Singleton Co. secretary finds that she wears many hats on the job

Some business executives admit that without their secretaries, their business would grind to a halt. That’s how John Largay feels about his secretary, Barbara Carey.

Carey has worked for the J.F. Singleton Co. for four years, starting as the agency secretary. She did typing for all the agents, including listings and submissions to the multiple listing services. Greeting clients, answering the 14 incoming phone lines, and scheduling showings rounded out her responsibilities in that position.

In 1990, when Largay’s personal secretary became a broker herself, Carey stepped easily into the vacant position. She is still responsible, along with the agency secretary Cindy Elshaw, for keeping up with the constant phone calls.

Carey writes all the agency advertising. She is responsible for submitting weekly ads to the Property Shop, a free publication that is distributed by the multiple listing service to area laundromats, hotels, convenience stores, and other businesses in the Greater Bangor area.

An especially important facet of her role is coordinating both incoming and outgoing referrals for the agency’s relocation service. Carey takes the information about the prospective client’s needs over the phone and forwards it along to Largay, who assigns the cases to the agents.

But the process doesn’t end there; ongoing communication both by computer and by telephone help to ensure the customer’s satisfaction. Carey is responsible for keeping track of and following up on the cases. She must be ever vigilant, being prepared to respond to inquiries from the relocation companies in terms of the number of showings that have been made and other marketing information.

Carey keeps her referral log up to date at all times, obtaining status reports from the agents at least twice a week. “It’s easier to be ready when they call,” she explained. “If I’m ready when they call and have updated information, they will be confident that we know what’s going on at this end. We want them to feel that (they’re) more than just a file number.”

Carey performs all of Largay’s typing and reminds him of his appointments. “He’s a very busy man. He’s on lots of boards and goes to lots of meetings,” she said.

“We’re so busy in the spring and summer with a lull of a couple of weeks around the Fourth of July. During the busy times, we’re on fast forward,” Carey said.

Another of her other responsibilities is coordinating the keys to the listed properties. She said, “It’s real easy until you have more than one person who needs the same key simultaneously; that takes a lot of coordination.

“My tasks are varied; I wear many hats. I really like what I do; it’s never the same day after day. I just never know what will happen, and I like that. John is really wonderful to work for,” Carey said.

As the mother of a 6-year-old child, Carey appreciates her job’s flexibility when she needs to take time off to care for her child. “It makes my job easier,” she said.