Monday, 21 March 2011
A day in the life of..... Steve Dixon, Director
13:56 | 
Posted by
madaboutfurniture
A day in the life of......Steve Dixon, Director.
My working day starts at 10 in the morning and the alarm doesn't wake me until 8.20. It's a far cry from 6am starts and cold journeys on the m25 that I had to endure every day when working in the UK.
First task is to let “Ebony” our black labrador and “Gibs” the cat out for a wee and then it's tea and back to bed to watch the news headlines for half an hour. Breakfast is always cereal with soya milk.
Ebony gets a walk on the beach on the way to work and this is something else that I appreciate every day. She comes to work with us and sleeps all day on one of the rugs but wags her tail when anyone comes in the store. The shop opens at 10am and that's when Sarah also arrives. Tea and lots of it are drunk in the first hour while we plan the day.
The delivery guys, Jason and Sorin have already been on the go for an hour as they start at am every day. They have been with us for 5 years and it is their job to deliver furniture to customers and to organise our warehouse. When we install a complete furniture package they have the job of installing all the lights, putting up the bathroom mirrors , showers screen and hanging the curtains etc, etc. Sarah will then join the guys and help make all the beds, unpack the kitchen pack and lay out the apartment and when they have done all the hard work I will turn up, fluff up the cushions and make sure that everything is ready for the customer to move straight into.
It's basically a team effort and we are very focused on getting the job done to a high standard and on time. Our guys have been with us for 5 years and nether have had a day off sick or been late ,so you can't ask much more than that from your staff and colleagues.
Back in the store it is me and Sarah on the sales desk all day. We both take calls and talk to potential clients who come in the store. We don't need daily meetings as we are constantly talking about what is going on but we do sit down weekly and go through each client to make sure we are on top of things.
Everyone has their own responsibilities. Sarah deals with emails and sales enquiries she also keeps the website up to date and keeps a tag on deliveries and orders. My role is more focused on the buying making sure we have enough of the right stock and visiting Clients on site.
Davids desk is out of the way and this suits him. He does all the administration and manages all the finances , he also makes sure that suppliers are paid and we are reaching our targets.
Lunch is always on the go and usually just fruit as we are aware that we will probably eat too much in the evening.
We buy most of our furniture from China and the Far East and we spend time away at exhibitions sourcing the products. This is one of my favourite parts of my job and David is the one who plans the trips and makes them easy.
We have been in business for 10 years next year and we are very proud of what we have achieved in this time. It's always a gamble uprooting and moving to a foreign country but it has certainly been a great experience for us and we have made a great life for ourselves over here. Going back to the UK would not be an option but you never know where we might end up, as long as its Ebony friendly and we can get sky tv!!! That's fine by me.
In-between clients I will be thinking about ranges and what we can buy next. Buying the right furniture at the right price is key and is probably the single thing that has got us through a down turn in the Spanish housing market but when you are confident that you have a great team, have great products in stock and competitive prices it keeps you positive and helps you sleep at night .
Our working day ends at 7pm and by then we are all ready to go home.
Finally at home its more dog walking on the beach ,our evening meal and then off too bed.
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