Pam Gross Memorial Partner Of The Quarter Award

Lisa Urtz exemplifies the entire Partner of the Quarter qualities. She always has a positive attitude whenever she is dealing with a customer, vendor, or partner. She treats everyone with respect and a smile. Her appearance is always pleasant and professional which she exhibits in person or when speaking to anyone on the phone. She can be relied on for her attendance; I know that I can count on her being here when she is scheduled to be in my office or via her extension, when I have a question, or need her assistance and/or expertise, which occurs frequently. She personifies: teamwork, problem solver, and an unconditional commitment to hard work, i.e. doing what’s hard, difficult and necessary to support our corporate mandate. In my view, Lisa is responsible for many of the most difficult and complicated tasks in our corporate offices. She must have, and possesses, vast knowledge of many areas in Furniture & Supply Purchasing, and Customer Service including proficiency in electronic transmissions and our DDMS system.

Last week when I mentioned that orders were piling up on me because I was dealing with damaged product, returns, replacements, and making arrangements for shipments, Lisa was in my office within five minutes to take a stack of orders to enter because, in her words, “we have to take care of the customer.” I believe that she also did it to make my day go better. There are numerous other examples of her tremendous commitment to our customers and her teamwork. I rely on Lisa extensively to assist in placing & tracking orders and credits, and researching potential problems related to customer orders and vendor shipments. If I cannot find an answer to a question related to the status of an order in our system, or I have a question as to whether a transmission was successful, I call Lisa. I know many other partners often rely on Lisa to solve a problem that arises due to her vast knowledge and expertise together with her strong commitment to teamwork. Lisa has been instrumental in developing procedures that, improve tracking of credits, ensure that damaged product doesn’t gather dust in the warehouse, and resolve other issues, which exemplifies her problem solving skills. Lisa has taken on the responsibility to tackle some of the most demanding and at times, frustrating duties. It can be stressful dealing with some vendors in regard to credits and damages, locating and correcting cost errors on orders, and researching and resolving orders that fell through the cracks, etc. Sometimes she will express that frustration to us, which is healthier than holding it in. However, the customer would never sense that she is upset. She always answers the phone in the same pleasant helpful manner regardless of what is going on at the time. Lisa always goes out of her way to ensure that our customers receive prompt, courteous service, and that the product is delivered where it belongs on time. She is always willing to assist anyone when a potential problem arises in any area whether it technically involves her lengthy job description or not. Above all Lisa treats everyone, including customers and partners, in the same willing-to- help, pleasant and cheerful manner. She does it Every Day, Every Time, for Everyone, Without Fail, No exceptions!
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I see the performance of Lisa on a daily basis and feel that she well deserves to receive Partner of the Quarter. Lisa cares about how other partners are treated and customers are taken care of with her ability to serve Hummel’s with dignity and respect. Lisa is not here to just collect a paycheck, she is working because she cares about the company. To hear Lisa at meetings asking and answering questions makes me feel proud that I work along side such a person. She is always ready to lend a helping hand even though she has a full work load. Never has she complained when asked to accomplish a task that needed attending to. She is always in a great mood, even when things are not going her way.

I am very proud of Lisa’s motivation, initiative, desire, and commitment to our organization. She is a true team player!