Supplies - Office Express

We may sell “things” like supplies and furniture, but the heart and soul of Office Express is its people. We’d like to share a little information about different employees in our company so that you get to know them a bit better. We hope that this continues to build a bridge between our company and you.

Employee Spotlight - Meet Carlton Branch

Some of the hardest working people at Office Express are our drivers, who are sometimes overlooked simply because they are not here during the day – they are out serving our customers!

One of our most outgoing drivers is Carlton Branch. Carlton covers the southeastern route servicing customers from Troy, Clawson, Birmingham, Southfield, Farmington Hills, Southgate, Taylor, Livingston and Detroit.

Carlton has been working in the office supply business for over 20 years, starting at Speedy Office Supply before coming to Office Express, where he has been now for the last 16 years. Carlton loves the fun and friendly atmosphere we have here at Office Express which complements his gregarious personality and sense of humor that always brings a smile to our faces and our customers.

If you have ever received a delivery from Carlton, I’m sure you know he’s coming either by his loud voice or one of his loud outfits which often represent one of Detroit’s sports teams. He threatened to burn his Lions outfit, but couldn’t go through with it.

Carlton and his wife have been married for many years and they have two children, a daughter and a son. In his spare time Carlton enjoys being in the outdoors ice fishing and hunting. He is also an avid bowler. Carlton lives in Silverwood, MI.

Carlton – thank you for everything you do here at Office Express and in our community!

Employee Spotlight - Meet Kim Sutton

I know someone has worked for me a long time when I have to ask them exactly how long they’ve been around! I was surprised and pleased to find out that Kim Sutton has been with Office Express for fourteen years as of this month! Kim started for us back 4 buildings ago when we were in Royal Oak.

Kim came from a supplier that went out of business and has always been a fast learner. Many of you have placed countless orders with her over the last 14 years and she has been sourcing those orders for you from our suppliers for the last 6 of those years.

I am sad to say that Kim will not always be with us. She is taking night classes to become a respiratory therapist, which she feels is really God’s calling to her. In the meantime, we are thrilled that she is planning to be with us for at least three years while she finishes those classes.

Kim and Kerry Sutton have an active family life, with daughters Carson (17) and Haley (10). When Kim has a little break from supporting her daughters in their extracurricular activities, she loves to read Christian fiction or just hang out at home. She and her family love to travel and she’s a collector of Hard Rock Café t-shirts from the places she visits. So far she’s up to 25, but she has a long ways to go. (I see many, many vacation requests in my future….)

Kim – thank you for everything you do here at Office Express and in our community!

I’d like to introduce to you Anna Sinagra, our Sales Manager. Many of you may already know Anna. She started

in Customer Service almost six years ago and worked her way into a telephone marketing position, then into outside sales. Her sales success, combined with her “think of others first” attitude earned her another promotion to Sales Manager last year.

Anna has earned the respect of the sales team and is always trying to do things to help them be successful. Many of those things involve programs to benefit you, the customer. Whether it’s finding an unusual item or suggesting substitutions to save you money, or helping to implement our Rewards Program, Anna always seems to deliver on your behalf. Her dedication is delivering results! Despite the worst economy I can remember, we are having a record year and she deserves a lot of the credit for it.

Anna has two sons and has been taking classes at night to earn a marketing degree. That doesn’t leave much spare time. Any spare time she does have, she enjoys spending it with her three sisters. Anna and her sons like to battle it out on Guitar Hero (although on the latest version, she gets stuck doing the singing!). She loves to travel, even if it's only a weekend trip, so she takes advantage of every break she can get when school is not in session. In the summer, she likes to spend a lot of time on the water and do a lot of tubing. Anna is an avid reader who enjoys non-fiction, educational and health reads (listening to books on the Ipod rocks too!).

Mark’s legend preceded him in this company. Before I hired him, I heard stories about his legendary service mindset. He does crazy things, like getting out of bed to help deliver a monster conference table so that the customer could have it for a meeting in the morning!

Fortunately for Mark, he “saw the light’ and decided that working for the Evil Empire (i.e. Corporate Express) was not for him. We hired him shortly after he made this great decision! And I must say it was an excellent decision all the way around.

One of the things I admire about Mark is his determination to not let his physical challenges affect the way he does his job. A childhood bout with polio left one hand quite disabled, but you never hear him complain. He just gets on with the job. I frequently hear our employees and customers talk about how Mark goes out of his way to get what the customer needs. Of course, that’s what all of our jobs boil down to in the end, but Mark really personifies this attitude. He’s the first one in the door in the morning, and the last one out the door at night.

When he does take a break from work, Mark enjoys NASCAR racing and going to Gladwin.

Thank you, Mark!

If you’ve ever talked to Lisa, you know she is all business at work. Better yet, she knows this business. Although she’s only 29, she has been in the office products business for 10 years. She has also learned the printing business with us over the last 2 ½ years, and has become the lead customer service person for us in this department. Lisa is one of those people that you can count on to do a lot of work. When the pressure is on, she gets the job done.

But don’t think that being “all business” means she doesn’t like a good laugh. Lisa enjoys her bowling league, and going up north to her parents’ cabin with family and friends. (Although between you and me, she wishes there wasn’t quite so much work waiting there every time!)

Lisa has just recently gotten engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Rob Mahon. Rob also works at Office Express and has been with us for two years. If you’re a fan of “The Office,” you can see the similarities to the show. Maybe you can choose a photo that reminds you most of Rob & Lisa.

I’ve known Sean a long time. I actually bought Office Express from his grandfather 21 years ago! Sean’s brother Terry also works with us in the printing department. Besides being a hard throwing, right-hander and an excellent organ player, Sean also sports a bowling average in the 210 area! He is my golf league partner and has a seven handicap (for nine holes). Coincidentally, this also happens to be his average beer consumption on those same nine holes, so it’s easy to remember!

Sean is married with two kids and has worked for Office Express for 17 years. (Pictured left to right is Terry McBride, Sean McBride and Sean's wife Jenny)

When I think of high-pressure spots in our organization, I think this one might just take the prize. How many questions can one guy answer? Sean McBride is the Printing Department Manager. He started as one of the pressmen and has always led the actual work flow. Two years ago when we had to make some changes, I approached him with the idea of actually leading the entire department. No one knew more about what had to be done and how it should be done. He reluctantly agreed. Most of his reluctance stemmed from his concern about handling customer needs on the phone. I told him to just be himself and he hasn’t disappointed. He does a great job getting things done, rarely saying no to any deadline. He always has the customer’s best interests in mind. He thought office jobs were a piece of cake. Now he knows differently.

The printing department will be moving to a separate building just a mile or so down the road very soon. This new space will give us extra capabilities and production improvements. And once this last move is finally done…we will all sleep better!

We have a few high-pressure spots in our organization and the post of graphic design is one of the hottest. Most people want everything “right now,” and this area is no exception. But we are very lucky to have a great person filling this position: Phyllis Walsh.

When I think of someone who knows pretty much whatever there is to know about printing and graphics, I think of Phyllis. She has been with Office Express for three years and what she doesn’t know about printing isn’t worth knowing!

She has to keep up not only with advances in technology on the Mac platform (which is her favorite) but also all of the desktop publishing tools that are PC-based. In addition, she has to be conversant on the whole technical side of printing. (Do YOU know the difference between spot color and CMYK? What is CMYK anyway?)

Phyllis is one of those great people to have on your team – one who can really understand the goals you have for your printing project and how to get the reaction you are looking for in your clients or prospects, while keeping an eye on the budget. She’s extremely creative, and clients appreciate the results she can help them achieve.

When she does take a break from work, Phyllis enjoys golfing. She has given me a good run and I know it’s just a matter of time before she beats me. In fact, she can probably beat most of us in the office. She especially enjoys working on her game with her godfather.

On the personal side, Phyllis is a woman with a big heart. Just last week, the city of Pontiac honored her father, Michael Yapo, who helped found a computer learning center for under-privileged kids. I know Phyllis and her family are very proud of her father and his efforts for this center. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Phyllis is always helping people in need.

Pictured here with Phyllis (far right) are her sisters Michelle (far left) & Cheryl (middle) and her grandchildren Krysienna, Sammy and Lucas in front of the computer.

We are fortunate to have Phyllis leading our graphic design area. If you would like to get to know her better, bring in a project and see what she can do for you. You’ll be amazed!

Sharon Horger has worked with us at Office Express for close to five years. She started out as our Controller and was promoted to General Manager last year. Sharon is one of the hardest working, most diligent people I have ever known. She is always thinking of others first. Everyone in this office has enjoyed the delicious treats she brings in. She’s the first to tackle difficult tasks when asked and she almost always completes them ahead of schedule.

Sharon enjoys drinking “designer beers”, golfing, singing, and listening to her karaoke star husband. She loves to

have fun! Sharon is pictured here with her husband John singing "I Got You Babe" during one of their many karaoke parties. This one was held in the garage due to rain!!

Sharon’s Dad recently developed a serious heart condition and her family is taking turns helping him out back in her home town of Titusville, Pennsylvania. Keep him in your prayers if you would. His name is Ray Zahner.

Sharon is not shy about sharing her thoughts. You can count on her to tell it like it is. However, she also provides constructive input and suggestions on how to make things better. She has the gifts of grace and tact that help her approach tricky situations and gain positive results. We are very fortunate to have Sharon on our team!

Employee Spotlight Mike Carr – President

It’s funny – none of our employees volunteered to be first in the spotlight! So I guess that means I’m it for this month.

I’ve grown up to fulfill my mom’s dream: I’m President. Maybe this isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but I feel very blessed. I’ve been with Office Express for 20 years now. A combination of luck, good breaks, and God’s grace have brought us this far. I am truly grateful for the business and the opportunities it has provided.

I grew up in Warren and have lived in the Detroit area all of my life. I’ve been married for 17 years to my wonderful wife, Andrea. We have four children: Christopher (16), Sean (15), Caroline (12) and Lauren (9). Undeniably they are the best part of my life.

My boys and I are passionate baseball fans. Yes, the loss in the World Series was a heartbreaker. But I have to admit that it was fun to have a real live local team to cheer for, instead of my fantasy team!

My girls are also into sports. And although they enjoy baseball, they play more soccer. Between all the sports and activities, our family is truly a whirlwind. I know many of you are in the same boat! But like you – I wouldn’t trade a moment of it!

Customer Comments

Our customers appreciate our great customer service. We would like to share some of those comments with you.

"We are sending you this note in regards to the excellent service we have received from your delivery man, Don, who delivers our office supplies. Don is always pleasant, kind, funny and truly believes in Customer Service. We recently ordered a two-drawer file cabinet and not only did he bring the cabinet into the office, he also removed the old one and opened and installed the new file cabinet for us. We tried to give him a tip, which he refused, saying "This is just really customer service, please put your money away." This is not the first time he has gone out of this way for us and I am sure it will not be the last. We just wanted you to be aware of what a good agent you have for your company."
Sincerely,
Sharon Jennifer Emily Bea Elaine
C. Gordon Niles, D.D.S., M.S., P.C.

"My name is Cherrion Brown and I am with CTI & Associates, Inc., Brighton, Michigan. I look forward to getting orders (from Office Express) because Don, our office supply delivery driver is so wonderful. Don gives our company EXCEPTIONAL customer service. I have yet to see him have a bad day. Don lightens my day everytime he comes to CTI. I always get a laugh or a little more educated on products or computer supplies. We enjoy his sense of humor. Don listens to me and hears my needs for products. He goes over & beyond to keep our company happy (i.e. brought paper just from hearing me say I was low!) I have been ordering for CTI & Associates, Inc. for about 2 years now and I really love Office Express because of the exceptional customer service provided by Don and the customer service staff and the wonderful low prices on products."

"Thank you for the cake last week, of course our office staff was thrilled with the unexpected treat. The booklet about how Office Express formed was most informative. What is surprising is the booklet put your company on a personal level instead of strictly business ! The staff who deliver to our dealership are very nice and friendly, we always tend to chat or tease for a quick minuet, it is a pleasure dealing with these 2 men. Such a welcome relief from the sour face grumpy people one must deal with at times. Since we mainly order on line, there hasn't been much contact by phone, although even then the staff was friendly."
Carol George, Somerset Pontiac GMC

“Good morning. I called Office Express a short while ago and spoke with Lisa in Customer Service, whom I have spoken with on a few other occasions for NorthStar Appliance Dist. I have an issue with an Avery product that I have contacted Avery about, but needed some further info from Office Express. It’s not to the fault of Office Express, but is a manufacturing defect. It’s all too often that people call and complain about their service, rather than compliment it, but I’d like to praise Lisa for a job well done. She is always very courteous and incredibly helpful. No matter what my dilemma is, she either immediately has the correct answer or is quick to find it. I have never spoken with a customer service representative that is so cheery and willing and eager to help. I have been incredibly impressed with your company’s services. I can always count on getting what I ordered very quickly and correctly. Please let the powers that be know of my overwhelming satisfaction with the company itself and especially Lisa. She truly is a fantastic employee of yours!!!” Kecia Gill