Employee Highlight: Meet Catherine Stearns

Posted Feb 12, 2016

Where did you grow up and go to school?

I was born in San Diego, but grew up and attended a small private school in mid-Missouri.

What other jobs have you had before Bethany Associates?

During my teenage years I was heavily involved in the arts (music, drama, choreography) in the context of church and school productions. I taught English, crafted bread in a gourmet bakery and worked as a secretary and book finisher in a small publishing house. I also washed windows for a few months before I took a secretarial position with a SAT-test preparation company.

What skills have you learned from previous employment?

I have learned the importance of phone communication as it is often the first experience a customer has with a company. I’ve learned right and wrong ways of engaging customers and the necessity of a broad knowledge spectrum for assisting them promptly and effectively.

How long have you been employed with Bethany Associates?

I’ve been employed for about two and a half years.

What does a typical day look like for you?

That entirely depends on the season! Most people are eager to make their home look good during the spring and fall. In those cases, I spend most of the morning giving estimates and responding to messages. At some point I enter data from the previous day’s work. Each technician has paperwork that must be processed and prepared for the next day’s route and this alone can take a couple of hours.

What needs and challenges are you able to meet for people?

Customers have their own schedules to juggle, which may include a wedding shower or a family member who is on night shift and needs us to work around their sleep schedule. I love accommodating our customers and tailoring our estimates to fit their particular needs.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

Talking to people! I’ve been so inspired to be a happy presence when people call, as others have been for me. I love satisfying our customer’s needs, and hearing back from them about our employee’s work

Tell us about your family and what you did for vacation this year.

My family is terrific. I’m the oldest of three girls, who both live in California, along with my former-school-teacher parents. We’re fairly close and have gobs of inside jokes from all the years together. The entire family enjoys books, adventure and making music. I fly to San Diego to be with my folks at least once a year. This time I visited at Christmas and the whole family got to celebrate my grandmother’s 95th birthday at the Marine Room. Spectacular!