About Us – Employees
Ambassador For Excellence
After nearly a half-century of service, Gayle Marshall, account manager from Dothan, Ala., is nowhere near ready to quit.
Throughout the year, Waste Management celebrates employees who have reached milestone service anniversaries with the company.
Among nearly 50,000 employees, nobody does it better - or for a longer amount of time - than Gayle Marshall, account manager in Dothan, Ala. This 48-year employee began her career as the office manager for a small startup service company that quickly grew to a multi-company corporation.
“I was the only person who worked in the office in those early days,” Marshall says. “By 1977, we had 3,553 employees, and I was the corporate controller. We had no computers until 1981, and overnight service didn’t exist. We delivered payroll by Greyhound bus.”
After a series of acquisitions - a lucky seven in all - Marshall became a Waste Management employee in July 1998, carrying with her the work history she had accrued through those acquisitions. Along her journey, Marshall transitioned from controller to refuse manager and then moved into sales before assuming her current position of account manager.
Taking Care of Business - and Customers
Taking care of customers comes naturally to Marshall. Her good nature, professional outlook and Southern charm have translated into big sales for her market area. In 1993, she first moved into the refuse manager position and started collection service in five Alabama counties. The results were outstanding.
“In just a few months in 1993, I increased sales by 23 percent,” says Marshall, 66. “In 1994, we increased sales by 65 percent. We increased revenue because we started residential collection service for the first time in these Alabama counties.” Heath Sadler, district sales manager and Marshall’s supervisor for eight years, says that her enthusiasm and care for her customers and her unwavering integrity are the secrets to Marshall’s success.
“Gayle has high professional standards, and she not only exemplifies and employs an unwavering work ethic but she also promotes sound business judgment and advice,” Sadler says. “She promotes the Waste Management brand as well as the Waste Management family. Her dedication to the service industry does not go unrecognized by her peers and her community.”
A Commitment to the Community
Marshall’s community means a lot to her. After all, she has lived in Dothan since 1959 and has known all five mayors over the last half-century, along with most of the town’s residents, their children and now their grandchildren. “I know my customer base, and I understand their issues,” Marshall says. “Solving your customers’ problems saves the customers, keeps them a part of our business. I know these people well. They respect me, and I take great pride in that. I will always do whatever I can to solve their problems.”
As a matter of fact, she does. Marshall has cleaned out containers with sanitizing cleaners, and she’s picked up litter from around containers. She knows that a customer wants his or her business or home to be clean and presentable, and that can’t happen if waste lies outside the can. In her philosophy, Waste Management and the customer share the desire of a respected brand — if we are clean and professional, then the customer is, too.
“Gayle is truly an ambassador for Waste Management,” Sadler says. “Her integrity is well-known in our market area. And her attention to customer appreciation is legendary and incredible.”
Her customers certainly agree. Anne Rumble, director of leisure services for Dothan’s parks and recreation department, says that it seems as if Marshall is one of her own employees. “Gayle maintains our needs for containers at the parks and rec centers better than I do,” Rumble says. “Based on our event schedule, we have changing service needs, and she keeps it all straight and with the best attitude.”
For example, the city has a water theme park that usually gets service on Fridays and Mondays. But over Mother’s Day weekend, the park was rented out for a private Saturday-night party, meaning that the containers would have been overflowing by Sunday, which is always a busy day, Rumble says. “Gayle made sure that our containers were serviced throughout the weekend so that they were clean and ready for the big Mother’s Day crowd,” Rumble says.
A Jewel in the Crown
Marshall shares her philosophy with many other employees. Among the many people she has trained is fellow account manager Colleen Greene, and the two women have become close friends.
“Gayle treats her job like it’s her own business,” Greene says. “She will always do whatever it takes to do right by the customer and by her fellow employees. She considers every customer to be a special relationship, and that’s what separates Gayle Marshall from the pack. Nothing is more important to Gayle than having a happy customer. She is the big jewel in the Waste Management crown.”
At Waste Management, every employee can have an impact with a customer, and Marshall says that owning and taking responsibility for a customer’s experience, problem and recovery are the keys to establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with every customer you encounter.
“Your attitude will make or break you,” she says. “The task at hand may seem overwhelming, but it’s just a challenge. If you handle the situation promptly, professionally and as you’d like someone to work with you, then you’ll end up with a happy customer and a customer who will recommend us to others.”
No End in Sight
After nearly 50 years on the job, could retirement be far off for Gayle Marshall?
“Oh, I’ll work a couple more years,” she says. “I really enjoy working at Waste Management and in the capacity that I’m in. I enjoy working here, and I want all my customers to have a good opinion of Waste Management.”
As her supervisor, Sadler doesn’t like to think of the idea of Marshall retiring.
“When she leaves, I think I’ll leave, too,” he says.
