eKourier April 2017

WHO’S WHO

10 Questions... With Kem Sermen - Assistant Manager, Waterloo

$30 deposits, which feels like ancient history now. It’s been great seeing modernisation within the company and a lot has changed in the past six years with the introduction of things like Medius and Deputy. I’m looking forward to the introduction of Rent Now and the new Kosmo. When I first started I found the culture within Kennards to be fantastic and unlike most businesses. It’s been great to see that the standard of people within the business has remained the same and that they’ve embraced the great culture within the business. My family live in Melbourne. I have two sisters, the eldest with two kids, Atilla and Kayra. I currently live with my partner of five years and our little cat baby, Celine Dion. Is there one special goal you have for yourself that you would like to share? I want to travel the world! I’ve just spent a month travelling across Cambodia and Thailand and still have the travel itch. My dream holiday location is Iceland and to see the Northern Lights! Tell us a bit about your family?

experience as simple as possible. It’s great to be an integral part helping small business prosper all while growing and promoting the KSS Brand. Have you always been in Customer Service? Before KSS I worked in the hospitality industry in a very fancy restaurant called Clover Cottage. I was Head Drinks Waiter. I worked at the restaurant for four years before making the move to Sydney. Prior to that I worked for a fast food shop called Jesters. I made lots of pies. My favourite was the Blueberry Kiss. What do you like most about working at KSS? Working for KSS has introduced me to a lot of wonderful and inspiring people, both colleagues and customers. KSS has given me countless opportunities to grow and improve my skills. There is a great sense of community within KSS and help is always close by. What things do you like to do in your spare time, we hear you help out as a volunteer for charity? My partner runs a charity called Rough Threads. We hold large community festivals a few times a year where we provide goods and services completely free for disadvantaged members of our community. I’m usually in charge of the Green Grocer area and at the last event we managed to hand out four pallets worth of free fruit and vegetables. Other services we provide include haircuts, clothing, letterbox service, books, toilet- ries, legal and medical services and many, many more. I’m proud to work for a company who not only assists many charities but have also assisted Rough Threads by providing discounted boxes for our events. Over your six years with Kennards what changes have you seen take place both within the framework and also the culture and people?

How long have you been with KSS and have you always been at Waterloo? I’ve been with KSS for almost six years! I started off my KSS career as a lift driver at Artarmon1 but was soon promoted to Assistant Manager. I was at Artarmon for three years and was then offered the challenge of transferring to Waterloo. I was born and raised in a Victorian suburb called Narre Warren (about an hour south-east of Melbourne near the Fountain Gate Westfield). I moved to Sydney when I was 22 and have lived in Kingsford, Kensington and now Darlinghurst. How do you find working in a larger centre like Waterloo compared to the smaller centres we have? Working at Waterloo is definitely a challenge. In recent years we have seen a big increase in commercial clients, a lot of which are running small online businesses from a 3x3. Tailoring the traditional idea of storage to suit the needs of these customers has been challenging but it is fantastic to see their delight when we can make their storage Do you originate from Sydney?

To sum up KSS in one word?

FREEDOM.

When I first started we were still taking

3 Kennards Kourier April 2017