Meet our Dayna, member of our dispatch and customer service team (and occasional Desiderate model) 

I worked in a corporate background before joining Desiderate. 

The company had more than 8000 employees in Australia, so I felt like just one of the crowd. Corporate life has good employee benefits but there’s stress too. As a mum, I didn’t find they were good at offering flexibility and accommodating my family life. I didn’t have much work/life balance working in a busy office. 

Desiderate is much more welcoming

In the corporate world, the executives didn’t know my name or even recognise my face. But at Desiderate the owner Janine is here with us every day. She knows what it’s like to juggle work and kids so she’s very accommodating. I have someone I can approach and ask questions and get support if I need it. There is less bureaucracy - if I want to talk to Janine, I just chat to her. I don’t have to fill out a form and speak with HR beforehand, then wait two weeks for an appointment. 

We are a tight knit team 

We all know each other and we work closely together and we are all women (except Aaron) who loves to help people and solve problems. Oh and John who is Janine's Virtual Assistant, We’ll talk about the products and chat while we deal with orders and manage customer enquiries. I like that we have an impact on the business, if we have an idea for a better way to do things Janine is ready to listen. 

Janine takes us to award nights 

Janine loves to enter Desiderate in awards and we often win. It’s so exciting. I used to go to conferences in the property industry and they were so boring. But the awards nights are fun. As a working mum, I don't get a chance to dress up often and have a night out with the team. The events are always about engaging the audience and empowering people which I find inspiring. I love to see all the winners and business owners of all kinds enjoying success on their own terms. 

The photo shoot was fun

Janine asked me to model some of the products because she wants to show the products on women who represent her demographic. I’m more of a behind the scenes person, but I did enjoy having my hair and make up done and being a fashion model for the day. I’m not sure when Vogue will come calling for my cover shoot, but I’m here if they want me!  

I have a daughter in primary school and a son in kindergarten. 

So when I finish work, it’s off to be Uber for my kids, driving them to after school activities and doing household errands like all busy mums do. So work is my peaceful time, then it’s chaos after that.  

I saw a post on Facebook about a job with Desiderate 

I was looking for a job that could accommodate school hours. So when I saw the post on Facebook I knew I was very keen. I decided to email my application immediately inline with the application procedure requested. Janine only had the post online for 2-3 hours, so I gathered there were an overwhelming number of applications! I received a reply and I went for the interview within a few days. The interview was on a public holiday, but I didn’t care, apparently it was the last day that Janine was available to complete the final interviews before she was heading overseas on business and the human resources manager said that they were keen to fill the role ASAP and start training. It was the fastest decision making process for a job I’d ever had.  That’s what I love about Desiderate, we decide to do something and we take fast action. In the corporate world there was always a billion hoops to jump through before anything got done. 

I love being part of a successful local business 

Thirroul is a small town so I have the luxury of being a seven minute drive away from work. Desiderate does a lot to support the town by providing employment and donating to local charities and community groups. 

My typical day starts with checking orders

I will say hi to everyone, then get ready to start picking and packing. Once all the orders are picked and packed we drop them off at the post office. Mondays are busiest because we have the orders that have come through over the weekend. Then for the rest of the day I take care of customer service. Customers might have questions, or they might need to return or exchange. I take care of calling any customers who need help and do my best to give them what they’re looking for. In my old job I was calling customers with bad news and getting yelled at a lot, so to chat with customers about ring sizes, stones and exchanges is always much nicer. I do get the occasional angry customer but nothing compared to my old job so I can handle them quite well, (I like to think so). We are all about delighting customers, and because we have a broad range of products we are usually able to offer a different option if what they want is not in stock. 

My favourite day is when new stock arrives

It’s great to see the new products because Janine shows us the designs and samples and asks for our feedback so I feel I have helped bring it to life. So the arrival of the stock is exciting, we will prepare it for photography and our copywriter will prepare the product descriptions and then we list it on the website. Then an email will go to our VIP subscribers so they get first dibs. Sometimes when stock is limited that will be enough for it to sell out. If there’s still stock it will go on our social listings and we will keep promoting the new release. And a few days later I find myself preparing those orders for customers, which is really satisfying. 

I like to see the style of products that people are buying. 

We have a lot of new releases and loyal customers, so I’m always curious to see who will buy what. I recognise the names on the orders and I see their style. Someone’s into boho earrings, while someone else is into more delicate stuff. I am getting very good at predicting which customers will snap up new releases. One customer is working her way through the Mahtava collection in every colour, she just bought the ametrine set of earrings pendant and necklace. I think she only needs the pink tourmaline ring to complete the entire set. 

I love to pick the jewellery and get it ready

It’s like wrapping presents every day. I like to imagine the customer getting the order and the happiness they’ll feel when they see the lovely jewellery inside. Crystals definitely have a calming energy and with an office full of gemstones there’s a lovely atmosphere at work. Sometimes we prepare social media content of our pick and pack process, take a video of ourselves packing the order, polishing the gemstones and putting it all together. That's fun to put together. 

Janine has a good instinct

She just knows what will sell. She’s very observational about what our customers like. And she tends to ignore trends, and just focus on the classics. So many customers love the chunky silver bangles. One was saying recently she’s been looking for four years for something ultra chunky. 

It’s hard to choose my own favourites

I love the herkimer diamonds because they are rough and raw and a bit different and I love every piece made with them.