eKourier Jan 2016

WHO’S WHO

10 Questions... With Dane Talbot - Huntingdale Centre Manager

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? Hopefully financially stable in a retail or sales role with a healthy family. What interests do you have outside of Kennards? I like to play video games a lot, I follow AFL and I am a Fremantle Dockers supporter! With that comes a lot of interesting weekends watching the football! Tell us about your family? Have you always lived in Melbourne? I was born in Melbourne, I have moved over 30 times in my life, fortunately only twice while being over 21. So I do have an understanding about the challenges facing our customers when it comes to moving. I went to a different range of schools and had a lot of different friends. I grew up in Wodonga in my teenage years and came back to Melbourne when I was 13. I have been living in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne since. I have two children, Arielle is eight years old (below) and Maddox is 15 months old (above). I have been married to Heleina for over two years and we have been together for just under 10 years. And finally, to sum up Kennards in one word would be?

Flemington and already felt part of the Team even before meeting Wayne. You have been an integral part of KSS at Huntingdale over the past two years with so much growth in the business. What early challenges did you face? I remember my first day at Huntingdale, I worked with Gordon Guthrie. We experienced seven move outs in one day and no move ins. My first reaction was “what have I gotten myself into!” At this point we had 863 rented units and 64% occupancy.

Recently, our Huntingdale Centre achieved an occupancy of 90%+ and over 1,200+ rented units. This makes you feel the whole business experiences and challenges of operating a Storage facility in a Team environment very rewarding. When thinking about our acronym FREEDOM and its seven values what stands out to you as the most important? Fun, why be sad and unhappy at work and make it feel just like ‘work’? We like to bring a happy vibe to the workplace and also make the customers feel comfortable within themselves. A majority of customers are storing their goods for personal reasons, a situation that can at times be stressful for them. What do you think makes Kennards different from other competitors? Customer service is the main thing that puts us in a league of our own. We also have a larger range of storage options than a lot of our competitors.

How long have you been with KSS now? Just under 4 years, I commenced work on the 30th January, 2012.

Tell us about your working career?

My retail career started at Bunnings Warehouse and then Mobil Quix before starting my role with Kennards. I was at Mobil for over 4 years as Manager before their retail side of the business was sold to 7/11. Out of the remaining Managers I was the second last to be made redundant; I was part of a Team who was closing each site ready for change over in Victoria. What differences did you find between the employment interview with Kennards and that of your previous employer? My interview with Kennards was a lot more professional than that of Mobil. That interview consisted of a Mobil site Manager and myself sitting out the back of their facility on milk crates having a cigarette. At least at my Kennards interview I was greeted by Wes at

Challenging.

3 Kennards Kourier January 2016