With New Zealand in Alert Level 3 in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19 we thought it would be a great opportunity to find out more about our staff – the awesome team behind your move – exploring new ways of working, sharing what life now looks like for them and just how much the pandemic has changed what they do.
Meet Roy Townhill – Branch Manager, Auckland
Tell us in a few words about your time with Crown to date:
I started my career with Crown Relocations in 1994 as a labourer based in Tauranga where I spent most of my time learning the trade and developing my skills. I was fortunate enough to spend some time working for Crown Wellington as an Operations Manager in 2005 before returning back to Tauranga as the Branch Manager in 2007. I had the opportunity to move to Crown Auckland as Branch Manager and have been in Auckland since early March this year.
What you enjoy most about the job:
Firstly, the people. I have met and worked with so many great people and had the opportunity to meet wonderful customers. I have many cherished memories over my time with Crown and have been fortunate enough to develop lifelong friendships. Secondly, the variety. Everyday is a different day, there are always new challenges presented and this keeps you motivated and energised.
What drives you:
My overall objective is to deliver exceptional service to our customers during what is a highly stressful time of their lives. Every customer has a unique set of circumstances and expectations, so ensuring our staff have the knowledge and resources available to ensure we provide an exceptional service is what drives me.
What kind of impact has COVID-19 had on the workplace?
The biggest impact has been our inability to service our customers during the four weeks of the alert level 4 lockdown, this left many of our customers in dire circumstances and in situations I could not pretend to understand. As our industry was not considered an essential service we were prohibited from completing deliveries and pick-ups scheduled during that time. Covid-19 has also impacted heavily on our staff and their ability to work, my heart goes out to everyone effected by this pandemic.
What are the main challenges?
Ensuring those customers that were affected by the lockdown are delivered or picked up as quickly as possible so they can get on with their lives and move forward. There is the added responsibility of ensuring our customers and staff are in a safe environment, free of the Covid-19 virus. This means we have had to evolve our habits and procedures to combat the spread of the virus in the workplace, we have to ensure our staff can access the correct PPE, are confidently trained in the using this equipment and adopt our safety protocols and systems.
Recently we moved into COVID-19 Level 3 – how has it been for you?
It has been a learning but positive and rewarding experience. All the work and preparation invested into health and safety behind the scenes by many of our nationwide Crown Team in anticipation of moving to Level 3, I feel has paid off. All of the team were excited and relieved to be back at work, and once the issuing of PPE and training was completed, it was almost business as usual. I was fortunate enough to have received phone calls and messages from some of our clients thanking us for getting their household goods delivered and set-up on the first day of moving into level 3. I feel very proud to be part of an awesome team.
Something cool in our industry that our customers might not know about…
I am amazed by how many long serving members Crown New Zealand have (5 years service or more). There are staff celebrating 10, 15, 20 years of service and we even have a staff member in Auckland coming up to 35 years’ service – this is testament to our people and our values, I think that’s very cool!
Outside of work you like to….
Go fishing!! I can’t wait to get back out on the water and try out the Hauraki Gulf, I have big expectations and a big craving for fresh snapper fillets!
Favourite quote:
“Pass how you like to receive.”
Thanks for sharing with us Roy, it’s been great getting to know more about you!
At Crown we are committed to looking after the whole family and in addition to moving your household goods we can provide a range of other services including a kids programme and pet relocations. When you choose to move with Crown you will find us to be more than a just a relocation company, we really care about what we do and how we do it.
Contact us today to see what makes us different from the rest! To arrange a quotation call our office for an obligation FREE quote on: 0508 227 696 or you can use our online quote forms: Quote Wizard, Quick Quote or Home Visit Request.