Cheryl Steele, BACS Area Manager, has achieved a special milestone on 30 May 2016 with 20 years of service at BACS. Cheryl has significantly contributed to our company, particularly in the area of sales where she has built a large client base in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. Aside from Bob Allan, BACS founder and CEO, Cheryl is the longest serving BACS employee. Back in 1996, Bob employed two sales people in Melbourne. One was highly experienced and the other was Cheryl. He remembers Cheryl’s exact words when he interviewed her and found she had no sales background - “I am adamant I can sell”. Twenty years later, she is still selling.
During an all-company meeting, Bob thanked Cheryl for her dedication and numerous contributions to BACS. Cheryl remembered working from home for the first 3½ years. Some of her customers today have been with her since the beginning. As BACS expanded, employed more staff and moved offices twice, she has seen some memorable people come and go, each leaving their mark on the company. Several colleagues have become close personal friends. Cheryl states “I must enjoy the work, as I would not have stayed so long!”. When asked about her most unusual day in the field, she recalls inspecting a computer room sub-floor when the customer mentioned that they had a terrible problem with white-tailed spiders down there. Another time, she was demonstrating how to clean a workstation at a veterinary clinic when a cat kept leaping onto the equipment she was demonstrating the clean on.
If she had not been a BACS employee, Cheryl feels she would have made an excellent personal shopper. She enjoys spending time with family and friends. Her husband Brian is now retired and she looks forward to further travels, having already visited Dubai and Italy with him. Her son Craig, who has also worked for BACS while at university, is getting married soon so Cheryl’s family is expanding. But don’t worry, Cheryl reassures us that she’s not ready to leave BACS just yet. And what became of the other, more highly experienced Melbourne sales person hired in 1996? He quit after three months!
Well done Cheryl.