Witnessing a decade of change
22nd April 2022
Katie Dinsdale has been providing a warm, smiling welcome at Epsilon House reception every morning for the last 14 years. She’s answered tens of thousands of phone calls for tenants, virtual and office-based, sorted more mail than most post offices and dealt with a bewildering range of guests, queries and deliveries.
One thing has remained the same: that cheery welcome and her ability to help. “I got to know so many people, they became friends,” said Katie. But how did it all begin, back in 2008?
“I was working for a property company and started covering Epsilon House reception before the building was fully occupied. When the property company moved on, I stayed. I never had an interview for the job, I think they just thought I fitted in!”
Katie previously worked in customer service roles with Suffolk Doctors, Thomas Cook and the radio station SGR. Bringing that wealth of experience to Masterlord was a bonus for everyone.
“The range of businesses here is amazing and constantly changing, that’s what makes it interesting. Finding out what a company does and how I can help them. Of course, there’s weird and wonderful things like someone putting washing up liquid in a dishwasher and turning the first floor kitchen into a foam party…or a spacesuit worn by David Bowie being dropped off at reception…or Richard Hammond and the Top Gear team filming here, he was an absolute delight!”
High profile visits by Ed Sheeran and Prince Harry with the Countess of Wessex to Headway turned the place upside down but didn’t faze Katie. “She’s a sea of calm,” says Masterlord’’s Alison Smith. “A rock, with Abi Dawson taking over reception in the afternoon.”
With her son heading to university, Katie felt it was time for a change and is joining the comms team at NHS Sandy Hill Lane. Finding that work-life balance is never easy. Katie’s ability to make things work for tenants, particularly virtual ones where she fields all sorts of calls and messages, is what she enjoyed.
Despite breaking her ankle during lockdown walking on Nacton Shore, she was soon back at Epsilon House to support those companies who had to keep working through the pandemic.
Now she’s passing on morning reception duties to Julie Barnes, who we welcomed to our team this week. She’ll feel the warm welcome left behind by Katie, as she settles into that role.
