Heidi Hamby is Wolf Creek’s Branch Manager in Lexington, KY. She has been a part of the Wolf Pack for 18 years. Beginning her time at Wolf Creek with no Green Industry experience, she has become an asset to the team!
Heidi started her journey as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), then later went into catering. After returning home to Kentucky, she saw an opportunity with Wolf Creek to help open the Lexington branch! After meeting the infamous Gordon Loggins (now retired and much missed) and interviewing with Co-Owner Chris Knowles, Heidi began her new career.
“She is absolutely dedicated to our industry and our customers. She will do whatever it takes to get the answers and solve the issues.” -Bill Cooke, Wolf Creek Kentucky Territory Manager
Off to the Right Start
Heidi’s days starts with ringing phones and looking up potential projects for customers on the CDC. She shows up early and gets the day lined up for Quincy her Customer Service Rep. Afternoons are mostly spent on administrative duties, so the mornings are her favorite.
She is busy getting ready for the season, “The projects are out there, contracts have been signed and we all have an eye on the radar. When the weather evens out the race will be on,” she said. The CDC will be rolling out a new format with intuitive matching. She will be soon providing all Territory Managers with even more project leads. “Looking on CDC gives me the big picture and shows me everyone will be busy this year,” she says. Heidi is reassured, despite the slow start to the season.
All About Balance
Running a branch is a balancing act. Although the Lexington branch is small, with only two on staff they are always busy.
Heidi does her best to manage inventory to meet her customer’s needs, yet not over stock and crowd the store. Minimum orders, freight, etc. are all things that must be considered in addition to being able to warehouse, ship, inventory and deliver items on time. This doesn’t include making time for conference calls, reports, webinars, VR training, and other duties. “Most customers come in or call knowing they need help. But, not always with a clear explanation. So there’s a time factor involved in understanding what they need and finding that item,” she explains.
In addition to her normal workload, Heidi also manages to take initiative in other areas of the company. She has contributed great ideas that have led to changes on a company-wide scale. Heidi recognized that her branch’s monthly cookout wasn’t generating much response. She took the initiative to change up the system. Heidi started delivering lunch to people with any order they made. This encouraged customers to choose delivery over pick-up, saving them time. And, it also made a significant impact on the success of the cookouts. For 2018, Wolf Creek adopted Heidi’s idea for all our branches.
Branching Out
Heidi’s branch was also the only one to have personalized newsletters each month last year. She took the time to come up with topics, images and products that she thought her customers would be interested in reading about and seeing. This individualized approach led to a greater response rate in her emails and now a company wide adoption.
Now, as a member of Wolf Creek’s Internal Marketing Committee, Heidi and several others are given the platform to talk about what works for their areas.
This year Heidi has big goals for her branch, “I’d like to see us capture some new customers. We have some landscapers that install quite a bit of drainage and some lighting, so I’d like to make a big effort to let them know we offer those products and fantastic service,” she said. She also wants to help existing customers grow their business and start offering more services.
All About Communication
Communication is key in achieving those goals. Not only communicating with customers, but also each other and the Louisville branch. Taking it a set further, the Lexington branch is proud of their level of customer service. “We take the time to listen and provide solutions in any way possible,” she explained.
Another way they and many other Wolf Creek branches are helping their customers is by introducing the Wolf Den. Lexington is installing their first Wolf Den. In a Wolf Den, a customer has an inventory from Wolf Creek on their site. Their inventory is replenished as needed by us, and the customer is only charged for what is used. For more information on this contact your local branch.
Personal Life Too???
Outside of work you can find Heidi running her kids around to sports and on occasion coaching their teams. She values spending time with her boys, whether that means taking them to the pool, park, or just being with them.
Work isn’t the only place she uses her Green Industry skills, Heidi works on the landscape and turf in her yard to create a more enjoyable place to relax. Heidi also provides respite care for foster kids and parents. Respite care gives foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and children the chance to have short, regular periods of time apart in which they can rest and recharge.
Heidi has been a wonderful team member to work with and we appreciate all she does. Contact Heidi and Quincy at 859.225.1223 for any help or questions.
