City Electric Supply (CES) recently announced it has opened the doors to its fourth branch in Orlando, FL. The new store, CES Orlando Central, is located near the heart of the city.
"I have a great feeling about this location," said Branch Manager Robert Burrows in the release. "At this branch, we can be here for a long time and make a lot of people a lot of money. Now that it's open, it has that chance."
Burrows is so committed to the branch's success that he has flyers on cars to make sure everyone knows about the new store in town. With an ideal location right in the middle of the I-4 corridor, there is a large number of electrical contractors nearby.
Burrows is no stranger to running branches. He previously ran one of the most profitable CES branches in the entire company. But when he received an opportunity to build the CES Orlando Central branch from the ground up, he immediately accepted the challenge.
“I’d been a branch manager at Orlando South for four years,” he said in the release. “Last year, we were top five in the company. The most exciting thing to me, and the reason why I wanted to start over, is this location. I see so much potential in this area.”
In his opinion, the branch will reach its highest potential with the right work culture. “We build our business around our customers’ business,” he added. “My team understands that their business is an extension of ours. We work for each other, and if they’re successful, we’re successful.”
According to Burrows, culture is what separates a good branch from a top-five branch. He is the type of team leader who runs counter days with dunk tanks and wacky wavy inflatable tube guys to make his branch look like a theme park just opened up. People might even spot him standing outside his branch spinning a sign around.
He adds that out of the gate, the Orlando Central branch will have the right people, helping form a good culture. Burrows chose a team of individuals with a great work ethic and mentality when it comes to helping customers, including Operations Manager Richard Maxim and Counter Sales Bryan Bale.
“What we do is not like anybody else. You can call us at 7 p.m., and we’ll answer the phone. We’ll stay late and open early. We’ll do whatever it takes to help our customers find a part, even if it’s just a $5 widget. It may not cost much to us, but that could mean all the difference between a guy finishing a job or not,” he said in the press release.
What’s currently important to the team is building their customer base. And that starts with what they know — solar. As if the location couldn’t have been more suitable for the team, the branch is also close to the biggest solar players in Florida.
“In Orlando, we’ve embraced solar,” he said. “We work hand-in-hand with the Renewable Energies division at CES a lot. Some of the biggest solar companies in Florida are within a mile from me.”