Congratulations to Rod for 10 years at Shower Part!

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Rod's tenure at Shower Part, and we've decided to commemorate this milestone by creating a blog that poses 10 questions.

Tell us about joining Shower Part.
I started my employment with Shower Part Ltd in November 2014 as a self- employed Picker and Packer being responsible for the picking and shipping of daily orders that were present on Ebay, Amazon and the Shower Part website. I took voluntary redundancy from my previous employer in May 2014 where I was working 12hr day and night shifts. After taking the following 5 months off for home improvement work and holiday etc. I decided it was time to get back to the routine of making an earning for my living. I proceeded to register with Indeed and searched for a suitable Job. I was also, at the time serving in the Special Constabulary so ideally, I needed a suitable job that I could fit around my duties. The first job I saw that would enable me to do this was as a relief minibus driver transporting children to special needs schools. Unfortunately, this did not give me enough hours to fill my day so I continued to look for further employment that I could run alongside both my current commitments. That is where Shower Part Ltd comes in. After applying for a job vacancy that had just been posted on indeed, I had a message from the owner asking me to attend an interview. I attended the interview and was lucky enough to be offered the Job.

I must admit that it was very daunting to start with, I had never worked within a small business before, and things were so different to what I was used to. I must confess that by the end of the first week I was ready to finish my employment, but I didn’t, I persevered and was allowed to rearrange the outlay of the picking and store area to my advantage which made things a lot easier for me. I am glad that I stuck with it, I have a lovely boss (I know you’re thinking I have to say that but it’s true I have been treated as part of the family). Shower Part Ltd started off in the owner’s house, so I was working in their home a few hours a day. It always makes me laugh now but it is the only job I have had where I had to wear my slippers.

The business started to pick up quite a bit which meant that I had the opportunity to increase my working hours. This came at a good time because I was not required as much as the relief driver, so I eventually left to concentrate on Shower Part, where I have been ever since.

During the last 10 years what has been your highlights and proudest moment working at Shower Part?

There have been many highlights in the past 10 years but the ones that stand out the most are firstly, the expansion of the business which meant that more staff could be employed, and a new building was built to facilitate the growing amount of stock and new products.  Actually, we moved premises twice during my time here. The first time was into a warehouse on the Rockhill Business Park, we had a section partitioned off for us to use for clerical work, storage and despatching. All stock was packed away and transported from the owners house over a weekend and set up again on new racking etc ready for orders to go out on time on Monday which is our busiest days. The second time was into a newly built Unit which again was at Rockhill Business Part and only a few metres away from where we were. This again was done over a weekend which was the only time this could be done because of the increasing workload and orders being received. We were then also able to take on more staff to help.

I eventually started to work in the office answering emails, part matching for customers and ordering new stock. In May 2022 I became Managing Director overseeing most aspects of the business. 

I am so proud of the small number of staff we have; we are a great team which helps towards the smooth and efficient running of the business.

Have you faced any challenges over the last 10 years?

I think the worst challenge was the outbreak of Covid 19. We didn’t know what to expect when it first came out. Would the business survive? How would we change our working practices and would we still be able to get our orders out on time. These were the main questions facing us. Fortunately, we were an online retailer, so we were still able to work and supply our products with very little change. We had the advantage of working remotely when needed and could also work in separate sections of the building so that we were not in close contact with each other. The only downside to this was the journey home when you were seeing several people that were on furlough, out walking in t shirts and shorts enjoying the lovely weather that we were having at the time. 

Our orders did increase dramatically during this time, I guess there were a lot of people at home getting around to doing their DIY projects.

What have you learnt over the last 10 years at Shower part?

Working with different computer software’s, some new, some old. Stock taking, forecasting and ordering as well as other things. I have learnt quite a lot but I have other questions to get on with, but mainly never be hasty and always persevere, do not give up. 

Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

Retired. I have 7 years left before reaching retirement age but if the circumstances are right and Shower Part would like to continue to employ me after this time I would no doubt be willing to give up some of my time to help.

What is something people may not know about you?

Now if I tell you that, everyone will know. Seriously though, the only snippet I will disclose that hopefully will not cause rumours and ruin my reputation. I once crashed my motorbike because I was distracted by a couple of females walking along the footpath as I was going past. Luckily, I did not hurt anyone nor myself (only my pride) and did not cause much damage. It’s a good job it was a 30mph area.

Where is your favourite place or holiday destination?

I have travelled to quite a few places during my lifetime but my most favourite one is Lanzarote, a beautiful Island which is part of the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. I try to get there twice a year accompanied by my lovely wife and we love it.

If you could invite 3 people (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would you choose and why?

I would choose family members all the time.  No celebrity or famous person springs to mind really. I feel that although they would be interesting to be with for a while, we would not have much in common and the conversation would be one sided and soon dry up. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to spend some time in the garden, working around the house and relaxing but most of all spending time with my daughters and son and 6 grandchildren.

What is your favourite song and film?

I like many songs from all genres but the one I listen to most is “In the air tonight” by Phil Collins, it’s a classic. Favourite film has to be anything that is Science Fiction.