Employee Spotlight! Kalee Laborde

Happy Fall, y'all! Temperatures are dropping (we think) and we've almost made it to a new month. That means it's time for September's Employee Spotlight! This month we're highlighting Kalee Laborde, a longtime Abt employee and an expert in the field of luxury home design projects. This specialist knows everything about luxury brands, from the year's newest appliances to the specialty products that will complete your home, like luxe wine refrigerators and specialty ranges. If you're designing a new kitchen with help from our Custom Kitchens department, there's a decent chance that Kalee has brought what you're looking for into the store.

Kalee Laborde has been working at Abt for nearly eight years, but has held many roles in that time. And when she first knew Abt, she wasn't even an employee;she was a vendor. "I was working for a vendor and Abt was my customer. I loved the idea of a family-owned business so I decided to give it a try." She's among many who have taken a job here once they discover a love for a business that's unlike others.

At Abt, our Employee Spotlight began her career in the Builder's Division. Our Builder's Division works to tackle larger projects, such as outfitting entire apartment buildings with appliances. Here, it's where she began by managing services for projects. From there, she moved into a customer-facing position as a sales assistant in the Builder's Division. Then she took a project management role. Now, she is an assistant buyer for Luxury Brands in Custom Kitchens.

Our Custom Kitchens department helps customers and clients through the process of redesigning their kitchens.

As Kalee says, "Custom Kitchens is about creating a luxury experience from start to finish. We pride ourselves on creating that for our customers. It's about knowledge of the brands, the seamless delivery and installation and providing that WOW factor at the end of every project, whether it's small or big."

In her role in our Custom Kitchens department, Kalee studies the trends of different products and brands, analyzing what customers are more likely to love in their homes this season and the next. That's just one part of it: from moving different products around to studying run rates, the end goal is to make sure that customers love their new custom kitchen. Our Employee Spotlight notes that "it is a lot of back and forth and moving pieces to ensure that the customer is happy!"

Kalee Laborde mentions that it hasn't been all work and no play in her eight years here at Abt. When asked what she loved about her job, she responded that she loved "being able to laugh throughout the day, building relationships and seeing projects come to life!" Our Employee Spotlight emphasized the value of friendships she's made during her time here as well.

When she's not at Abt, Kalee loves spending time with her sisters and trying new restaurants. One of her most rewarding hobbies has been traveling. Her favorite travel destination? It's a tie between Curaçao and Cuba, where she enjoyed traveling back to her roots. She's always ready to try traveling somewhere new, though! That adventurous spirit and willingness to try new things are just a few reasons why we're glad to celebrate Kalee Laborde as this month's Employee Spotlight.