Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Wishes

The long weekend coming up means an excited buzz in the office.  Everyone is anticipating a delicious dinner tomorrow with all of the fixings including good times with family and friends.   But before we go off on our holiday, I thought it would be nice to thank the people who make our job here at Comstar possible each and every day.

I am thankful for the opportunity to work with a group of manufacturers who are there to support our endeavors and our customer needs.  Dealing with company reps, account managers and customer service personnel on a daily basis, I rely on them to give me the information I need to help my customers.  They do this time and time again and while I make a point to regularly say thank you, I can only hope that they know how much I appreciate them and everything they do for us.

I am also thankful for my co-workers.  As I mentioned in a previous post, we are truly like a family.  I have never worked any place where the employees had such great relationships as we do here at Comstar.   I am thankful that my co-workers make me laugh when things are stressful; I am thankful that they help me when things are busy.  I am thankful that the warehouse staff works extremely hard to move product out the door and almost always come through when I am in a bind. 


And of course, I am extremely thankful for the wonderful group of customers that we get to deal with everyday.  The relationships that we build with our customers are one of the most important aspects of our business.   Comstar is truly grateful for every order – big or small – and I hope that we can continue to build our relationships and gain your confidence and business.

So to our manufacturers, co-workers, and customers, I wish to say thank you.  I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday and I look forward to helping you in the coming months and year!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Family Orgins Make All The Difference At Comstar

What makes Comstar Supply different and stand out in a crowd of distributors? I would  like to think it is the family atmosphere that motivates us all to have that whatever it takes attitude to get a job done, and get it done well!

Webster offers several definitions of a family, one being a group of things related by common characteristics. Comstar Supply is a family in every sense of that plus the traditional definition of the word.

When Earl started Comstar in 1994, he did so with the support of his family. His son, Chad, grew up surrounded by his Comstar family. Now serving as President of Comstar Supply, Chad works closely with his mother, Gwen, to ensure the success of the business.

The Punchard family roots extend deep into Comstar. Andrew Constagliola serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations and Adam Rogers serves as Project Manager at Comstar Supply.

The family ties go beyond just the Punchard’s. Patti Bellino, Adminstrative Assistant, is also the aunt of Ralph Del Conte, Inside Sales, and Rich Del Conte, Driver. Allen Thierolf, our Warehouse Manager and his brother Kevin both work hard in our warehouse to move orders and supplies and Mike McGovern, Vice President of Finance took over the position when his sister vacated it several years ago.

Beyond the intricate blood lines of Comstar’s family tree, there is also the implied family that comes from working together as a team. The unique relationships that exist between the staff at Comstar allows us to joke around and tease each other one minute and work hard and lean on each other to get the work done the next minute. We support each other in many aspects of life. This allows everyone to help one another when needed which in turn enables us to work harder and more effectively to serve our customers.

We take pride in the fact that we do things a little differently (and hopefully better!) than our competitors! We will happily custom cut and parallel any HDPE order up to 1 ½  inch diameter and beyond that, we can order the custom reel lengths and put ups from the manufacturer at no additional charge. What does this mean for you? If you call up and want a 3 way parallel times 250 feet of 1 ¼ inch Corrugated innerduct, no problem. If you need two of the runs to be orange and one to be green, also no problem. We will custom cut fiber optic cable at no additional charge so whether your run is 1000 feet or 10,000 feet, we will happily serve your needs!

Most orders of items that we have in stock are turned around and shipped out same day. Our shipping department has great relationships with reputable national freight companies to make sure your order arrives on time to your location. If you require special shipping arrangements such as an appointment, lift gate or pallet jack, also not a problem,  just let us know! Our warehouse staff is made up of hard working, dedicated individuals who often come in early or stay late just to make sure our customer needs are met! It is not unusual to see them taking a box to the UPS box after our regular pickup or seeing them stay late to wait on a truck because a customer needs their supplies. They truly embody the whatever it takes attitude that drives the Comstar family.

Our customers are, of course, the most important part of our family! We like to take the time to know our customers personally and often times we learn about their own families and lives. Our customers truly are an extension of the Comstar family! And just like we would with our own families, we all strive to make sure that everyone’s needs are met and fulfilled and everyone is happy!