Archive for Longevity

Employee Spotlight: Leslie Wright

If you’ve ever worked with Sams, you probably know Leslie. Leslie is our office manager/house mom/comedian who keeps us on our toes and a smile on our face. Leslie Wright has been with Sams for 22 years, and is probably the greatest thing that has ever come from a newspaper ad. In 1994, she applied for a secretary/office position ad that she saw in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and we believe she’s our angel. That might be dramatic, but if you know her, you know that’s true.

For this month’s employee spotlight, we thought it was time to shine a little light on this star employee. Over the years, Leslie has taken countless phone calls from angry parents, trying to clean up the mess of a surprise party thrown by a rebelling teenager, hysterical families who have experienced flood damage and happy return customers who ask for Leslie by name.

Q: Why Sams? What is it about Sams that makes us different and special?

A: We honestly CARE about our customers and put them first. They are more to us than customers. We put ourselves in their shoes and treat them like family, the way WE would want to be treated. We build long term personal and business relationships with our clients. There have been people who leave and try another company, but they consistently come back after that experience because they miss the customer service.

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Sams?

A: We have fun every day. We are family, we support each other and we have a good time. We joke and clown around, but we also have each other’s backs. When I started at Sams, I was a single mom. Jeff and Susan were always understanding and flexible, allowing me to stay at home with a sick kid or work with my schedule so I could attend their events. Family is a core factor here. Sure, we sometimes fight like family, but we are a team and we will support one another.

Q: What is your favorite part of the job?

A: I LOVE TALKING! I love meeting clients, hearing their stories and building relationships with them. When I get to solve their problem and help them out, that brings me joy. And we have some AWESOME clients, so I can’t help but love what I do.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories from over the years at Sams?

A: Celebrating my 20 years with Sams was a really amazing experience. The team went above and beyond to make me feel special and I felt the love. We recently had a 30 year celebration for Dennis, and I love looking around the room and seeing the longevity of the employees. You don’t see that at every business, but at Sams, our employees stick around because we are family and we work for a great company.

Q: What is your favorite client story? Any funny or memorable ones?

A: I don’t even know where to begin… there have been too many! Of course there are countless times kids are frantically calling us to clean the carpets before their parents get home and find out they had a party. We honestly get those calls weekly! I just love hearing from repeat customers who ask for me by name because they had a great experience and they know they can trust us. That is truly one of the best feelings.

 

A big thank you to Leslie for her years of dedication and amazing customer service! We couldn’t be happier that she answered our newspaper ad 22 years ago and chose Sams Carpet Cleaning & Repair.

Stay tuned for the next employee spotlight highlighting our wonderful and talented employees!

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Employee Spotlight: Dennis Mierkowski, 30 Years with Sams Carpet Cleaning & Repairs

Dennis Mierkowski has been a part of the Sams Carpet Cleaning Family for 30 years. That’s right, you read that correctly. He has been with us from the beginning, when Sams Carpet Cleaning & Repairs started out of Jeff Sams parent’s home, and has been with us every step of the way. He shows passion, integrity, exceptional work ethic and dedication with everything he does, and we feel honored to have him as a part of our team. Having an employee like Dennis is truly a blessing. Every day he walks into work with a smile on his face and a greeting for everyone around him. To celebrate his 30th anniversary with the company, we wanted to highlight Dennis and hear his experience and memories with Sams over the years.

Dennis is a carpet technician who has known Jeff and his family most of his life, and when he saw Jeff starting Sams and needing employees, he stepped up to help. 30 years ago when he started at Sams, he became hooked. Here’s a little Q&A we had with Dennis to learn more about his years with Sams and some of his favorite stories.

Q: Why Sams? What makes Sams different and special?

A: To be happy you have to like what you do, and I LOVE what I do at Sams. I love the people I work with, I love working with Jeff and seeing his passion and dedication to customer satisfaction, which is something that is important to me. I can’t explain to you that amazing feeling when a customer recommends a friend or family member to us. It takes a lot of trust and confidence to allow someone into your home, and that trust is something I want to build with each and every customer. When I leave a home, I know I am leaving behind a clean environment, and that is something I can be proud of. It’s important to me for a customer to be happy and to call back for future service.

Q: What is something you are most proud of from your years with Sams?

A: There have been many times we’ve been called and the customer said they thought it was time to replace their carpet, but first they wanted to try cleaning them to see if that would help. After cleaning the carpet, the customers are thrilled and said that it’ll save them from replacing the carpet! That’s our goal, to provide quality service and help customers with whatever they might need.

Q: Any funny stories?

A: I don’t know about funny, but something I think is the longevity of many of my clients. Some of my long standing client’s children are now calling me to come clean their homes! It’s always fun to hear, “I remember you cleaning my parent’s floors when I was a child and now I need mine cleaned!”

Q: Do you have any memorable experiences with Sams?

A: Probably 15 years ago or more, we received a phone call from Nelly. He had just purchased a house in Lake St. Louis and he wanted to get his carpets and floors cleaned before MTV Cribs came out to film. I knew who Nelly was, but didn’t really know him. I went out to his house and talked to him for awhile, but didn’t realize he was Nelly until after he left and I was talking to his mom! It was a pretty crazy experience to sit with my friends watching his episode of MTV Cribs and say, “that’s my work, I cleaned that, that’s also my work!”

Thank you to Dennis not only for his YEARS of service and amazing attitude, but for taking the time to be interviewed for our first employee spotlight! Stay tuned for future blogs highlighting our wonderful employees.

*We’re exciting to announce that we are growing! We are looking to add new members to our Sams Carpet Cleaning and Repair family. If you are interested, check out our careers page HERE.*

 

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