With summer on its way, April has been a month for the books. Hard work all around and stores filled with our amazing customers are a couple of the clear signs for the warm, Spring days to come. With more busy days ahead of us, teamwork is imperative in our daily operations. In April, Chris Komma from our Fairview location was named Employee of the Month because of his exceptional teamwork and ever-positive demeanor.
Chris has been working at Tates Rents for a little over four years now. When I called the store to ask if he was available for a quick interview, Someone answered the phone before it could hardly get through a ring. “Hi, this is Chris. How can I help you?”, was the immediate response to my call. We briefly spoke about him getting Employee of the Month and set up a time to chat.
There are a few things we look for in employees here at Tates Rents. Guessing game skills aren’t necessarily one of them. Chris killed it when I asked him how much an excavator weighs, in grams. He forgot to carry the 10 but he was heading in the right direction and knew the weight in pounds off the top of his head, no calculators involved.
I wanted to hear about the ups and downs of Chris’ job, so I started by asking him about the good. “The people I work with, especially the guys at my location. We get stuff done and we have fun doing it”. Chris didn’t have much on the bad side, other than some early mornings that are sometimes hard to get out of bed for. I wanted to see who he thought was doing well and asked him to give them a shoutout. “I’d give props to one of our new hires, Trent. He’s probably our newest guy here, but he’s come the farthest in a quick amount of time”.
Finally, I asked what benefits of working at Tates Chris likes the most. He said: “Well, considering I’m on the ESOP committee I’d have to go with employee ownership as one of the best benefits, it’s essentially a second retirement account. It gives you something to work for each day. As an employee-owner, you are working for your future and can grow the company’s stock value.”
Overall, Chris is a big contributor to our daily operations at the Fairview location. He has a great attitude that projects quality work and high spirits. I could tell the crew wouldn’t be the same without him. Keep up the good work, Chris!