Packed With Love – Meet Sam
Packed With Love – Meet Sam
Those of you who regularly shop online with us may be familiar with our signature Flower & White postcard, signed by Sam and carefully tucked inside your order. But have you ever wondered who the mysterious Sam, who meticulously packs your order each time is? We snuck inside the bakery to find out more!
Sam’s day starts early – while many of us are still sound asleep! At 6am she fires up the computer and loads all the new orders that were placed since the previous day. She works her way through all of our online platforms, from QVC to Amazon and everything in between! From just a glance at your order, Sam instantly knows which sized post box (we have 6!) will fit it. A methodical approach is second nature to her, working off orders line by line so that nothing is missed.
The passion and attention to detail Sam puts into her role is one of the things we love most about her. From ensuring the address label is placed precisely across the box opening (which acts as an extra tamper seal!), to always making sure our signature postcard is placed logo up – it’s those little things that matter most. You can tell just from the way she talks about her job that she truly cares. “I’m an inpatient shopper, once I’ve placed my own orders, I want them immediately! Which is why I do my best to get our customers’ orders out as soon as possible.” Sam’s personal aim is to pack every order the way she would like to receive it “being a small, family business, it’s all about those personal touches”.
As with all of us working at Flower & White, no two days are the same for Sam, which is one of the things she loves most about working here. “I’m trained in all areas of the bakery, (including a role in the office!) which means if I finish boxing up online orders early, I can move over to the packing line and help out there.” Sam originally started life at Flower & White working in the production side of the bakery, so she truly knows every step of our meringue from start to finish.
Making changes to be more eco-friendly is another cause close to Sam’s heart. Our recent decision this year to go paperless with our customer orders has had a huge impact “we have saved at least 100 sheets per day since going digital”. This follows on from our change to paper padding from plastic infills to fit snugly around our products, keeping them safe during transit.
With the festive season right around the corner, Sam is excited to get stuck into wrapping Christmas orders and putting together our new festive bundles. The busy period does not phase her. “My personal record is 320 orders packed in one day!!”.
When Sam is not at work, she loves nothing more than spending time with her two adorable dachshunds, Miata (named after her and partner Lee’s beloved MX5!) and Datsun (named after the car they would love to own!). At weekends you’ll often find them at motor vehicle shows – dogs and picnic in tow when the sun is shining (“our sausage dogs hate the rain!”). Sam’s other passion in life is film, particularly the Marvel franchise and war films based on true stories, with 1917, Black Hawk Down and Midway being firm favourites.
When asked what was something not many people know about Sam, she revealed she loves fishing, having been introduced to the hobby by her uncle, who used to organise fishing competitions in aid of Cancer Research. A treasured memory was when they hired a log cabin in Derbyshire for a fishing trip “You have no choice but to sit and relax – the stress just melts away”. Sam proudly told us that her own fishing kit is pink which we wholeheartedly approve of!
A big thank you to Sam for taking time out of her busy day to talk to us and for the passion and care she puts into her role. Now when you open your delicious box of Flower & White meringue, you’ll know exactly who packed your order with love!