At Wallside Windows, we value our employees for their hard work and dedication to our company and our customers. One such employee is Jim Rais, who came to work at Wallside 36 years ago. He has held a few positions - earning a reputation as Wallside’s all-around go-to guy and problem solver.
Jim came to Wallside after working at Ford Motor Company. When car sales hit their lowest point in decades in the early 1980s, he found himself looking for a new job. Jim’s neighbor worked at Wallside and recommended that he apply for a job.
“I started just building windows, you know, something simple,” said Jim. “And then one day there was a guy missing from the glass room, so they wanted to know if I could read a tape measure, which I could, so I ran the glass room for many years.”
Later, Jim took a position as a driver, though his colleagues at Wallside have come to rely on him for much more.
Wallside Windows employees consider Jim Rais (left) a go-to guy on the job. Even Adam Blanck (right), chief of staff at Wallside Windows, can vouch for his reliability.
For Jim, a typical workday starts at the Wallside Windows factory in Taylor, Mich., where he helps an army of installers unload trucks from the previous workday and reload them with tools, newly-built windows and other supplies. Wallside provides installers with all of the high-quality materials needed to get the job done. After the installers head out to their job sites, Jim is on-call should any needs arise.
“If we have any calls that come in, then they right go to my dispatcher, and if there’s any problem on the job, they’ll just call me,” he said. If an installers needs something on site, if anything requires replacement – if a window breaks or was provided in the wrong size – he is there to make it right.
Then, Jim picks up supplies for the next day. “I go to Home Depot and different lumber yards and look for a certain kind of cedar or trim parts, but I know where all the places are. I just know where to go for that certain thing,” he said.
Asked how he developed his reputation as a problem solver, Jim said he isn’t quite sure, but he suspects it happened by simply word-of-mouth.
“Somebody needed something for the next day, and I had it ready for him,” said Jim. “And then one person hears from another that it saved him about 2 hours worth of shopping time in the morning. So it’s just word of mouth. (They say) ‘Jim can get it for you, Jim knows where it’s at,’ and that’s it.”
Jim likes his job and said “every day is a different adventure.” On any given day, he might be called to assist an installation crew from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. to Bowling Green, Ohio. When we spoke to him, he was headed to Garden City, Mich. to deliver a 40-foot ladder to an installer. Tomorrow, he might be called upon to deliver a specialty part in Lake Orion. He said he enjoys the view from his truck and finds the drive relaxing.
Maybe that’s why when he’s not on the job, he can’t seem to sit still. At home, Jim said, he spends most of his time taking care of things around the house or his yard. His neighbors often stop to comment on his well-maintained lawn.
“I like taking care of stuff, keeping things organized,” he said.
From all of us at Wallside, thank you, Jim Rais, for your years of dedicated service!
Wallside Windows is proud to serve customers in Michigan and Northern Ohio. Click here to schedule your free estimate! Have a question or concern about your Wallside Windows? Click here to make a service request, or simply call 1-800-521-7800.
