The Faces of Furniture – Debbie King, Upholstery Supervisor
Debbie at the Cutting Table
After leaving her last job in 2001, Debbie King stated she would never devote another 20 years to a company ever again. This year, she broke that promise. “If I didn’t like it here, I wouldn’t be here.” she says. Currently the Upholstery Supervisor, Debbie now looks forward to what her future at Savoy holds.
Starting during the July heat, Debbie first began work in the Savoy upholstery department, focusing on sewing fabrics for the handful of lounge lines we offered. With previous experience sewing for clothing, this was somewhat unfamiliar territory for her. After only a couple months of demonstrating hard work, she progressed to the next step in upholstery at Savoy: working the cutting tables. Since then, she has worked her way up to a team leader for many years before finally being promoted to the department supervisor.
When Debbie first started working for Savoy, her department consisted of about eight people total, responsible for upholstering, sewing, stuffing, cutting and supervising the team. The workload was only enough to keep everyone busy for about four months, so team members helped throughout the rest of the factory during the rest of the year, assisting with jobs such as dovetail construction, dowel pinning, inventory, sanding chairs, and finishing and assembling tables and chairs.
Debbie with Husband Jim
Since then, the upholstery department has become a year-round powerhouse, requiring the hard work of 10-15 full-time professionals to accommodate the increased growth in the industry.
Reasons to Stay
Despite never imagining she would spend 20+ years at another job, Debbie admits it hasn’t been all that hard to stick around. “John, Carol, Adam, Allison (Savoy) – they’re like an extended family.” says Debbie. “They treat you better than just a number. You’re not just another face.”
Debbie contributes her happiness on the job to how well everyone throughout the company works together. From customer service and sales, to purchasing, engineering, and the hard-working professionals in the plant, “We all have such a great sense of unity working here. We have each other’s backs, and we all work as one team.”
Outside of the office, she enjoys being part of a very close-knit family. Her and the family enjoy Tuesday night dinners together, along with camping, having bonfires, and going to the racetracks.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Debbie, and for deciding to stick around after all!
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About Savoy
Savoy Contract Furniture manufactures traditional and contemporary styles of furniture for colleges and universities. Over more than 70 years, we’ve prioritized the growth of our state-of-the-art central Pennsylvania plant. As a result, we utilize the most advanced technology available and handle our orders entirely in house. In short, this allows us the flexibility to custom tailor our products to meet your every need.
Presently, we manufacture 12 styles of casegoods and 20 types of upholstered furniture. Additionally, we provide a variety of tables and chairs for both studying and dining. Furthermore, everything is available with the choice of several finishes and hundreds of fabric options. Client partners can also choose to upgrade their furniture with special hardware and power sources.
Savoy has adopted a customer-centric approach to business. That is to say, we aim to be the best full-service furniture provider for our client partners. We offer assistance throughout quoting, order management, delivery, and installation. However, our service doesn’t stop there. All Savoy products come with our industry-leading Limited Lifetime Warranty. To sum it up, we’re passionate about helping make your furniture buying experience as easy as possible.
Do not hesitate to send us an email or give us a call (800.233.8953) if we can be of service. We’re here to make your job easier.
Savoy Contract Furniture is a registered trademark of John Savoy and Son, Inc.
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