Our Staff
Customer Service
In Customer Service for Dummies Karen Leland and Keith Bailey provide poignant examples of customer service. Here is an excerpt from the book: “Customer service has a feeling. Think of a company where you enjoy doing business. Why do you like being their customer? Are they friendly, courteous, knowledgeable? Imagine for a moment that you are there right now. How do you feel? OK, now we are going to transport you instantly to a new location. You are standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting to renew your drivers license. How do you feel now? If you don’t feel any different, you may need psychiatric help.”
Customer Service is an art instead of a science. We all have individual needs and wants. Here at H&C we strive not only to meet each customer’s expectations, but to exceed them, by providing the best service possible... Some of our goals are: friendliness – greeting each customer as soon as possible whenever they come through our doors; courtesy – always treating each customer individually being grateful that they are our customers; knowledgeable – we strive to know our products and offer suggestions whenever it is appropriate; and remembering that our customers are the most important thing to us.
It is our hope that our customers experience is one like the first example in the story above. Come in and let us know how we are doing – because we do care! We have the best customers in the world!
Barbara Gauderer
Barbara has joined our staff to help you to find the things you want. She is a resident of Salem, the wife of a physician and mother of three grown children. Barbara became our customer and friend a few years back when she became a Viking owner. She has been in class with a number of you and is becoming a really good quilter after not having sewn for a while. Barbara's previous work experience was in nursing. We are really happy to have Barbara on the staff and hope you get a chance to meet her soon.
Cissie Goodstein
They say that sewing urges usually skip a generation which is true in my case since my Mother can hardly sew on a button; but my Grandmother was very skilled in mending, doll clothes and actually dyed thrift store wool to hook incredible rugs. And yes, I have quilts made by great grandmothers from both sides of my family, so it's definitely in my genes. In high school my parents bought me my first sewing machine, a Kenmore, and I made mini skirts, tank tops and headbands. It wasn't until my third child was on the bottle that I walked into the first H&C and signed up for a class. I can't remember the name of the class; but I was hooked. I loved being in that shop, sharing stories, being inspired to try new techniques and it wasn't long before I started working at the second H&C. We had a great family there and with Sara B., Sarah P. , Priscilla, Laura and Jackie's help I became a fairly accomplished quilter and well established my affair with fabric. Since I have been back at the new H&C I have expanded my repertoire to include all sorts of different mediums like heirloom and garments. I have also graduated from the #1 to a "previously owned"
Designer I and I have now become a thread junkie. I think I am as hooked on the thrill of finding the next great tool or fabric or quilt pattern as I am about sewing it together. That may be why my UFO's have grown as well as my stash!
Joan Grove
I have been in love with sewing almost anything since my first Home Economics class in 7th grade. Through the years, my hands have always been busy, at the sewing machine, cross-stitching or knitting.
Quilting small projects became a passion after my daughter Sydney was born and I started work with Heirlooms & Comforts in 1999. Since then, life has been "all about fabric"!
Cheryl Keith
Cheryl's biography is coming soon.
At Viking Sew 'n Quilt
Holly Hart Anderson
Holly's biography is coming soon.
Sue Bready
I became interested in garment sewing in my young teens. I realized how much farther my clothing dollar would go if I made my clothes rather than buying from a store ready-made. I am primarily self-taught (with the help of a few relatives) and started my sewing adventures on my grandmother's treadle sewing machine. I continued in the garment sewing arena (with an occasional venture into the quilts and crafting areas) until moving to Greenville, SC from Naples, FL in 1996. Soon after my arrival in Greenville I contacted the Husqvarna–Viking Web site for information on the Designer 1. They passed my name along to Bobby at VSQ and we began a short e-mail exchange that resulted in me buying a "D1" (my 4th Viking sewing machine). I was attracted by both the embroidery features and the customization possibilities. Soon after taking Bobby's intro courses in embroidery software, I began helping out with software lessons and have been doing so ever since. I continue to enjoy all areas of sewing and have recently returned some of my allotted sewing time (I hold a full-time position with a local Greenville bank as well) to garment sewing. I'm teaching the Brief Escapes jacket class this spring along with my normal array of software classes and I am now the very proud owner of a Designer SE.
Cathy Dyer
I have been quilting for approximately 10-12 years and working for Bobby & Sara for the last 3 years at VSQ. My background in sewing stems from early days doing any type of needlework possible from hand embroidery to needlepoint and cross stitch to garment sewing to now quilting. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and an analytical mind that helps me break down quilts and quilt blocks in to manageable units.
Jeffie McManus
I have been sewing since I was 6 years old. My grandmother tried to teach me how to piece quilts on her treadle machine when I stayed with her before I started school. I really learned in earnest when I was 10 years old. I sewed for my mother and myself for several years. My mother could sew some, but why bother when she had me to make her clothes. I went on to college and majored in Home Economics Education. I taught school about 3 years before I started a family and became a stay-at-home mom. During this time I made most of my children’s clothes when they were small. Then my son outgrew my sewing. My daughter always wanted me to sew for her because no one had clothes like hers. I made prom dresses for her, wedding dresses for my daughter and daughter-in-law, bridal attendant dresses for a couple of weddings, and home dec for several years for myself and as a business. After working at Hancock Fabrics for 5 years I came to work for Sara and begin to learn to piece quilts and thoroughly enjoy trying and learning new techniques from all the quilters I come in contact with every day at VSQ. I also enjoy embroidery on my DI and being creative any way I can to combine quilting and embroidery.
Dianna Satterfield
I am the newest employee at VSQ --started the end of Nov.
I can't remember when sewing was not a part of my world. Over 40 years ago, I became interested in sewing from my mother and grandmother. My grandmother was an avid quilter. I can remember hand quilting with her when the quilt hung from the ceiling in her living room and I was barely big enough to reach the quilt. I did not begin piecing my own quilt tops until 4 years ago. My mother is an excellent seamstress. She was also an instructor. I became her personal student. Mother's expertise was tailoring, so we made men's and ladies' suits among all our clothes!
