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The CSS People That Make it Happen – Sudipta

by Jaclyn Reid••0 Comments

Meet Sudipta, our outstanding Operations Assistant!

Today it gives me great pleasure to introduce one of CSS’ newer family members, Sudipta!  Sudipta completed her practicum through CIWA with CSS, and after a short period of time it became clear to us that she should be part of the CSS family – and she agreed because as soon as her practicum was finished, she was hired on full time!  She now occupies the title of Operations Assistant.

As you know now from reading previous staff introductions, we like to ask our crew a few “get to know you” questions and here is what Sudipta had to say:

Sudipta really appreciates the work culture and ethics that CSS holds.  She says the management and crew members are all so extremely warm, helpful, understanding, and supportive.  In her own words “I feel so blessed to be a part of the CSS Office team”.

As an immigrant to Canada, Sudipta literally had zero background knowledge of our industry so something she found interesting was that there is so much more to it than just selling office furniture.  It’s a huge industry, with many nuances that we’re pretty sure not very many people actually understand.

If Sudipta wins the lottery she would help others who are in need!  Although I’m willing to bet it would probably come after she takes her family on a world tour – that would be so much fun!  She loves Indian and Italian food – and even though she’s tried numerous different styles of cuisine she still considers herself not to be a foodie – and is definitely more inclined toward Indian cuisine.  Sudipta isn’t much of a drinker and there is nothing wrong with that!  She prefers a coffee…whether its hot or cold is totally dependent on the weather.  Occasionally she’ll treat herself to a soft drink – but the go to for sure is water.  Gotta stay hydrated!

Sudipta hasn’t spent a lot of time in downtown Calgary, so when we asked what her favorite building was…she was a bit stumped.  Ultimately, she chose Telus Sky, as it has a beautiful night view.  Agreed!  It’s stunning!  As far as a favorite place to visit is concerned, she has many!  She’s been to Waterton and greatly enjoys that atmosphere.  Lake Louise is beautiful (isn’t it!), Moraine Lake is mesmerizing, Kananaskis, Banff…the list literally goes on!  She admits she has lots left to explore in this wonderous province but, clearly, she’s off to a good start!

When asked if she wanted to share anything else, this was her response.  “It has been an amazing journey with CSS.  When I first started, not to lie, I was super nervous and excited at the same time.  I had no idea how things would go, where my path would lead; I still feel nostalgic looking back at my days when I first started my practicum with CSS with a positive outlook, eagerness to learn and avail the opportunity as much as I could.  But now it’s all history!  I am with CSS now, still a long way to go and lots to learn from the iconic CSS team.  For this I would definitely like to thank management and the rest of the team for being so welcoming, kind and wonderful to me.”

No Nightmare Office Moves Here!

by Jaclyn Reid••0 Comments

You found out your office is moving, exciting news!


At least those were your initial thoughts until your agenda and checklists keep filling up and you haven’t even hired a mover yet!  Never fear!  Not only because I’m here to help you look like the professional, but because using these introductory straightforward tips when orchestrating an office move will aid in making your office move as smooth and efficient as possible!

My suggestion is simple: find a moving company that offers comprehensive move management services!  You’ll be laughing with joy throughout the entire move process, and well beyond move-in day!

Moving forward using these tips as a starting point will help alleviate undue stress and potential wasted energy when hunting for a competent mover.

  • Let’s Talk Insurance – Your mover should be able to meet, if not exceed, your building(s)’s minimum requirements; make sure of this even before asking for an estimate!  RUN, far and fast, if your mover cannot produce a current Certificate of Insurance listing required coverage amounts.  Also make sure your moving company has the ability to add, not only your company, but the building ownership entities as additional insured on the certificate.
  • Safety #1 – Obtaining a Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Clearance Letter from your mover will identify if the company (a) has a valid WCB account, (b) whether it is in good standing with the WCB, which includes (c) having their premiums paid to-date.

WOWZER FACT: did you know that if you hire a company, moving or otherwise operating within your workplace, and their premiums are not paid up-to-date, the possibility exists to hold YOUR company liable for not only the owed premiums, but also the associated claim costs should an injury occur on your site!  The WCB even suggests requesting another Clearance Letter prior to releasing final payment!

Thoroughly check your vendors’ references and credentials.

  • Full-service moving company or just the movers?  Hiring a company that performs more than just the physical moving of your office furnishings is crucial!  For instance, levelling the file cabinets, bookcases and desks when moved, more often than not is completely overlooked by “just movers”.  Any uneven furnishing can be a safety hazard!  And omitting this step can actually cause permanent damage to your furnishings!  It will also lead to reduced drawer functionality over time, lock mechanism wear, etc.

Also consider this, does the moving company provide after-move services, such as hanging artwork, adjusting keyboard trays and work surface heights to each worker’s preference?  Do they move file rooms including the shelving too?

  • Furnished?  Move with Furniture?  Do you move with your office furniture, get new furniture, or are you moving into a space already furnished?  Your moving company should be able to provide you with pricing options for all scenarios to help give you a realistic perspective on the decision at hand.
  • Got supplies?  Plastic moving bins/lids with security ties, labels, computer or map bags, packing materials, bubble wrap covers for monitors, various sized cardboard boxes, Masonite to protect the flooring, walls and door trim – your moving company should be able to supply all of these materials and so much more!  What about the moving company’s equipment they’re going to be using – are they stocked well enough for your move and is it maintained in a respectable, safe condition?  Are their trucks up to date with the annual inspections as part of Alberta’s CVIP (Commercial Vehicle Inspection Program)?

Plan ahead whenever and wherever possible!  For instance, booking of the elevators and loading docks can get very sparse depending on what else is happening in your office building.  As soon as you know anticipated dates, lock of the elevators and book the
loading dock at all required buildings (or if you have an awesome full-service moving company like CSS, we’ll take care of this entirely for you).

Bottom line is this: ensure you’re hiring a full-service moving company offering comprehensive move services, a company that know what they’re doing with your office furniture, files and assets.  These are important to you and your company and should be even more of a priority when being relocated by your movers!

These tips are merely tiny specks of sand out of the entire desert on guidelines to coordinate a streamlined office move.  I could write a book on tips on how to properly choose an office mover, so please feel free to contact CSS Office Solutions by phone or email to speak with one of our Account Managers directly if you have any questions regarding your office move.

The CSS People that Make it Happen – Brent

by Jaclyn Reid••1 Comments

Meet Brent – our extraordinary owner and President!

In this posting, it is my absolute pleasure to be able to introduce you to our incredibly talented leader and company owner, Brent Reid.  His official title is President, but if you’ve ever been lucky enough to know him, you know that he really does do everything imaginable in this business!  Brent is the true definition of an integral person, with a definite problem solving, get-it-done mentality.  He’s the driver of this business, and I can positively say the company wouldn’t be here without Brent.  He learned a lot from his Dad, but at his young age he already knows so much more than his Dad did at this age – that’s a great progression of success for any family-owned business.

Brent is definitely known as the office furniture expert, in all ways imaginable (yes, of course I’m biased – I married him!).

When Brent answered the question about all the best parts of being a member (and leader) of the CSS work family naturally it is the nature of teamwork and the staff comradery.  Brent has witnessed firsthand what great teamwork is and what it can accomplish.  Working hard to build a culture of teamwork and integrity has been an important part of Brent’s development of CSS throughout his years as an owner.

No two days are the same, for anyone at CSS.  You’ll hear this a LOT from us, our staff, and our clients!  This is what Brent finds interesting about the industry – the variety of what your day can hold!  Brent could be seen on-site doing a walk-through with a client to quote for an RFP (request for proposal), or be in the back shop completing a customer repair to a chair or desk, or driving and loading a truck – without a lie, we really do mean that no two days will ever be the same working at CSS or in our industry.

Spoken like a natural woodsman, Brent would spend his lottery winnings on an incredible hunting trip and a fly-in fishing trip – should I mention he loves any backwoods adventures, or did you get that already?

Which brings us perfectly onto the question he was asked about his favourite meal: a nice rare moose steak…I can also add he enjoys anything BBQ’d as Brent certainly masters this skill well too!  He’s the one who handles the best of cooking for our company camping trips, and our employee social nights.

Brent enjoys a good ol’ IPA beer, which of course goes along well with everything that can cook on a BBQ.  His go-to easy-to-find brand is Keith’s if you’re ever wondering what to surprise him with, that’ll be the winner-winner!

When Brent isn’t hustling and wearing all the hats possible for CSS, you will find him escaping to the forested woods west of Calgary, or anywhere that there’s mountains to be enjoyed.  With lots of travelling on the backroads and forestry trunk roads, Brent is always a person who’s up for family time in the mountains, especially when it is outside of cell service!

As our staff spend lots of time in buildings, we like to ask the question: what’s your favourite building in downtown Calgary?  Brent personally enjoys Jamieson Place, why?  For obvious reasons that any office furniture company desires and longs for in all buildings: the best loading dock and direct access to the freight elevator!  Always a solutions seeker, I’m not surprised that Brent’s building favourite is one that helps make CSS’ jobs and tasks easier.  Something as simple as having indirect access from the loading dock to the buildings’ freight elevator can cause significant upset in a project.

Brent has been around to witness the company overcome many challenges, satisfy a whole lot of clients, supersede expectations, move thousands of people and manage office services for clients well beyond the Calgary area.  Brent is in amazement when he steps back and takes a moment to realize the sheer volume of work that our talented crew has achieved.  Not just in CSS’ 35+ years of business, but on any one project or service call.

Brent leads our team with distinction and courage, making sure our clients’ best interests are always taken care of.  The volume of work that CSS can achieve as a crew is a direct reflection of Brent, the devoted leader of CSS.

The CSS Office Solutions Inc. Staff Spotlight series of introducing the world to the people behind the CSS scenes has been rewarding.  Without our people, we aren’t a service company.  Especially this time, writing the spotlight has been absolutely wonderful for me to showcase a little bit of who Brent Reid is, as a leader, as a company owner, and as a member of the CSS work family.

Want to connect with Brent on LinkedIn? Click here

If you’re interested in learning more about Brent’s expertise as it relates to his client relationships and services, furniture repairs or usefulness of such, don’t hesitate to contact our office to get in touch with him directly. 

 

 

The CSS People that Make it Happen – Jim

by Jen Harding••0 Comments

Meet Jim – one of our extraordinary warehouse coordinators!


Today I am elated to introduce to you another highly valued member of the CSS work family.  Meet our warehouse coordinator Jim!  He has been with us for only the last two years, but he makes us feel like we’ve known him for many years now!  You may not see him quite as often on site in your office but for sure you will find him in our warehouse, helping to take care of the many aspects of being a warehouse coordinator.  His hard work and sincerity say it all.

Jim highly appreciates the care and concern CSS Office Solutions provides to each and every employee.  And yes, that’s the reason we call it our CSS work family.  Working together like a family makes us unique and helps build up our individual strengths every day.  We are proud of all our employees!

His favorite type of food has changed lately as Jim is experimenting with various gluten free foods.  Good thing the food industry has made leaps and bounds with gluten free options that taste great!  His go to drink is Pepsi although now he is trying to get rid of it in the evenings, so please be sure to offer him a Pepsi only during the day!

Jim says if he won the lottery, he would like to buy CSS Office Solutions.  Not sure how well that would work, but its nice to have dreams!  The merging of two major manufacturing powerhouses, Knoll and Herman Miller, has been an interesting area for Jim in our industry.

He has yet to decide on his favorite downtown building and local Calgary destination as he says there are a lot to pick from; and we agree.  Jim is from a small city so while he says he like Calgary, it’s far too big for him.  But since CSS is here, he has a great reason to love Calgary.  Jim, you are an asset to our family, and we are so lucky to have you!

Movers vs. Installers

by Jen Harding••1 Comments

Here’s a hint – they are not the same, but CSS takes care of BOTH!

We all hear the terms “moving company” and  “installation company” but what exactly do they mean?  What’s the difference?  In this post we’ll discuss the differences as they relate to the office furniture world.

Basically, a moving company is just that – a company that moves you from point A to point B.  There are numerous companies operating like this.  They should be capable of loading, transporting and unloading boxes, crates, and disassembled furniture.  They should be able to provide you with all the moving supplies you’ll need such as boxes, plastic bins, labels, bags for cables/phone/computers, and should have their own maintained equipment to facilitate the move.  You need movers during a relocation – they do the heavy lifting and transportation! 

An installation company has a different purpose and scope.  Installers are trained technicians who know the proper sequence of disassembly/reassembly so that all pieces of furniture can be moved safely and without damage.  Considering some workstations have multitudes of small individual components it doesn’t take long before that becomes overwhelming to someone inexperienced.  Most installation companies do not do the physical moving, they’re often called in before a move to take furniture apart for the moving company and then return after the move to re-assemble the furniture. 

Keep an eye out for these common warning signs for a less-than-ideal moving or installation company:

·         Inability to provide proof of insurance.  This is a huge red flag!  DO NOT hire any contractor that cannot prove they have insurance coverage.  Should the unforeseen happen you are stuck paying for furniture repairs/replacements.  Also consider that most movers carry general liability insurance which only covers $0.60 per pound!  Always ask about insurance coverage and inquire about the cost for additional coverage if it’s needed.

·         Inability to provide a WCB clearance letter in good standing.  As stated directly on the WCB-Alberta website “A clearance letter indicates if a contractor has their own coverage or would need to be covered as your worker.  If the contractor has their own coverage, the letter clears you of responsibility by notifying you if the contractor has paid their WCB premiums.  If you do not have a clearance letter and the contractor has not paid their premiums, you may be liable for those premiums.  You should get a clearance before you hire the company or individual and before releasing payment.”

·         Using temporary workers instead of hiring staff.  Using temporary workers or “independent contractors” may save these companies costs associated with payroll deductions and benefit coverage, but they’re also not likely to be well trained or experienced which can lead to an uptick in damages to your furniture, belongings and even the building you are in which again can cost you more than you anticipated.

Office furniture (and space) is expensive – don’t take the chance with untrained or inexperienced companies, you’ll regret it! 

Want to know more now?  Give us a call or send us an email!