For some years Portable Offices has been enjoying not only better sales but a considerably improved customer satisfaction response. On many occasions members of the team who have performed ?above and beyond the call of duty? are highlighted by these customers and the name of John Lutkevitch is often up there with the best of them.
John unashamedly admits to being a portable buildings ?anorak? – forget trains and planes, it is modular buildings, cabins and portable offices that engage his attention.
He has been in the industry for about 40 years and has known, managing director, Adrian Witty for 30 of those years, so this dedication to the industry is most definitely enduring.
John works across the entire national network of Portable Offices? installations. He tends to oversee the more complex, large contracts but wherever there is a challenging situation he will appear usually with a solution.
In his words:
?In effect, I ensure the smooth running of complex or major contracts and interface between the customer, trades and our managers. I am the ?glue? that binds the client, the product and us.
?My overall aim is to bring the contract in safely, on budget and on time. Thankfully, I have a great team working with me which means we are increasingly achieving this goal.
?I am lucky because I have gained a lot of knowledge about portable buildings and how they are constructed and this serves us well when it comes to explaining the building?s integrity to clients and where there is a complex situation to resolve.?
His job is not glamorous, when I met up with him he was out in a downpour of rain, up to his boots in mud, working against the clock with his team of similarly dedicated and cheerful team members. But John admits that he ?loves his job? with a passion and that there aren?t any ?bad contracts? just some that are more fulfilling than others.
One job that stands out as being most satisfying to him was the Ahoy Centre. He said: ?The Ahoy Centre was really enjoyable. It was challenging from a build point of view and, because it was a long contract, we were able to establish relationships with the client team and to see first-hand how our work would benefit the mentally and physically challenged children that visit the centre.?
The long hours away from home are shrugged off by John who says it has now become ?a way of life? to him. He travels the breadth of the UK and has become a self-confessed expert on purple accommodation, where everything is premier but the price! ?As a result, he only gets home to his wife and six children and 10 grand children in idyllic Cornwall at the weekend where he gets little chance to put his feet up.
When at home, which is located close to Perranporth Beach, his relaxation comes from taking a walk on the beach with his wife and their dogs and indulging in a cup of coffee at a beachside cafe.
But, with a further storey to add to the Ahoy Centre coming up shortly, John will soon be renewing old acquaintances at one of Portable Offices? most prestigious installations.