A day in the life of anin-house designer

Helen McDonald is an in-house bathroom designer for Beggs and Partners and is located at the firm’s new branch in Lisburn at the popular House of Vic Ryn in Lissue Industrial Estate.
Helen McDonaldHelen McDonald
Helen McDonald

She lives in Aghalee with her husband Richard and has worked in the bathroom industry for over 20 years.

Established in 1960, Beggs and Partners have over 50 years experience in the Northern Irish Market.

Originally catering purely for the plumber and tradesman, today Beggs and Partners have broadened their business to supply bathrooms, plumbing and heating (including Renewables) to retail customers, builders, developers and designers.

They also have an increasingly busy Contract and Commercial division supplying goods throughout the UK, with a large portion of their work in London.

I leave for work for 8.30am and start the day by looking through my emails to see if there is anything which needs an urgent response. Our trade counter is open from 8am and the showroom is open to the public from 9am.

I spend most of my day speaking with customers interested in a new bathroom, either as a remodel for an existing house or as a first bathroom for a new property.

We offer a service known as ‘Plan Your Bathroom’, and the customer can simply download the graph paper from our website, print off, and sketch out their existing bathroom, or their ideal new bathroom.

When I am not speaking to clients directly, I will be ordering stock and researching new ideas.

I often recommend plumbers to clients and then liaise with them to get the best outcome for the customer.

Being located at House of Vic Ryn is lovely, and when I get a quiet moment I can go into the Vic Ryn Cafe for lunch or an Americano, having so many different suppliers based under one roof is a real asset as the complex is always bustling.

I liaise regularly with our in house design team who are based throughout our five other branches, and we like to keep ahead on product features and current trends.

Product knowledge is very important to Beggs and Partners and they provide regular training to ensure all sales staff understand the features and benefits’ of each product range.

There is a lot to be said for working for a family business, as we receive fantastic support and work very well as a team.

Knowing that people are delighted with our service and products is very satisfying.

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