Making the Customer’s Day Every Day

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Southeastern Metals™ (SEMCO) employees share their best customer stories about going above and beyond and thoughts on watching their company grow.   

SEMCO has changed a lot through Customer Service Manager Lee Ann Riddle’s 23 years with them. “I have learned so much throughout my career here. I love working for a company that has a rich history and a solid reputation in the industry,” says Lee Ann.  

Lee Ann remembers a funny moment as a rep for the Louisiana territory, early on in her career: 

“The orders at that time were called in and handwritten on an order pad. Preacher at Benndale Hardware called in an order for 20 pcs of 10’ tin. I heard 10’ tin and wrote down 20 pcs of 10’ 10.” A few days later - I got a call from Preacher and he said, ‘You sent me the wrong length metal roofing.’ I researched the order and found the order for 20 pcs of 10’ 10” roofing. I said ‘Preacher, did you not want 10’10 roofing?’  He said yes – I wanted 10’ tin. I was confused, so again I said, ‘You wanted 10’10 INCH roofing?’ He said ‘No, I wanted 10’ tin!’ Lesson learned!”  

Steven Satterfield has also seen quite a few changes in his years with SEMCO. “Most recently changes have been focusing on the employees, customers and end users for our product,” he says. “We have been empowering the difference makers with the employees from the floor level up through upper management, which has made a favorable difference within our business and customers.”   

Steven loves being part of the team during these changes in the company, he cites his favorite part of SEMCO being, “The opportunity to learn and advance within the company.” He looks forward to even more "growth and opportunities of advancement that will arise” in the future.  

Both Lee Ann and her fellow Customer Service Rep Christen Sandifer say their customers and co-workers are what makes SEMCO special. “I love the relationships that I have built with customers as well as coworkers. It makes it easy to want to go into the office each day. After all, we spend more time with coworkers than family in most cases,” says Christen.  

Going above and beyond to make a customer's day is Christen’s top priority, stating, “Being dependable for our customers is something I look forward to being able to provide.”  

Christen recalls a fond memory in customer service with a customer: 

“A man was looking for an ETA on their order. After I finished helping him with the information, I asked if there was anything else I could do to help...He responded with ’a happy meal would be nice, lol.’ So, I asked him cheeseburger or nuggets? He responded with ’Nuggies!!’ When I got into the office, I went on Door Dash and scheduled a delivery for McDonalds to deliver a 6-piece Mighty Kids meal to him at 11:30 that day with a note that said ‘Enjoy your Nuggies.’ Of course, I added in a few more nuggets for the rest of their team. He called and I asked how were his nuggies? He started laughing and said it was you! He was so happy about that happy meal; he couldn’t stop laughing and said it made his day! I told him nuggies make everything better.”    

She looks forward to continuing to “provide customers with the service they expect and that we are capable of delivering.”  

Southeastern Metals™, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, is part of the Construction Solutions Campaign hosted by Gibraltar Building Accessories. They produce over 3,000 galvanized, steel and aluminum building components, specializing in metal roofing, ventilation products, trims, flashings, steel framing, corner bead and drywall accessories. Every product is precision engineered and manufactured to the highest standards to promote greater strength and durability while enhancing overall structural integrity after installation.  

Learn more about Construction Solutions, a campaign hosted by Gibraltar Building Accessories to learn from contractors and provide solutions for their building product needs, in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.gibraltarbuildingproducts.com.