Ellen Montgomery-McCloy
Taipa
Summary
A reliable team player with an excellent flair for creating exceptional customer experiences. Skilled at reading customer cues in order to maximise sales opportunities. Strong belief in providing quality employee role requirements. Flexible thinking for fast-changing situations. Health and safety conscious. Genuine enjoyment of learning and mastering new tasks. I am highly organised and I possess an exceptional memory for all manner of things. I enjoy helping other people to work towards their goals and succeed.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1992
1992
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Volunteer
Far North Tropicals
Taipa
01.2022 - Current
- Assist in plant care and maintenance to ensure healthy growth.
- Attend markets, festivals and roadshows for sales and business ideas
- Educate visitors on tropical plant species and care techniques.
- Marketing and calendar planning for future promotions and events
- Coordinate community events to promote environmental awareness and engagement.
- Manage inventory of supplies and equipment for garden maintenance activities.
- Help with prep, set up, and breakdown of community and public events.
Furniture Restoration and Design
Self Employed
Taipa
01.2007 - Current
- Occasional furniture restoration for clients.
- Furniture design and sales
- Mostly self taught but have attended woodworking classes and used knowledge from Mitre 10 training.
Kitchen Sales 2IC
Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa
Hamilton
10.2020 - 05.2021
- Troubleshoot position to determine issues within the department which was showing lack of profit.
- Solution-based position to implement changes needed within department to increase productivity.
- Identified multiple issues.
- Contributed innovative ideas and solutions to enhance team performance and outcomes.
Business Council and Staff Training Coordinator
Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa Hamilton
Hamilton
06.2019 - 05.2021
- Business council role: voted in to work with CEO and HR and 5 other handpicked staff to create and develop better working conditions, staff satisfaction, customer experience, staff retention rates and overall working experience.
- Implemented a buddy system for mental health for staff.
- Negotiated multiple satisfaction scales on a variety of issues such as staff uniform, flexibility, health and safety, rewards and recognition programs and a no-consequence anonymous complaints process for staff in order to manage workplace enjoyment.
- Identified customer complaint patterns and expectations and developed appropriate solutions to increase customer satisfaction.
- Head of Training for the team.
- Developed a calendar system for team members to complete compulsory health and safety training assessments.
- Encouraged team members to complete as many modules of training on e-learning as possible in order to increase productivity knowledge.
- Developed a practice of spot-checking e-learning knowledge for staff members, marked e-learning modules and worked with staff to complete their training.
- Completed over 250 e-learnings, most outside my working hours, in order to advance my own training.
Powertool and Hardware Specialist
Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa Hamilton
Hamilton
04.2019 - 05.2021
- 2IC for a department of 8 staff and one of the largest Mitre 10 Mega stores in the country.
- Assisted customers in selecting power tools and hardware products and supplies.
- Competed voluntary training programs to further knowledge about other store department products and store running practices with a view to entering management level.
- Maintained inventory levels and organized stock in the hardware section.
- Provided solutions for DIY level problems, designs and ideas.
- Stock organisation, stock level management and stock displays.
- Organised product training for team and for myself.
- Created relationships with apprenticeship starters for local building companies, assisting with supplying quality tool kits with appropriate tools.
- Worked with upper management and police to provide efficient practices to reduce high theft issues within store.
- Volunteered to do extra shifts and shift changes to help when needed.
Sales Assistant and Underwriter
AA Insurance
Hamilton
09.2013 - 05.2018
- Assisted customers with product selection for a variety of insurance needs.
- Assessed needs, identified issues, assessed appropriate conditions of insurance offered, explained benefits and limitations.
- Underwriting assessments performed for complex insurance cases including earthquake damaged homes, cases of fraud, dishonesty and legal issues.
- Working within the strict guidelines of the Financial Advisors Act and several other Acts relative to insurance.
- Handled customer complaints and hostile responses from customers.
- Worked efficiently and productively in times of high stress. An example would be during floods and earthquake events.
- Provided product knowledge and recommendations to customers for informed purchasing decisions.
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Lugtons Real Estate
Hamilton
09.2011 - 06.2013
- Guided clients through property purchases and sales processes.
- Conducted market analysis to determine property values and trends.
- Developed marketing strategies to promote listings effectively.
- Negotiated offers and contracts between buyers and sellers.
- Organized open houses to showcase properties to potential buyers.
- Compared properties with similar, recently sold properties in neighboring areas to determine comparative market price.
- Advised sellers on making homes more appealing to buyers in competitive marketplace.
- Provided guidance throughout entire process from initial consultation to successful closing.
Education
Residential Real Estate License - Real Estate Salesperson
Open Polytechnic
10.2011 - 11.2012
Perry Common Comprehensive
Birmingham, UK, West Midlands Open Polytechnic
Auckland CBDSkills
- Market analysis
- Customer satisfaction
- Problem solving
- Time management
- Deadline meeting
- Team leadership
- Product knowledge and learning
- Reliable
- Team player
- Can receive feedback well
- Can prioritise
- Thinks on feet
Affiliations
- I love to do DIY. I renovate, paint, woodwork, repair, design and I have an impressive selection of power tools and hand tools.
- Avid reader, mainly biography, history, engineering.
- Im learning guitar. I’m terrible at it but I’m trying to master it.
- I write and hope to write a book and have it published. It will be a comedy.
- I like to watch documentaries about engineering, history, unsolved mysteries and true crime.
- I have recently started yoga and it’s enjoyable.
Things I Have Accomplished
- I have become skilled at problem solving, my knowledge of life in general has afforded me the freedom to be less rigid in thinking.
- Learned to drive an automatic vehicle recently, after a lifetime of driving manual. Overcame an illogical fear of driving auto.
- Have become very good at interior design.
- Have adapted to a complete lifestyle change easily and quickly. Moved from a city to the ocean which is very different living.
- I am calm in a crisis.
- I saved my husband’s life. Twice.
Timeline
Volunteer
Far North Tropicals
01.2022 - Current
Kitchen Sales 2IC
Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa
10.2020 - 05.2021
Business Council and Staff Training Coordinator
Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa Hamilton
06.2019 - 05.2021
Powertool and Hardware Specialist
Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa Hamilton
04.2019 - 05.2021
Sales Assistant and Underwriter
AA Insurance
09.2013 - 05.2018
Residential Real Estate License - Real Estate Salesperson
Open Polytechnic
10.2011 - 11.2012
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Lugtons Real Estate
09.2011 - 06.2013
Furniture Restoration and Design
Self Employed
01.2007 - Current
Perry Common Comprehensive
Open Polytechnic