| The Women Behind the Men at Siewers
When you dial into Siewers, you probably don't realize that, on an average day, more than 500 people are doing the same thing—on 7 different phone lines. The voice that answers "Thank you for calling Siewers—how may I direct your call?" belongs to Wanda Bage (pronounced "beige.") And if you need to inquire about your account, or if you haven't paid your bill, Kathy Roscoe is the "office" you'll talk to.
"They support the whole company," according to Richie Siewers. "Both Wanda and Kathy fill critical roles that help all of us do our jobs more efficiently." The feeling is mutual, because both Wanda and Kathy feel the sense of teamwork at Siewers is "incredible. Everybody seems to pull together here, and regardless of work flow, if you get behind, someone will help you," says Wanda. "The folks at Siewers are a great bunch," says Kathy, adding that the best part of her job is the environment.
Handling receivables, with daily posting of checks, collections, and researching account problems, occupies most of Kathy's time. She also takes care of all payables, payroll, taxes, general ledger work, cash drawer balancing, and bank statements. Some days, she even provides up to twenty credit references! "Siewers is one of the few firms that still offers a 2% discount if your payment is received by the tenth of the month," says Kathy. "Our terms are net 30 otherwise." Next time you're in Siewers, take a moment to meet the women behind the men.
Customers make many requests, and with Siewers' focus on service, all inquiries are taken seriously. Recently, some of our contractors and architects have asked us to work directly with their clients… and we're happy to educate customers on features, benefits, and various product choices for their building projects.
Our showroom has extensive displays of windows, doors, trim, and other items that vary greatly depending upon budget, style, and the customer's taste. The staff at Siewers is prepared to explain the product differences to customers and help them make choices, which can be delivered to the job site or sent to the contractor in preparing the final specification. According to Richie Siewers, contractors "like for us to take the responsibility. We give information to the customer, and take the time to help them understand what they're purchasing through the builder. It's a win-win, because the customer will be living with what the contractor installs or the architect specifies. We like to save the contractors time by talking through the project with the customer in the showroom." At Siewers, we're proud to be your partner in high-quality millwork, lumber, and building materials. Appointments are often available after hours—please inquire at the counter for more details.
Understanding Your Customer Baby boomers are growing up, and customers are changing. Here are some facts to consider from NAHB and the U.S. Census Bureau:
Employee anniversaries this quarter (10 or more years at Siewers):
Thank you for your hard work!
Siewers is known all over central Virginia for its custom millwork. We offer a great variety of trims in stock, from traditional to contemporary, and will create (or recreate) any profile you might need. Pilaster trims are a current architectural resurgence. More detailed than the usual colonial trim, fluted pilaster casings were most popular at the turn of the century. They are often combined with turned corner blocks, which feature a rosette or a bullseye, for an unusual trim on a column, door, or fireplace. Siewers has pilasters (fluted, reeded or one that is fluted on one side and reverses to reeded), plinth blocks, and turned corner blocks in several sizes, crafted of solid yellow paintgrade pine. Another unique item we carry is border moulding. Used as part of a decorating theme, the patterns of bears, blocks, bunnies, or ducks make a beautiful addition to a child's bedroom or playroom. These trims are easy to install and available in 8 foot lengths. Don't forget to pick up a copy of our moulding booklet in the showroom. It has profiles of not only mouldings, but also siding, ceiling, paneling, and wainscot, as well as decorative ornaments. CD-ROM versions for CAD are also available of this handy tool. Mortise Madness Last September, Siewers received its newest piece of high tech woodworking machinery. After opening the crate and finding the perfect spot on the shop floor, we bolted it down, hooked it into the mill's dust collection system, and stood back to admire our shiny new Maka mortise with a bright blue, red, and yellow nine foot Tiger stop. Whoa! Tiger what? Keep reading! Siewers makes thousands of doors, shutters, and window sashes using mortise and tenon joinery. This time-tested method has also been proven to be stronger than dowel joinery, so Siewers has invested in this new machine to produce high quality millwork more affordably, quicker, and with more precise cuts. So what about that Tiger stop? A stop is a wood-worker's term for a scrap of wood secured as part of a jig to facilitate production work. The Tiger stop should be called a "go" because it moves the wood piece to a different location according to increments programmed by an electronic key pad. The Tiger stop is in continual motion except when the mortise is actually being cut., eliminating the time-consuming and boring step of marking each location of each mortise on each piece of wood. Thanks to our new Maka mortise, Siewers will be able to continue the tradition of fine craftsmanship into the next century.
The yellow or tulip poplar, is one of the largest commercially available hardwood trees grown east of the Mississippi River. It grows up to 15 feet per year and absorbs as much as 25 gallons of water a day. It has broad green leaves, which provide plenty of leaf surface to help the environment by a process known as phytoremediation. During this process, the tree acts like a giant straw, sucking contamination from soil and ground water. It stores the chemicals in its tissues or metabolizes them into less volatile compounds, and then releases the by-products as atmospheric vapor through its leaves. Although this natural clean up method takes several years to complete, tests show it might work at least as well as high-tech soil roasting and ground-water filtering, which can remove vital nutrients and microorganisms from the site. Scientists do not yet known if the chemical by-products released into the air are really less harmful than the contaminants in the soil, but studies are continuing. In 1984, a tanker truck carrying a solvent known as TCE skidded on an icy interstate in Oregon. Conventional clean up efforts spanning 13 years failed to remove the solvent, so in 1997 University of Washington scientists planted 800 poplars. Although results are not yet available, the Washington team reported reduced TCE concentrations of 97% in laboratory simulations.
The next few years should continue to be strong for the housing industry. Consider these facts and figures from the National Association of Home Builders:
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In the three years since Wanda and Kathy came on board, Siewers has seen a lot of changes. A new phone system and a new computer system are at the top of the list, which helps the staff keep up with the growing number of satisfied customers. "Our old system required going back to an original invoice, which was in a 7-8 inch thick ledger, making a copy, and faxing it or mailing it to the customer," says Wanda, who can now research a problem and fax directly from her computer. In addition to directing all those phone calls, Wanda is responsible for the mail—opening, sorting, distributing, and sending it—as well as logging in all stock inventory that is received. With several thousand items (not including hardware) in stock, keeping up with paperwork is a time-consuming and detailed job. She also types and prints letters, correspondence, and quotations as needed.
Worried About Y2K?
A recent article published by the Associated Press indicates that it doesn't take billion-dollar government programs to clean up polluted industrial sites. Scientists have suggested a simpler method—planting poplar trees.Suppliers | Contact Us | Do It Best | Do It Yourself | Home