Customer Service Sales

George Gibbs

Kent, WA *****

206-***-**** ********@*****.***

Professional Profile

It is truly about customer satisfaction.

Over 15 years experience in inside sales, customer service and applications engineering in an

industrial manufacturing and distribution environment. Excellent at applying extensive knowledge

and experience to analyze and resolve specific application and installation issues. Draws parallels

and extrapolates across applications to assist distributors identify new business opportunities.

Brings experience and education in flow-meter, electronic weighing systems, hydraulics and

pneumatics, plumbing and industrial electrical and electronic controls. Dedicated to taking care of

the customer and resolving issues to ensure repeat business.

Applies keen business sense and provides a value added service by moving beyond initial

purchase price to factoring in longevity and routine maintenance costs when preparing

competitive and sole source pricing.

Comfortable interfacing with both technical and non-technical customers via phone and email.

Communicates technical information in such a way that a non-technical sales representatives or

end user can understand and apply the information to their application.

Takes a proactive investigative approach often tracing problems to root cause, saving the

manufacturer, distributor and end user time, money and frustration. Easily draws parallels across

applications and conveys this information to design and specifying engineers.

Professional History

Inside Sales Customer Service (Distributor-Focused) Application Engineer

Seametrics, manufacturers flow metering products for industrial applications including heating

and cooling, waste water, irrigation and chemical injection, Kent WA, August 2000 – August 2010

Products sold: Insertion Style paddlewheel and turbine meters, Inline turbine and magmeters.

Low flow chemical meters, multijet and single jet meters.

Inside Sales, Seametrics

Negotiated pricing and delivery on custom products and long-term purchase orders.

Used manufacturing software on a daily basis (SAP and Epicor) to track customers, special products

and delivery schedules.

Collaborated with our distribution manager and OEM sales manager to develop pricing.

Educated and supported master and 1st-level distributors in increasing their sales including

suggesting new product lines and opening new markets.

Assisted in defining and navigating border and product line distribution issues.

Business Accomplishment of Inside Sales Team: Increased sales from 1.5 to 6 million by

focusing on providing superior after-sales service and customer support. Added 6 new master

distributors and their associated sub-distribution channels.

Trouble Shooting Problem Solving Customer Service

Educated both distributors and end users so they could make educated product choices for their

application.

Trained customers (distributors and end users) on how to best use our products.

Managed the returns and repairs including determining restocking and repair charges. Set up

tracking process to simplify the tracking of returns and credits.

Interfaced with production to solve delivery delays and negotiated with both customer and production

to get the customer product by their need date.

Applications Engineering, Seametrics

Worked with specifying engineers, sales reps (distributors), and end users to develop best-fit

solutions for their application. Assisted in defining requirements. For example:

Project: Becoming an Idaho Agriculture District approved manufacturer of water meters.

Requesting Distributor: Western Engineering, Utah.

Challenge: Educate and support distributor sales rep in identifying and conveying Seametrics’ meter

specifications in relationship to application requirements and develop pricing schedule.

Technical Issues Important in Meter Selection and Installation: Addressed meter issues including: (1)

piping size, length and material (2) water turbidity (3) type of information to be collected (4) local or

remote (telemetry) data collection (5) chemical compatibility of additives with meter material (6) durability

and service requirements and (7) establishing profitable price points.

Result: Approved as manufacturer resulting in a $100,000+ initial order, retention of distributor as a loyal

customer and addition of District and individual water users as customers.

Used customer input to identify recurring problems and issues. Consolidated and presented this

information to design engineers and assisted problem resolution including equipment re-engineering,

repairing production equipment and re-writing documentation. For example:

Issue: Customer received tapered fitting (specified non-tapered).

Approach: Rather than replace only this customer’s meter fitting, went above and beyond and

investigated remaining in-stock meter fittings, as well as other affected parts.

Result: Discovered existing stock was improperly tapered. Further investigations located the root cause – a

worn machine tool. Replaced part, limiting costly impacts on end-users and distributors.

Personal Accomplishment: Received “Above and Beyond” award from company president

Festo Corporation, leading supplier of pneumatic and electrical automation technology

headquartered in Esslingen, Germany, US headquarters in New York City, local office in Bothell,

WA, June 1998 – July 2000.

Products sold: High end Pneumatics, Cylinders. Linear Actuators. Valve manifolds with built in

Multibus/ Profibus interfaces and Pressure regulators.

Inside Sales Engineer, Festo Corporation

Became the go-to person for application questions.

Assisted commercial and industrial clients with work-arounds to keep their manufacturing operation

online, avoiding costly downtime.

For example:

Customer: Becton Dickinson, ancillary medical equipment manufacturer.

Situation: Customer needed 10 pneumatic valve assemblies within 48 hours in order to keep their

manufacturing line retrofit on schedule. Delivery lead time was 2 weeks.

Approach: Research equipment and application design requirements; identify alternate solution.

Result: Re-engineered another valve to accomplish the same function as out-of stock valve. End user

resumed manufacturing within 48 hours versus 2 weeks, saving thousands of dollars.

Assisted outside sales engineers in specifying products for specific applications, investigated

availability and lead times and answered technical questions.

Provided customers with non-technical application and installation answers, provided direction

regarding correct product choice and cross referencing parts from other manufacturers.

Managed all repair and factory returns for the region.

Licenses and Continuing Education

Learning seminars and courses in sales and customer service, recent classes included:

How to Work with Difficult Customers, WA Employers, Seattle, WA, 2009

How To Deliver Exceptional Customer Service, Fred Pryor Seminars, San Diego, CA, 2008

FAA Air Frame and Power Plant License, South Seattle Community College, Seattle, WA

FAA Aviation Maintenance Certificate, South Seattle Community College, Seattle, WA

Electrical / Electronic General Classes, classes included:

Digital / analog Programmable logic controller’s 3-phase electrical

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