A day in the life of PVC sales...

By Rob Guy, Sales Manager
As the sun rises the roller door opens, we wave goodbye to 20 Lorries, picked packed and loaded by our night shift full of plumbing goodness.

The office is illuminated, computers booting, trade counter opened and most importantly the kettle is boiling. It is time to start another day in the PVC playground aka: the PVC sales office.

7am.

The trade counter is busy with local customers collecting their goods ready for a day’s work, the office is already buzzing with calls from drivers and customers alike.

First job for my sales team is to communicate delivery times and, if necessary, shortages to our customers, at PVC we believe that if you can’t give the customer what they want; tell them.

Morning

The bar is set high in PVC.  Calls answered in three rings, all orders checked to minimise errors and maximise the customer experience. 

The morning is filled with customer phone calls, checking delivery status and confirming orders. Quotes and orders are received via email, phone or fax throughout the day. 

The morning is quieter as the plumbers are all busy using the goods from the previous day, which is a time for carrying out work from earlier in the week, investigating customer queries or pricing the more technical projects.

Afternoon

The afternoons are always busy as building sites close, our customers are starting to communicate with their buying departments who will prepare orders to send to PVC.

3pm - 6pm (PVC Prime Time)

This three-hour window is a sheer rollercoaster. The phones ring and emails build up to the point that everyone at PVC knows to leave the sales team alone to do what they do best and serve customers. Blood sweat and tears usually happen during this portion of the day as plumbers finish on site and relay their requirements for the delivery the next working day. It is common for PVC to take three quarters of the days orders in this window.  To say it is manic is an understatement.

7pm - 8pm

A time of reflection and tying up loose ends, all 300 orders checked, completed and filed, early requests are handed to the late shift and delivery routes are agreed for the next working day. Ready to do it all again...