As I write this it’s been almost exactly a month since 26-year Santel Customer Service Veteran Kim Hiemstra left the office for the last time as a Santel Employee.
As you read this in the June Newsletter and on the website, it’ll be almost 2 months.
My time working with Kim was very brief. In fact, even as a 11+ Year member/owner of the Cooperative. I can’t say that I spoke to her more than a few times. Although she might have left me a late payment voice mail or two in my early 20’s.
As a fellow employee we spent a month together. Our office spaces just in earshot of each other afforded me the opportunity to marvel at Kim’s ability to handle every situation thrown at her. Confused customers with billing questions, angry customers, new customers, and the like. Kim knew exactly who she needed to be and what that customer needed. She also was keen on almost anything or anyone a new hire might be looking for.
Was Kim bitten by a radioactive superhero customer service spider, or was she just that good? Well, the latter is more likely, but as the days go by here without her, I’m thinking maybe there’s some truth to that first one. Although the Customer Service team is still very capable & talented, it’s clear that in 26 years, Kim knew how to take care of things other people had forgotten existed. More than once, I’ve heard from the department divider walls, “Oh shoot, I’ll have to do that, Kim always took care of that”
So how did Hiemstra get so good at her Job? Easy! 26 years of practice! – Or maybe not so easy?
They say to get to Carnegie Hall you have to practice. They also say practice makes perfect. I’m not sure who “They” is but they’re wrong. My friend and Lakota – Kul Wicasa Oyate mentor, Kansas Middletent says if you practice being perfect, you’ve already set yourself up for failure. Practice is a commitment. A commitment to improve upon yourself, every single day.
No one spends 46 years in customer service, 26 of them with the same company, without practice and patience. I know that’s true for Kim because she allowed me to interview her between calls one afternoon. The first thing I noticed was her voice. If you’ve spoken to her, you know that it’s a warm welcome tone. Very professional, but soothing. I imagine that voice easily taking the troubles off the shoulders of anyone she was helping. The same voice, placed in a stressful or even from time-to-time hostile situation, remained calm, and professional, but stern and resolute.
I had asked her if she ever thought about doing anything else when she was younger? She replied that she had thought about being a Hairdresser. However, she had a knack, and a certain level of satisfaction from counting money.
So, after high school in Sioux Falls, it was a bank job for her! First in Sioux Falls, and then In Sioux City. Marriage brought her to Woonsocket. 1983, after a few years at home she took a teller position at the Sanborn County Bank. A friend mentioned an opening at Santel in 1999… and the rest as they say is history!
In 2025, 26 years with the same employer is an almost unheard-of accomplishment. Yet, here at Santel, it’s something we have celebrated many times, in fact, Mitchell Exchange Combo Tech Joe Geppert just celebrated his 25 Year anniversary, hired almost exactly a year after Kim!
My view is an outsider looking in. I believe Santel is a company that not only cares about its customers, but also its employees. Santel is invested in us as much as we are them. For example, when an employee retires, a $500 donation is made in that employee’s name to a local non-profit of their choosing. Kim’s love of animals guided her to split that donation, half going to Mitchell Animal Rescue, and the other half to Beadle County Humane Society.
A company’s understanding of the dichotomy of the Midwest family model, and the need to adapt and change is Paramount. I had interviewed for a position here, almost a decade ago, when I was made an offer to join the team a few months ago, one of the biggest draws to say yes, was the picture of the team, and how in all the time that had passed, not many of the faces had changed.
Speaking of change, in 26 years, you can imagine, Kim saw a fair share of changes in the telecommunications Industry. The biggest of course being the switch from Dial Up, to DSL, to now High-Speed Fiber. Her second one was observational. In the early days of working for Santel, Kim frequently answered questions about long distance charges. Nowadays, those calls are very infrequent but do occasionally find their way to the Customer Service Department. Hiemstra attributes working with a diverse number of generations to her ability to custom tailer her customer service experience to that individual customer and their needs. -” It’s a game of collection information, and processing it in real time, to better understand what this customer needs from me”
26 years, and what’s next?
Her plain and short answer? – Whatever I want to!
I called while writing this story, to confirm a few things we talked about before she left, I asked her if she has in fact been doing “Whatever she wants”
“Yes and no” she stated that she hadn’t expected to run as much as she has been. Every day is a new opportunity to quickly run here or there. Her plans remain the same. Spend as much time as possible with her children and grandchildren and get a few of those things done around home she’s been putting off forever. Her son lives here in Woonsocket, and her daughter lives in Brandon, SD, so running will continue to be the theme!
I tried to offer her a job, but she giggled, and said,” no, I don’t think so”
After I got what I called for, she was sure to follow up with a heartfelt, “So, how are you doing there?”
It was a reminder of her answer to “What advice do you have for those who might step into your roll?” She shared a few methods she uses to find her balance while working difficult situations, the main point behind all of them is to “just breathe”…
Kim, I know we already miss you around here, you are a perfect example of what makes Santel a great place to do business, and a great place to work.
and again…. seriously come on back any time!
By: W.M. Frank
Recent Comments