Tales from the Front

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.

The Newbie
Candy Habeck, Customer Service Rep
Employed since: August 2012
Favorite MRF Gift: “The cheeses are phenomenal. The toffee is to die for.”

“I spent a number of years in customer service, mostly in the insurance and securities industries. Then I was a stay-at-home mom. We lived in five states before my husband and I moved back to Wisconsin last September. Now that my daughter doesn’t need me as much, it was time to get back to work. Besides, she’ll be driving in a few years so I need to save up for a car for her!

There’s never a boring day at MRF. One minute I’m talking to a distributor about a shipping date, the next I’m fielding a call about a large medical facility looking for 1,700 gifts before turning it over to our senior staff to handle.

One day a distributor called to order a Showroom Sample Kit. He was going to exhibit at a trade show and thought it would be a great display to have. I happened to ask if he knew the products weren’t for consumption. He had no idea. He was grateful and said I saved him so much embarrassment. We state on our flyer that this kit features inedible treats, but not all distributors catch it. It felt good knowing I averted a disaster!”

The Experienced
Joan Harris, Receptionist
Employed since: August 2004
Favorite MRF Gift: “The Red Snowflake Box with English Butter Toffee, Pecan Turtles, and Chocolate Covered Almonds. It’s a good mix.”

“I spent 15 years at my previous job. I was ready to leave, and thought this position at MRF would hold me over until I found my next big job, but I never left!

Each season is different – new products, plus new tasks to learn to do my job better. What I love best about my job is when distributors say, ‘It’s wonderful to hear a live person answer the phone!’ Then one topic leads to another… we have a conversation… by the end, they are glad they called.

I love the people here. We’re like a big family. I know a lot of people say that but it’s true. Every day Tom is in the office, he walks around every department and says good morning and hello to everyone. The employees here have an upbeat, positive attitude, a “we can” attitude  that starts with Tom.

The Veteran
Virginia Lemmer, Key Account Manager
Employed since: May, 1987
Favorite MRF Gift: “I love packaging. The Red Snowflake box and the Premium Chocolate Trio with the gold imprint are my new favorites. The styling is like retail!” 

“When I joined the company it was so small. In May of that year we received 3-5 orders a week. By September orders started to flow to 40 a day. I handled order entry, customer service, and custom quotes. Back then I thought, ‘Custom? We’ve got a 10-page catalog! Pick something!’

About 15 years ago I began to specialize in sales and customer relations. I love it so much more, especially working on custom programs. Recently we were asked to put together a proposal for a meeting in two hours. I came up with an idea, had the virtual sample created, sent it. The next day the distributor said he needed a sample. We sent it overnight. The following day, he requested a different sample. The distributor was amazed we reacted so quickly to his request. He said so many suppliers take so long to respond. We’re a totally customer-centered company.

Next door to our factory is a FedEx station. One time we had a package shipping two-day air to a distributor in California. Then the distributor called back at 5pm CT (3pm PT) and said, “We need it TOMORROW!” I ran to FedEx and went into their warehouse with a FedEx employee, and began to search for our package for this order. We found it,  relabeled it to ship overnight, and it was delivered on time.”

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