Staff Spotlight: Daisy Colon, Office Manager
Intro
At Air Source Industries, we provide local businesses with industrial and medical grade gases. We have been operating for over 70 years as a small, family-owned company with a dedicated team that provides customers with the best service in the SoCal area. Each team member plays an essential role that keeps our business running by going above and beyond their job duties.
We recently sat down with Daisy Colon, our Office Manager at Air Source Industries so she could share how she provides outstanding service to our customers. Daisy has been working at Air Source Industries for 37 great years. She has grown with the company and has always provided outstanding service to all current and new customers. She helps keep the company running smoothly and we were able to get some insight from her perspective on how she’s been able to do that for the last 37 years of working here at Air Source Industries.
When did you start working for Air Source and how did you get started as the Office Manager?
Air Source Industries first started off as Bowers Medical Equipment. The company would provide medical equipment and oxygen gases for medical offices and home care. I had just moved to California from New York because my husband got a job on the west coast. I was born and raised in New York, so moving across the country was a new experience for me. My first job at Bowers was in the medical equipment department doing accounts receivable in the office.
I worked for Bowers Medical Equipment for many years as a full-time employee and then moved to a part-time position after starting my family. Being with my children in their early years was very important and so my husband and I worked out a solution so he worked 4 days out of the week and I worked 3 days at Bowers. We alternated days so that at least one of us was with the children. While I was working part-time, I was working in pretty much every department: the ambulance division, medical equipment, purchasing, you name it. Wherever they needed me, I was there to help.
In 2007, after working in the ambulance and medical equipment division for many years, Bowers started downsizing as a business and Bob asked me if I wanted to work for Air Source Industries. I saw an opportunity to further my knowledge within the industry and agreed to continue my career as an Air Source employee, excited to start a new chapter. It was a totally different ball game from Bowers because instead of just being responsible for selling oxygen gas, I now had to learn the full array of gases from nitrogen to carbon dioxide and more.
From my experience working at Bowers for so many years, I was able to pick it up quickly. I’m always looking at the next step to keep learning and to see what else I can do. The owner noticed my enthusiasm and hard work and offered me the position of Office Manager and I’ve been rocking it ever since.
What are your responsibilities as the Office Manager at Air Source Industries and what does your typical day consist of?
Every day I wake up and check my work email and voice messages. I always make sure to check those because often times people call in or order by email after business hours and I have to make sure they get processed. After I check my messages I go into the office and start my day.
Once I’m in the office, I have to make sure that all the orders for the day are processed along with any receivables. As a whole, my job also consists of typical administrative office work like doing payroll, completing paperwork, running daily office tasks, and finding ways of keeping company costs down. My time in between that consists of answering phone calls to help customers get the gases or service they need.
How do you handle a typical phone call for new customers?
In the early stages of my career at Air Source, I was trained on the art of sales, which helped me gain comfortability when speaking to potential customers. Customers value when I take the time to listen to their needs and present a solution that’s a win-win for both parties. With experience over the years, I know what people expect when they call us and it’s usually because they’re not happy with their current provider whether it’s the prices or the service. It’s my job to listen to the customer and do what I can to provide them with the service that they’re looking for. Air Source Industries is all about service, service, service!
Sometimes we get new customers that call in and have cylinders that are in need of hydro testing because they’re past the expiration date. I always make sure that they are aware of anything that needs to be handled so that they are always compliant with industry standards, especially in the medical industry. It’s our job to provide the best service and being transparent and honest with customers is part of that process and part of what makes Air Source special.
What is the most challenging part(s) of your job?
When orders don’t arrive on time or a customer complains about service can be frustrating for the customer because that’s what we pride ourselves on and it’s what we always aim to do the best in: customer service. So when I get a call from an unhappy customer, I always make sure to listen to what the problem is and try to find the best solution for them to keep them happy and satisfied to the best of my ability. Sometimes situations can get tricky, but I would say that 99.9% of the time, we are able to resolve their problem and satisfy the customer. No company is perfect and we always do our best to make it up to the customer because at the end of the day, it’s not worth losing a customer over something minuscule. The customer always comes first and that’s something I and the team always keep in mind.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love when line #5 rings because that line is designated for new clients and I’m the one that answers it. So every time that line rings, I know we have a potential customer. My boss tells me I’m crazy because I also love doing collections, which is not something that people love to do. Honestly, I love every part of my job and of course, everyone has days where they may not feel like going into work that day, but ultimately, I love the excitement and anticipation of getting new leads and acquiring new customers.
At the end of the month, I always analyze my numbers to see what we were able to accomplish or if we fell short. If we don’t perform as well as other months, I go in and listen to our phone calls to see where we could do better. I’m always looking to improve our processes and keeping track of our business goals helps me do that. My main goal is to make sure all our customers are taken care of, while also growing our business.
How do you go above and beyond for your customers?
I make sure the calls and emails we receive after hours are returned promptly. When I start with a new customer, I always provide them with my personal email address in case they have any questions or need to order after office hours. I always do my best to accommodate the customer. We do have online ordering as well, so I always make sure I check my email before the end of the night to see if there are any orders that I need to call into our office. I make sure I call those in before 6 am to schedule the delivery for that same day. At Air Source, we can schedule a delivery for a customer same day as long as the order is put in before our drivers take off for their deliveries. So that’s what I do with those emails or phone messages I may get later in the evening to make sure they are ready for the next day delivery schedule.
Anything else you’d like to share about your job?
I have to say, the reason why all of our employees are here so long, is because of the owner Bob Bowers. He takes care of all of us and is very accommodating to our needs. He genuinely cares about his employees and he makes sure we have a great work environment. Everyone here at Air Source is like family and I think everyone here feels the same way. We’re a smaller team, so we all work closely together and do our best to keep the plant running smoothly.
Conclusion
Air Source Industries provides high quality industrial and medical grade gases to local businesses in Orange and Los Angeles counties. If you need industrial or medical gas services or are looking to switch providers, Daisy can help you get started. We offer low-cost, quality solutions so you can focus on running your business. We make the transition process smooth and handle all of the installations for you with no downtime. Just call our friendly staff at (562) 426-4017 or fill out our get a quote form to get started.