Katie Nelson - The Woman in the Weeds
Katie Nelson brought her energy and enthusiasm to MicroCare in 2014. She held different roles in Sales and Marketing, before becoming our Customer Relations Manager in 2017. Katie heads a busy department which is perfect for her. She thrives on busy. The Customer Relations Team fields customer calls, processes documents, provides quotes, creates invoices and troubleshoots problems – anything that needs to happen to best deliver our products and our promises to our customers.
“Sharing what we learn from our customers is really significant.”
Department Liaison
Katie also serves as the department liaison between Customer Relations and the other MicroCare departments. “Good, frequent communication between all departments is key,” Katie said. “It’s important that the Customer Relations team stays in close contact with Manufacturing, Purchasing and Distribution to ensure stock levels are appropriate and customer orders can be filled.” It’s this type of communication that earned Katie the 2018 MicroCare “Teamwork” award.
She also uses those intra-company discussions to pass along information from actual end-users. “Sharing what we learn from our customers is really significant,” she continued. “Some of our best new product ideas come from conversations with our customers. We often use their feedback to develop the new products they need.”
Questions and Answers
Katie is known at MicroCare for asking questions – lots of questions about everything. “I like to learn as much as possible,” Katie said wryly. “Understanding how we do things from start to finish helps me be proactive in developing processes and finding creative solutions when customer challenges arise,” she continued. “I’ve been told that I really get down into the weeds at times. I suppose that’s true,” she admitted. “But asking lots of questions, helps me know what weeds to pull in order to gain a clearer picture of the issue at hand”.
Past Experiences for Present Success
Katie studied Hotel and Restaurant Management at Briarwood College in Connecticut and worked in the hospitality industry for seventeen years. “That work was perfect training for my current role,” she reflected. “I learned how to multi-task, how to handle intense situations, how to be patient and how to best work with every personality type.”
On a Personal Note
A former kickboxing, spinning and aerobic step teacher, Katie likes to be moving all the time. She keeps her fidget spinner tool at the ready when participating in meetings or attending seminars. “It helps me stay focused and concentrate on the topic at hand,” she explained with a smile.
She lives in Connecticut with her two teenage daughters. Katie has a big, extended family living nearby and enjoys preparing meals for them. She also shares her home with a dog who thinks he’s human.
A life-long movie buff, Katie watches (and re-watches) movies from nearly every era and genre. She enjoys romantic comedies from the 1950’s, sports movies (the entire Rocky series), and action blockbusters like John Wick.
When not working, Katie likes softball, baseball and hiking with the dog. She also is a volunteer Sunday school teacher. Katie loves spending time with her 96-year-old grandmother. Granmau, as Katie calls her, always offers advice for Katie to follow. Some of her favorites include: “Gum chewing is a messy habit, like using slang. Knowing when to, or if not to is what’s important” and “If you choose to do something, do it like your life depends on it and you’ll always be successful”.
Good advice for us all.
