Our latest blog in our series of interviews with the people here at Bullens is with Kerry Redman, one of our external sales team, and a well-known face to many. Kerry has been at Bullens for 25 years this month! We had a great time interviewing her, so hope you’ll enjoy hearing all about her time here at Bullens.
It got us thinking about what else happened 25 years ago, well… George W Bush and Boris Yeltsin declared the Cold War formally over; Disneyland Paris opened; Charles and Diana announced their separation; the new 10p coin was introduced; Stella Rimmington became the first female Director General of M15; and Alan Shearer became Britain’s most expensive footballer at £3.6m!
How long have you worked at Bullens, and what did you do before?
25 years! I came from straight from college, similar to an apprenticeship, to learn how to do book-keeping. After that, I somehow became office junior, then they promoted me to purchase ledger. After that, I got moved to the post room, which I decorated with all my Guns N’ Roses posters. Back then we only packed and picked about 40 parcels a day. I was then sent on a course to learn how to do belt fitting, and after I passed that I was then sent to work in the shop we had, where I did fittings of the belts and prostheses.
Once I’d got a bit bored of that and fancied a change, I asked if I could start to work in the stoma department. I went back to being office junior, but then I became a care advisor and van driver in one! And I had a bank of about 400 patients which I looked after.
Finally I started doing open days, and a mix of seeing nurses to develop relationships with them, whilst still doing the phone calls with customers. As time went by I started spending more and more time out on the road meeting with clinical staff, and then probably about six years ago was when I went full time as an external sales rep- and that’s about it really!
What do you do on a day to day basis?
I have appointments to go and see my clinicians, whether it be stoma nurses, urology nurses, continence nurses etc. I see them in both acute and community settings, to make sure they’re getting all the support they need. I also spend a lot of my time ‘ward walking’ in hospitals to make sure they are fully stocked with our home packs. On top of this, I do have to try and source new business as well as just maintaining our current business and relationships.
I sometimes work Saturdays, showing my face at all the open days and big conferences, which I love doing.
What’s the best thing about working at Bullens?
I just think I have a lot of passion for the company, I have a lot of faith in the company as well. I enjoy going out on the road and talking about the service we offer at Bullens, because I do believe we are the best, and I wouldn’t be trying to sell it if I didn’t think that. It would be very hard for me to try and work somewhere else and try and do the same job. In fact I couldn’t!
The Bullen family has given me a lot over the years, they’ve let me come and go the way that I want to, and there’s probably a few incidents where I should have been sacked! But instead they let me grow, and I’ve gained a lot of independence from it, and I really just love my job.
What’s the funniest question you’ve ever been asked at work?
There is a lot, and it’s mainly to do around measuring certain body parts. We used to offer a service called ‘home & dry’, which was for male adult nappies. However, from time to time we did used to deal with people who used to have a certain fetish for this type of thing, which used to lead us down a whole different line of questioning!
What do you like doing outside of work?
I’m a big socialiser, I love going and eating out. I’m big on family and love spending time with my niece and nephew. I love going in to town with my mum on a Saturday morning, or going for a walk down the beach with my dad and the dog. 20 years ago I probably wouldn’t have dreamt of doing anything like that, but now I love those moments.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?
I’m allergic to kiwi fruits! I have had a reaction in work before, and at the time we thought it was the glue I was using. I haven’t really got facts I’ve just got funny stories, like the time I was chased through a field by a police helicopter whilst delivering parcels because they thought I was in a stolen vehicle!