Not only do we have all of the products that you need to fill your kitchen, but we even carry the appliances that play an even bigger role in your kitchen. Today, we’re going to meet one of the Appliance Salesman: Tim Belarde.
If you were to ask Tim what his job description was here at the Orson H. Gygi Company, he would tell you that he’s an Appliance Diva! This probably stems from his extensive cooking background.
Tim owned his first restaurant & deli when he was just 23 years old. After that, he became the Executive Chef for a Cajun Restaurant in Northern California, where he was ranked in the top 500 three years in a row by AAA.
He later moved on to start his own family restaurant, where he was spotted by Sacramento’s Channel 13 News Station, and became the Head Chef for them and later the Demo Chef and Judge for the California State Fair.
All in all, Tim was a chef for 25 years and owned restaurants for 10. He made a living feeding a variety of people. Some of which include: The Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills & Nash, Eddie Rabbit, Bonnie Ray, Elvin Bishop and a group of Jesuit Priests.
Tim is now out of the restaurant business and into retail. When I asked Tim what he loved about his present job, he told me it’s still all about food and appliances.
“It’s fun to show customers what the appliances can do and how they can do new things with them. My favorite products that we sell here are the appliances. I especially love Miele and Viking.”
I chatted with Terry, one of Tim’s clients who was especially pleased with Tim’s knowledge. He said this:
“The first day we met Tim we were so impressed that we sought out a store manager (Frank) to give an open compliment on Tim’s behalf.
…My wife and I spent some time with Tim and he was trying to explain how to do different recipes on the grill. He took the time to answer all of our questions even though I had told him that we were simply looking and not going to purchase anything that day. We asked him about several different topics and he not only took the time to explain, but he went in-depth so that even we could understand. When we asked about a possible insert to replace a ice maker in an island, he took the time to explore what would fit and sent us home with lots of literature and pricing information which we studied and after several weeks we called him and ordered a set of stainless steel drawers to fit the void in our island. He was very helpful throughout the entire process and we appreciated it very much.
I deal with the public in my career and realize the value of a caring and giving employee and I would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for being able to have someone of Tim’s caliber handling our shopping experience. I only wish there were more people like him out there.”
Tim still enjoys cooking in his free time, especially Mexican food. And when he’s not selling appliances at Gygi’s, he enjoys golfing, cruising around on his motorcycle and spending time with his family.
His favorite kitchen tool at home is his hand blender.
“You can do so much with it, ” he says.
And it’s true. The possibilities are endless.
Father’s Day Picks From All of the Dads at Gygi’s
July 25, 2012 at 5:35 pm[…] far, we’ve only introduced Frank and Tim to you online. But we have a whole gang of men who work at Gygi’s… and they are all […]