A day in the life of … General Manager Sue

Instant Home’s general manager takes us through her day … … …

I started my life at Instant Home in an administration and business development role in 2014, then some shifts took place in the company and I was lucky enough to find myself in the position of general manager, just a year later.

My role is to oversee the staff and operations of the business. So I manage the team of apprentices, warehouse operatives and office admin employees. They are all such a lovely and efficient bunch that this doesn’t take a lot of organising – I’m mainly making sure that I am there if they need anything. I let the warehouse and delivery team know where they have to be and when. I also manage customer enquiries and produce the quotations. If this quotation turns into a job, I issue the hire paperwork, and instruct the warehouse team on the job. We all work together to ensure the process is smooth and completely hassle free for the customer.

A big part of my job is managing the stock. So I keep a very close eye on what furniture we have in the warehouse, and what the quality of that stock is like. Only the finest products go out into customers’ homes, so we keep it all replenished regularly. I also manage health and safety – it’s the upmost importance to make sure the team are safe. I’m also out and about a lot, building relationships with estate agents, insurance companies, relocation agents and property developers.

I find the job incredibly rewarding. The best aspect of it is that we really go the extra mile for our customers. We are a web-based company, which means that people choose all the furniture online, rather than going and seeing it in a show home. This means that we guide customers through the whole process, discussing their individual needs, and ensuring they have everything they require in their new home. And we get a lot of positive feedback on that which is so rewarding. I think that’s the key difference with working for a family-run business, the values are different, everyone feels part of the business and feels personally connected to wanting the customer to have the very best service – we are all really passionate about that.

Providing first class service also feels really important as lot of our customers are moving from abroad. This means that not only are they completely new to the process of hiring furniture but they also have a great deal to think about because they are relocating to another country. There is a lot of uncertainty in that, which is why we hold their hand through the whole move, to ensure they have exactly what they need when they arrive in their new home in another country. We pride ourselves on taking as much of the stress away as we can, meaning they just have to arrive and their home is welcoming, with everything needed to create an instant home.

All of the products that we hire are the cream of the crop. When we say we have sat in, slept in and used the products at home, we mean it. A lot of the furniture we hire, I have at home! Only the best will do. So when I go home at the end of the day and put my feet up on my lovely sofa I can rest easy knowing that our customers are comfortable too.