BAIGENTS Office Products Depot

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	The Team Ask any Baigents OPD staff member and they'll tell you it's a great place to work! Meet the faces that make up Baigents OPD family... _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Grant Stone Managing Director Grant has grown up surrounded by the business of office stationery and equipment. He cut his teeth in the stationery company that eventually became Whitcoulls during the early 1970s, working for them into his position as Manager of the Northern Division by the time he left in 1989. "Then the fun began!" he says, setting up a small office products and office furniture company that eventually became the largest in the country, acquiring the Whitcoulls Group along the way. Moving to Whangarei and running Baigents OPD has been a lifestyle choice for Grant, offering him the opportunity to work with his wife Sue and long-time friend and business partner Eddie Darvill and his wife Irene. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eddie Darvill General Manager Eddie has worked alongside Grant in previous stationery businesses over the past 37 years and the opportunity to leave the Sunshine Coast in Australia and work with Grant and Sue again was too good to turn down. Eddie was part of the team that grew Blue Star Office Products as a nationwide company. He ran the Wellington branch with 100 staff before moving to a small stationery outlet in Queensland. He too says it was the lifestyle that attracted him to Whangarei and the opportunity to build on a business with such a long history and great reputation. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sue Financial Administrator As part of the Baigents OPD team, Sue is very much hands-on. Sue has a background in financial accounting, but will assist in anything from accounts to customer service. During the Christmas holidays she, Grant, Eddie and Irene happily hold down the fort keeping the business running while the staff head off for summer holidays. Sue has worked alongside Grant for a long time and believes the key to any successful business is building a team of great people who all have customer service as their central focus. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Irene Administration and Customer Services Covering every base is how Irene describes her role at Baigents OPD. Irene's experience has been in admin and customer service, but, as one of the business owners, you may come across Irene in the store when you walk in the door, or she could be out the back packing orders. Irene and Eddie have Whitcoulls to thank for their meeting; they were both working there when they met and have worked together once their 2 children were old enough. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rick Sales Consultant - Business Machines Rick is well-known around Northland and across New Zealand as an Elvis impersonator, having worked as a professional musician in Australia before his move to New Zealand. Like all the members of the Baigents OPD team he enjoys getting out and meeting his clients, covering all of Northland. He says the quality of the products, particularly Panasonic and Brother, gives him the edge, while working for an established name throughout Northland definitely helps. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mark Sales Consultant Mark is the man in Whangarei and the southern areas and after 5 years he's become very well-known. He comes from a retail background and enjoys meeting and establishing great relationships with his clients. The big "buzz" for Mark is the changing nature of the industry, particularly the latest developments that certainly signal the 21st Century has arrived! __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cherry In-house Furniture Consultant Cherry is the "Furniture Guru", based at the Commerce Street showroom. She's become part of the furniture in the 25 years she's worked for Baigents Office Products and continues to enjoy the challenge of helping people utilize their space in the best possible way. Cherry has a particular interest in finding the best solutions to create an office environment that is "enabling". __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Amanda Customer Service A new face in the Baigents team is Amanda, dedicated to customer service with a broad range of experience from industries as wide as party hire and Pixie Photos. The common element to Amanda's working life is her commitment to finding solutions for her customers and an enjoyment in working with people. Amanda was born in Maungakaramea and has worked in Northland throughout her life, which gives her a great understanding of the district and the customers serviced by Baigents. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ross Service Technician Ross resides in the cave out back; the service department where he's fixed every piece of office equipment imaginable, having been in the industry for the past 20 years. He saw the introduction of the first electric typewriters; in fact the first of most of today's commonly used versions of office equipment. Ross has a particular aptitude for repairing Brother equipment, and general fault finding in most equipment. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Greg Purchasing and Inventory Control Greg is the man at Baigents OPD for ordering and processing inventory to ensure the latest in office products are available for delivery when the customer's want them. Stationery was something of an accidental career for Greg, who started in the hospitality industry in Australia but once started he spent 12 years in various stationery supply outlets before moving to New Zealand. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tracey Customer Service Tracey's developing an affinity for typewriters, a fact that scares her. As one of the customer service team she is presented with what she'd say is more than her fair share of old typewriters, ones that are no longer listed in any of the manuals or product catalogues and as a young person she is certain she shouldn't know quite so much about them. Dealing with tricky typewriters is just one of the problem areas Tracey is presented with daily and she enjoys the opportunities to nut out solutions for her customers. Being part of a team is nothing new to Tracey as an avid soccer player and she enjoys the friendly, fun environment at Baigents while helping customers find what they want. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Clive Product Delivery Have you seen "Tweety No.5"? The distinctive Baigents OPD delivery van has been part of the landscape of Whangarei for many years and Clive's the man behind the wheel, dispatching and delivering goods. Clive started at Baigents in 1972 and worked in the service department for 20 years and he remembers the days of printing in-house. He was known as a typewriter service technician, starting in the days of the revolutionary golf ball typewriters. After a stint away from Baigents OPD he returned to the "general race-about" role, and is also involved in furniture assembly at customer's premises. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sarah Customer Service "The Voice", that's Sarah and she's well-known for her sense of fun and humour. She has a passion for making people happy and is the go-to girl when you need a solution to your office quandary. The biggest achievement Sarah has in her job is having Baigents OPD customers leave her in a great mood with their problems solved. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ John Service Manager and Field Technician After 25 years of service to Baigents OPD, the past 11 as the Service Manager, there's not a lot John hasn't seen when it comes to the problems people encounter with their office equipment. Being able to handle what's thrown at him is a handy skill to have while he's out on the road servicing machines, solving problems and keeping customers happy. Over the years John has specialised in different areas including cash registers, a product that now has its own specialist suppliers. The nature of the job has changed incredibly as it's no longer cost effective to do electrical repairs and keeping up with new technology means learning offers a challenge and continuing passion for what he does. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ross Service Technician Ross spends most of his time out and about on the road servicing equipment from Whangarei to the Far North. He's been with Baigents twice in the past 20 years, firstly during the late 1980s and again since 2001. Fault finding and maintaining equipment efficiently are two of the challenges Ross enjoys about his work. Learning to install and maintain computer networks has been a recent challenge and keeping on top of constantly changing technology provides Ross with plenty of interest and enthusiasm for what he does, an enthusiasm he takes on the road. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bob Business Machine Sales Consultant Bob has plenty of experience in the office automation field, having been involved with the industry since 1985. This makes Bob one of Baigent’s most knowledgeable team members – and one of their friendliest too! Northland-born and bred and with affiliations to both Ngatiwai and Ngati Hine, Bob has a close affinity with the local people and countryside, and loves nothing more than heading out for a spearfish off the coast, or working up a sweat with a good game of rugby on the weekend. Known for his easy-going and positive attitude, Bob loves the family atmosphere at Baigents OPD and relishes the opportunity to connect one-on-one with his customers. Back to Top ↑

The Team