Kestrel has thanked its lucky stars for experienced customer service manager Lea-Anne Harris as the UPVC roofline manufacturer faced unprecedented demand for products following the Coronavirus lockdown.

With a background in transport, Lea-Anne worked closely with operations, sales and logistics to make sure Kestrel’s UPVC fascias, cladding and other products were getting to customers in the busy post-lockdown months.

Lea-Anne explained that the pandemic brought closer communications between departments and that helped Kestrel meet demand for its products.

“A lot of managers have grown up in Kestrel and  we’ve worked across the business and so understand the challenges of different departments,” Lea-Anne said.

“We were already team-orientated, but the challenges of Covid really pushed that up a notch. Communications across the departments is so important and that in turn helps us keep Kestrel’s customers informed.”

With eight years at Kestrel and two in her current role, Lea-Anne explained that the demand for products after the first lockdown ended, took everyone by surprise. Initially working alone, she soon had to bring in her team of four and equip them to work from home, with some juggling childcare in the period that schools were closed.

“A lot of trade counters closed initially, but once they were able to open the phones went crazy!” she said.

“Some huge orders came in, but in terms of productivity we were in a good place and able to keep up with that demand – albeit some of us had to put in long hours to make sure customers were getting the best possible service.”

Away from work, the 38-year-old has taken up knitting in anticipation of the birth of her first grandchild and is in the early stages of planning her own wedding, which has been delayed partly due to Covid.

“We are settled on getting married in 2024,” she said. “There’s so much going on at the moment and we want to make sure we don’t have to change our plans again!”