We are humbled to announce, that Josh has worked at POYNTELL for 10 years!
During this time, Josh has been influential in every department he has worked for, adding his unique skill set to each area of the business.
Few people in POYNTELL know the business from so many different angles, so let’s ask him a few questions regarding his time at POYNTELL, and what makes it so unique.
“My experience has always involved customer service and product knowledge, however, this has taken many shapes and forms.
Whilst I started out in a more engineer-centric role, my skillset has developed more towards logistics and technical services. Having experience in most of the departments at POYNTELL has given me a really rounded knowledge of the company, its ideals and how it works best.”
“I started out as a trainee engineer, supporting senior engineers, with installs and maintenance. This mainly involved installing doors, panic hardware and general locksmithing as well as some Access Control. At this point in time, we spent a good amount of time dealing with domestic customers as a “local locksmith” with some commercial clients.
This role showed me how POYNTELL as a company like to operate, with safety and security being at the forefront of everything we do.”
“I spent several years cutting keys, building locks, creating master systems and dealing with both domestic and commercial customers.
During this time I gained a great insight into the security products we deal with and suppliers we use. I learnt a lot about the different types of locks, padlocks, safes and even app-based CCTV! It was quite surprising just how many different types of customers we dealt with at the counter, from residential to farms, schools and factories.
One of the biggest tasks I faced during this period was adding our huge product range onto our new database system – very daunting but immensely increased my product knowledge!
During this period I also completed the MLA learning course for Locksmithing which taught me the more in-depth and intricate parts of the business. Cutting keys to locks that the original key had been lost from was of particular interest and a skill I value to this day.”
“Working on the Service Desk has seen me managing more commercial clients and booking and planning jobs for engineers. It was a great role for linking up with other people in the company, as teamwork and communication is a key element to great service!
I was particularly well suited to adapting working methods and project managing the larger sites to increase the efficiency of the engineers whilst on multiple sites.
During this time, I also progressed to managing the workshop and trade counter, so I often saw projects from the initial enquiry, to cylinder building, to completion, which was a really rewarding feeling.
It was such a broad role that offered plenty of variation in day-to-day tasks. It wasn’t a position you had a lot of time to get bored in, that’s for sure!”
“With the expansion and evolution of the company over the years, new requirements develop so that we can continue to provide the service we pride ourselves on. A dedicated Product Manager was a new role for the company I was asked to take on.
This role involves Innovating the purchasing and management of products throughout the company, and its different site locations whilst continuing the management of the workshop and associated areas.
The experience built within the different roles over the past 10 years has helped me to understand and manage suppliers to a higher level as well as developing professional relationships to ensure best prices and availability which we can pass onto our clients. This is a key area required to maintain good service and support.
Throughout my time at POYNTELL and still to this day, I am also found on occasion to be required to assist on-site. This helps me to keep up-to-date with our engineers working methods and requirements.
I think it’s safe to say that my most valuable trait and the one I am most proud of is my adaptability!”
“I initially joined what was a local locksmith, with majority residential work and some contracted clients and I was 1 of 6 staff members. Since then, I have been part of a team that has grown exponentially. This has led to solid working relationships and good friendships.
Within a relatively short period of time, we are now working with major national organisations and key infrastructure. We now tend to work on large projects for commercial clients. This required a huge change to how we work, which has been navigated very efficiently and with minimal disruption to clients. This is something I believe we can be really proud of as a team and a company.
Originally, I was specifying and building domestic security products for local residents, now we are working with cutting edge security technologies for large companies and public bodies. What we do now, I could never have imagined with the company I joined 10 years ago!”
“We work with government, military, ambulance, and other 1st line response services. This is an opportunity that not many places can offer and gives me the feeling that I am contributing to public services. Whilst I can’t talk about any of our clients, for obvious reasons, working with national treasures still gives me a great sense of duty and pride that hasn’t come from other places.
There is a strong element of teamwork and people working not just with but also for each other. People in the office, and in the field, are generally very positive, friendly, and supportive of one another. Without this ethos, I think places can be very tough to work in and we certainly wouldn’t have achieved what we have over the years.
Whilst we specialise in commercial doors, there is still a wide range of aspects to be dealt with on a day-to-day basis, which keeps things interesting. It is rare that any day is ever the same at POYNTELL!
The industry is constantly evolving keeping you on your toes. Because of this, there is always something new to learn, and always new functionality which can be implemented in multiple ways, within different commercial environments.
For instance, we have seen our POYNTELL Master Key System evolve to include greater security features, and more flexibility with the design of the key system. This gives better options for control of access via differ and sub master keys. It has been of great interest keeping up to date with this. Designing and building master key systems is something I have a lot of skill with and am very proud of personally.
It has also given me the opportunity to create and develop relationships with clients and learn about their own business and needs. Being here 10 years, I have made some solid relationships with clients and suppliers. It’s surprising how many different walks of life keep in touch through the work at POYNTELL.”
“People generally like us for our service. The knowledge that we bring tends to impress clients, along with good communication being an important part of our ethos. Everyone from the office to the engineers hate letting people down and will work tirelessly to ensure the clients needs are always met.
We pride ourselves on offering the best value. This means doing the best job, not the easiest job. Sometimes this means we aren’t the cheapest, but you guarantee you are going to get a good quality install up to and often exceeding standards.
We don’t like to just do a job and walk away, as we see this all too often with generic facilities companies. Once you have a project completed by POYNTELL, we love to develop business relationships with service contracts to ensure we can continue giving the very best level of support and ensure clients are safe and secure for years to come.
Over the past 10 years I have developed various relationships with clients, then see them move company and request that our service is taken over in the new company that they have joined. This is always one of the better feelings, knowing that those involved with the company previously, actively seek us out and want to continue working with us and will argue our case against current service companies. There can be no greater show of the trust people place in us than when this happens and it is a great feeling.”
“Whilst I have been in the company for quite some time, I have held many roles, but the newest is the most exciting yet.
As a new role for the company, it’s an exciting opportunity to progress and adapt the inner workings of the company. It is good to see that as we grow, the structure grows so we never forget our roots and what makes us a company people want to come back to. As the company grows, I’m confident that the role will grow with it.
It’s great to see so many potential contracts around the corner, which will produce new and exciting challenges for both the company and myself personally.
POYNTELL has been constantly evolving since I started and I can’t see that changing. We are always looking at how we can make ourselves better with new processes, new options for our clients and bettering our knowledge of the ever-changing security world, so that we can always offer the best solutions.”
“I think the character of POYNTELL can be summed up in just one single word – support.
This encapsulates every relationship that stems from the company. The staff within POYNTELL really support each other so the office is always a fun place to be. There is always a great balance of laughing and joking with the serious nature of what we do. Creating a fun atmosphere builds a positive attitude so that any time a client or supplier contacts POYNTELL, they are greeted by a happy and helpful staff member.
We have spent a long time bridging the gap that often builds in many companies between office staff and engineering staff. Everyone looks to work together which makes for a much more efficient and knowledgeable team. Every cog in the Poyntell wheel is important and it is vital we ensure that this is how everyone always feels.
Support also applies to our clients. As mentioned previously, we are not the sort of business who wants to do the job, take the money and run. We want to be able to develop those business relationships and contracts so that all of our clients always feel looked after and cared about.”
Once again, we want to thank Josh for the 10 years he has spent at POYNTELL. The company simply wouldn’t be the same without his input and positive attitude. Let’s see what the next 10 years have to offer!
Unit 1, Hartley Dyke Business Centre, Swattenden Ln, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 3QG
Company number 03621203
