Gregor is proud to be the heating contractor of choice for many large house builders including David Wilson, Bovis, Crest, Redrow, Halsall and The Curo Group.
We have a whole team dedicated to working across the process from start to completion to help manage and keep our customer promise of “We’re not happy until you’re happy” all the way through.
We thought it was about time to meet some of the customer care administration team, of which there are four who keep the day to day running and we also took the opportunity to see what they’d recommend for people visiting Bristol for the first time.
Since Wendy Taylor-Suffell started her new role as the Customer Care Administration Manager she’s had rather a lot on her personal plate. Tragically, Wendy lost her husband earlier this year, following his brave fight with prostate cancer.
However, she says work has been a bit of a lifeline and she is touched by how everyone has been so supportive from management to the team members. “Whether it’s a hug or a laugh to help in those tough moments, I am touched by it all,” she says.
It was the friendly, family atmosphere that first struck Wendy when she joined Gregor. Having relocated to the area only a few years ago with another job, she and her husband were busy enjoying life before Covid hit and then she was made redundant. Luckily she found the job at Gregor quickly.
“I was in the heating industry for 10 years before my previous job so I was excited to get back into it. I saw this job as an opportunity for a new start and to do something fresh and put my stamp on it.”
And it looks like she’s done just that, bringing in new team members who all say she is “the glue of the team.”
Originally from Grimsby and then Mansfield in Nottinghamshire before she moved down to the South West, she left her son, his partner and 2 gorgeous grandchildren in Nottinghamshire but makes frequent visits back to see them.
Walking is Wendy’s way of managing her mental health and Stu is her inspiration to keep going.
She started walking to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer and has carried on in a bid to raise both money but also awareness of this horrible disease.
This year she has already completed a 10K walk with 72 year old mum in Leeds, the Midnight walk for Dorothy House hospice, where Stu passed away, and another 10K for Cancer Research round the centre of Bristol that she completed with colleague, Anne.
She explains; “The walking is my thought and processing time and mental health time. I go for a walk every day without fail. It takes me away from the day to day because it gets me out and away from things. Next March I will complete my third March the Month, a campaign to walk 11,000 steps a day.
“If I can raise money and awareness to keep specialist nurses on end of the phone for someone who may need it, I will do it. Having felt helpless and hopeless I know what it feels like and all these people are amazing and play such an important role in people’s lives.”
“One man dies from Prostate Cancer every 45 minutes. So, let’s face it, working with a bunch of engineers I have a captive audience, hopefully I can get through to one of them and if that helps to save another life then I’ve done my best.”
As for what to do as a first timer to the area. She says; “I would encourage anyone to explore Bath or Wells. Both are amazing cities. I love them as they are beautiful, calming and soothing and there so much to see and do.”
Next up is local girl, Anne Pike. Anne is one of main contacts for the engineers out on site, her role is to make sure that communication between the builder and the engineer is clear. She looks after three customer care engineers and remedials carried out by on-site engineers across some of the major build sites.
Her background is in construction so she’s used to fast paced days and definitely doesn’t like being sat there twiddling her thumbs.
She has completed two charity walks with colleagues over the last six months and she plans to complete the March the Month 2023 in aid of Prostate Cancer UK
She is a massive Bristol City fan (shh!) and season ticket holder. “It can be a bit frustrating supporting them but would recommend a day at the football or even the Rugby no matter what team you support”. She barely misses a game and the only time she gives herself a pass is when the family take their caravan off for a weekend or break, last seen in West Bay.
“I maybe be biased but Bristol is a fab city. Aside from seeing a game at Ashton Gate, you should also make a visit to the tourist attractions of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Clifton Observatory, and the bus tour is probably best way to see it.”
Anne lives with her husband and their two children in a small village between Bristol & Bath and they all really enjoy visiting the beautiful countryside that this area has to offer.
Pictured from left to right: Wendy, Darby, Anne and Sam.
Family-focussed Samantha Cherry is new to Bristol and Gregor, having bravely taken on a new city and new job in one go. Originally from Birmingham, she re-located recently to live with her partner. Having also spent the last 2 years working from home, going back into an office environment was a bit of a shift she says, but she realises just how much she missed the banter and chit chat with colleagues.
Her job as customer care administrator involves dealing with the defects and any emergencies that need engineers to attend to with sites all over the southwest. It’s a very busy role she says but working closely as part of a team is the way to make it easier, “I really like the fact that you are never on your own there is always someone on hand to help out”, she says.
Sam also got lucky with her job being on the doorstep which allows her to visit the gym regularly.
As for recommendations for what to see and do in Bristol. “There are lots of lovely walks (usually with a pub or two involved), it’s definitely a great place to walk around. I am yet to visit Cheddar Gorge, which I have heard is a great place to go to”.
Darby Congerton is 25 and originally from London and she moved to Bristol recently with her little one. Her role as part of the customer care administration team is to manage the inbox. This means that she is reading and responding to over 50 emails a day from the clients and making sure all the jobs get given to the right people.
She says that Gregor is a great place to work, she’s part of a lovely team and even more so as she lives around the corner and can nip home for lunch. In her spare time, Darby is a bit of a fitness fanatic, a trained PT instructor and is doing her best to keep the team on their toes.
This includes leading the way in the recent addition to the games room, the ping pong table. Admittedly this brings out her competitive side. “But,” she says, “it’s a great way to spend a bit of time at lunchtime doing something different and also a good way of getting people together.”
She thinks Bristol is a great place to live “like a nice, small London”. And for someone visiting Bristol for the first time she would recommend the street art scene by day and a good rave in Motion by night.