to confidently follow a plan, place orders, complete CAD work for the designers, and deal with queries from customers on the phone and in person in our showroom - which was considerably smaller at the time!
Fast forward a few years and I am back in an accounting role as Financial Manager, with Marketing Manager thrown in as an added bonus!
What does a typical day look like?
I don’t think there is such a thing as a “typical day” here!
Basically, my job is to ensure that customers are invoiced for the goods they have received and that we, in turn, receive payment. I produce monthly, quarterly, and annual reports using data compiled by other managers within the business, to see where we need to focus our marketing efforts or make changes to our daily working practices.
Day-to-day is a case of reacting to financial queries from customers, signing off on any advertising to be used in various publications throughout the northwest, and dealing with a deluge of emails.
What is the biggest challenge in your role?
Time management. Without doubt the hardest part is allowing myself time to deal with specific tasks. As my role is so varied, I am constantly switching between accounts and marketing so being able to prioritise is always a challenge.
What are you most excited about within the business – both now and in the future?
It has to be our showroom! We have invested so much time, money, and effort into making our showroom the best in the northwest. I think I speak for everyone at Atlantis when I say we are incredibly proud of what has been achieved. Watch this space though… we are always evolving!
Within your role what are you most proud about?
Just doing my job in general really. I moved into this role when my best friend left Atlantis. She sadly passed away in 2012, so I’m very proud that I have been able to continue ticking jobs off her very organised calendar… and I hope to carry on doing so for a very long time!
Share something your colleagues don’t know about you.
I don’t think there’s anything they don’t know… I have already confessed that as a teenager I used to go clog dancing – I was obviously very cool!