Behind the Scenes

At Maple Ridge Farms, every day brings new activities, ideas, excitement and opportunities. Each employee’s experiences and responsibilities differ. Together, our team makes magic. (Customers tell us this; we aren’t bragging.) We thought you’d enjoy hearing some of the stories about what it’s like to work at MRF.

Kari Polka, Graphic Artist
Employed since: July 2011
Favorite MRF Gift: The Milk Chocolate Oreo® cookies

What I like best about MRF is the team effort. If there’s a mistake, it’s not about who did it – the focus is on how we can fix the problem, how we can make it right for the customer.

My job is to match artwork from distributors to their orders and review it to make sure it’s usable with our dies. About 40% of the files we receive need to be corrected. We send instructions to customers on how to do this, but most ask us to recreate the art for them [for a fee].

Last year I spoke to one customer who doesn’t use email. We send his proofs by fax, but sometimes faxes shrink artwork, so he was concerned about his art.  He was genuinely glad to be able to speak to someone in the department about his order. I am sure I will get to speak to him again this year. It reminds me of when I am talking with my grandpa!

Megan Backes, Order Processing Supervisor
Employed since: July 2010
Favorite MRF Gift: The Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels 

What I like best about MRF is how close knit we are. I also like getting to know the new order processing employees each summer. I started training 15 new order processors in July.

In the spring, it’s fun to be part of taste-testing products we’re considering adding to the line, and then to see the new products come in for the season. When there are a lot of samples around I try to stay out of the break room!

During peak season – mid-November through the first week of December – we receive 300-400 orders a day. Some days can be stressful, but usually we’re prepared, take the volume in stride, and do one thing at a time. We spend the off-season preparing for this time of year, making policy and procedural changes so we operate even more smoothly than the previous season. We have a new, more efficient order entry system this year. I spent most of the summer testing it. It’s very exciting!

Mike Aldrich, Production Supervisor
Employed since: August 2000
Favorite MRF Gift: The new White Chocolate Oreo® cookies

What I like best about MRF is seeing all the smiling faces every day. It’s fun coming to work. We have 80 people in our department this time of year. Each season we have a core group of 40-50 people who return. They know how to do their jobs, so there’s no pressure. You gear up… it’s an adrenaline rush!

Tom makes all the difference, too. He’s very visible, and always asks employees for ideas and tries their suggestions. He’ll pick different employees to help with projects he’s working on. As many employees as we have, we all know we’re not just a number. The way he greets everyone personally each day, the pizza days, the chicken dinner he brings in close to Thanksgiving – all of these efforts make the people here feel connected.

My responsibilities include arranging for orders to be delivered by trucking companies. One time a customer gave me the wrong address for his client in California. The driver of the truck drove up and down a road and couldn’t find the address. It was a Friday afternoon. He had three pallets with 500-600 gifts that we didn’t want to sit in a warehouse over the weekend. Because of our relationship with the trucking company, they called me. I got in touch with our client. He double-checked the address and discovered he had the wrong address. The building was on the other side of the highway. We were able to get the gifts delivered on time!

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