With Joanne Heptinstall
You know what makes a company tick? – it’s the people who show up every day and get things done. Meet Joanne Heptinstall from our Dewsbury depot, one of the many faces that make Forkway what it is.
When did your career at Forkway start?
My career at Forkway started way way way way back in July 1994, gosh I’m sooooooo old!
Tell about your journey at Forkway, what role did you start doing and what do you do now?
I was employed at Forkway as a receptionist, Forkway was in Morley in those days. As the business was growing, I was asked to help with quite a bit of the service department admin, and I really liked the service vibe, talking to customers and engineers, daily planning, just the buzz of it all, really; it was quite non-stop and every day brought a different challenge compared with reception duties. Eventually, I made a permanent move into the service department as a service administrator. Since then, I have progressed into the service department supervisor and, more recently, the national service team manager working with our other depots.
There must have been many staff changes over the years. Is there anyone that you particularly miss working with?
Yes, there are lots of people that I miss working with. Richard Greaves would probably be the one that I miss the most. However, the whole team at Forkway is brilliant to work with. There are some special people working here, and those people are part of the reason that I have worked here for so long.
If you could trade places with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why?
I don’t think there is anyone in a role within Forkway that I would like to trade places with to be honest, especially sales. I don’t envy the salespeople, it must be pretty tough out there selling trucks against lots of competition.
Night out on the town or a night on the sofa watching TV?
Night out on the town if I had to make the choice, but I do also like a cosy night in especially in the winter months, listening to music as opposed to tv. I couldn’t live without music.
What skill or hobby have you always wanted to learn but haven’t tried yet?
I have been thinking about it a lot lately, but I don’t know if it will come off. Old dog, new tricks, and all that, but I would really like to learn another language, probably Spanish, as I have a bit of a head start on it from studying it at school.
If you could have a lifetime supply of one snack, what would you choose?
I am an absolute sucker for snacks, there is so many that I love, this is such a hard question for me to narrow it down for a lifetime supply but I will have to go with jaffa cakes. They are so satisfying; they’re a cake, not a biscuit, and I will easily demolish a whole box once opened.
What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen in person?
I would have to say Mexico. It definitely has the best ocean and beach views I have ever seen in person. The sand is like talcum powder, and the sea is so clear and blue—it’s just paradise. It is my favourite place so far, but I am not that well-travelled, so I may change my mind after a few more holidays to different places.