Tag Archives: Kansas City

Monday Meet And Greet: Taylor J

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Taylor! Taylor helps make JustBats.com look great and helps make sure it’s easy to use. Here is what makes Taylor tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
2 weeks!
2. What is your favorite sport and team?
I really enjoy baseball, and to me, going to a Royals game is the perfect Friday night.
3. What’s your favorite thing so far about working at JustBats.com?
The overall culture and community. I think it’s really unique, I feel lucky to be apart of such a great place!
4. What kind of stuff do you like to do outside of work?
I’m a drummer, so outside of work I love to play my drums and create music. I also, oddly enough, love to research my area of work too. At home I’m usually working on a web or graphic design project that is similar to what I do here at JustBats.com. I watch way too much King of the Hill, too.
5. Tell us a little bit about what you do here at JustBats.com as UX Designer?
Among other things, I mainly help develop and maintain the user interface of the JustBats.com website.
6. Tell us what you did before you started at JustBats.com?
I was a student! In August I graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a degree in Interactive Digital Media: Computer Science. This is my first job out of college!
7. Any words of advice for people going in to your line of work?
Learn how to learn. And do it quickly. The web development world is always ever-changing, keeping up is a challenging but fun task though!
9. What gets you laughing the hardest?
Parodies or really witty stand up comedy. SNL gets me rolling in laughter every time.
10. What are you looking forward to the most about working at JustBats.com?
The ability to always continue to learn, and in such a engaging environment. The office environment is one of continual learning and sharpening of skills. I also get to do what I really love doing, so that’s also ultra exciting!

Monday Meet And Greet: Jim L

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Jim! Jim makes sure we have the newest and hottest products to sell to all of our awesome customers! Here is what makes Jim tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
A little over 6 years.
2. What is your favorite sport and team?
The Royals.  Although they have had a few down years (like since I was a kid ) they are still my team.
3. What’s your favorite thing about working at JustBats.com?
My favorite thing about working here:  They let me spend money.  They feed me.   And I get to be around bats and gloves all day.  How good can it get!
4. What kind of stuff do you like to do outside of work?
I play a bit of softball on occasion and we travel to scuba dive some.  As boring as it  sounds, I like to read.
5. Tell us a little bit about what you do here at JustBats.com in the Product Management Department?
I have a group of companies that I keep track of and buy product so we can be the number one provider of bats and gloves for the US market.  What I really like to do is pursue the “deal”.
6. How do you stay on top of what products are new and hot items?
You can be sure the vendors will let you know what is the newest and greatest thing on  the market, and you can bet it is one of their products.  A lot of it is statistical analysis and looking for trends.  Rule changes have been a big driver of what has been “hot” in the last couple of years.  We have a good group in our Marketing department to help project trends for us also.
7. Any words of advice for people going in to your line of work?
In real estate the mantra is Location, Location, Location.  For me it is Organization, Organization, Organization.
8. What’s your favorite memory of working at JustBats.com?
Winning Corporate Challenge and  having the All-Star Game in Kansas City in one summer is hard to beat, although wiffle ball games in the D/C before the shelving went in was pretty cool also.

Monday Meet And Greet: Lawrence C

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Lawrence! Lawrence designs a lot of the content you see on JustBats.com! Here is what makes Lawrence tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
Two years this coming October.

2. What are some of your responsibilities as a Web Developer at JustBats.com? Develop user-friendly and user-first experience to all of our sites while empathizing with the user. Develop pixel-perfect, yet flexible designs, maintain and update all UI of all our sites, develop all user-experience interaction on all sites from desktop all the way down to mobile and in-house systems, and be a css ninja.

3.What are your favorite aspects of working with the Web Development team?
Very fun environment, it’s a very rich learning environment which makes developing and honing your skills that much easier, and there is never a dull moment.

4.Where do you look for inspiration?
From all aspects of life, architecture, nature, other sites, brainstorming with my co-workers, and the shower (ideas always come to me there, not sure why).

5.What would you say to someone coming into your line of work?
Never rest on what you know now, you should always try to grow as a designer. Seek out more knowledge, the more you know about the up-coming technologies, strategies, etc., the better you will be and the easier your projects will be developed, never stop learning, try to always empathize with your end user, always try to add a little fun to all of your design, and always try to learn something new every day and always take something away from each project that you can carry on to other developments/projects.

6.Whats your favorite memory so far from JustBats.com?
Probably the first couple months I started here. Mainly when we just started developing the new JustBallGloves.com site, and really was some of the best learning experiences I had. It really showed me and helped me develop the skill of learning how to learn. I was a very amateur UX designer and it helped me build some of the core skills that I still use now and will always use. I owe a lot to those experiences, if I didn’t have those type of learning experiences early on in my career here, I would not be the UX designer I am now.

7.What are some challenges you face being a Web Developer
Developing web apps that can reach all browsers in a consistent look and feel across all of them, keeping up with all web standards, new techniques and technologies. It’s constantly evolving and thats what keeps me up at night learning and coding in my free time. My wife doesn’t appreciate it though since most nights I will fall asleep in bed with either a tech book or a design blog on my laptop, finding the best way way to relate to the user and deliver the correct message to them, recharging the creative batteries.

8.Tell us what you enjoy doing outside of working at JustBats.com.
Working on freelance projects, learning more about design, experimenting with coding techniques, spending time with the wife, going out to eat and find new and interesting places to go with my wife such as new restaurants, new shops, parks, etc.

9. What gets you laughing the most?
Everyday I get a good laugh at work, from the people I work with, there isn’t just one particular time.

JustBats.com Department Of The Month: Product Management

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Every month we would like to introduce you to a department at JustBats.com. Each department around here plays a key role in making sure everything runs smoothly and you get your bats in a timely manner, while having a great experience shopping with us. Meet the Product Management team, this department is responsible for getting all of the awesome bats you see on JustBats.com, so now you can finally put a face to JustBats.com!

1. Tell us a little bit about Product Management.
Tradionally, the term product management is used in production environments and refers to a group of people who manage the development of their products, be it software, nuts and bolts, cars, etc…  Since we are a retail company the Product Management team is responsible for the purchasing, pricing, maintaining relationships with our vendors, and communicating with everyone at JustBats.com.
2. What kind of responsibilities does each person in Product Management take on everyday?
Like I mentioned above, purchasing is a daily process performed by all but one member of the team.  Pricing is also a daily exercise, we strive to offer our customers the best products at the best prices and we check out the market daily to make sure we stay competitive.  Kris Gramlich is in charge of making sure the communication happens between the Product Management department and the Marketing, Customer Experience, and Distribution Center teams and he is relaying new product info, ship dates, and any other relevant info.
3. Are there any major challenges you and the Product Management team face daily, weekly or even monthly?
The major challenge we face all the time is keeping everything in stock.  We are constantly looking for ways to keep products on the web site when our competition cannot.  We have been through multiple classes and training sessions to learn how to become better at this and our currently piecing all of our knowledge together with the goal of having everything but not investing too much money in to inventory.
4. What would you say you look for the most in someone wanting to become a part of the team?
To steal a phrase from one of our consultants, a passionate curiosity.  If you want to know more about the supply chain and the strategies we use to keep products on the site, and are willing to put the time in to educate yourself, you are well on your way to being part of the team.
5. We all know with work there has to be some play, tell us about some of the perks of being a part of the PM at JustBats.com.
One of the biggest perks is maintaining the relationships with our vendors.  All of the people are awesome and usually old ball players that have tons of stories.  We get a ton of opportunities to interact with them.  We also get to play some golf, go to multiple sporting events, and travel to quite a few places I would have never been otherwise.
6. What are some of the ways you think JustBats.com and the PM go above and beyond to keep our customers happy? 
Like I said before, we have used countless hours and dollars to educate ourselves in supply chain practices.  We will use these concepts and our knowledge of the market and our business to make sure that we have the best stock of bats and negotiate the best prices for our customers.

Monday Meet And Greet: Drew W

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Drew! Drew shoots and edits some really awesome product videos and promos for JustBats.com! Here is what makes Drew tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
I’ve worked here at Justbats for almost two years now and haven’t disliked one minute of it.
2. What are some of your responsibilities in the video department at JustBats.com?
My main responsibilities here in the video department are to help shoot and edit the product videos you guys see all over the site.  I also get a chance to work on some REALLY fun stuff from time to time like the new promo coming out soon on Justin and Bralin. Check out the trailer here…

3. What are your favorite aspects of doing video for JustBats.com?
My favorite part of doing videos for JustBats.com is working with the Video team, and the Creative team in general.  We’re the infants of the company so it’s really cool to see us grow and keep pushing each other to do more, and to do it better.
4. What is your process like for editing and shooting video?
My process starts behind the camera.  We have a brand new studio that sounds and looks amazing.  So, we’ll shoot the on camera personality and then I’ll go back later and get some shots of the bats.  Back at the computer I’ll cut everything together so it flows well and then someone else takes it from there.
5. What would you say to someone coming into your line of work?
No matter where you work or what line of creative work you’re in I think the advice is always going to be similar.  Push yourself to do more constantly.  Learn new things as much as possible, but honestly, just go out and create.  Finally, you absolutely have to be willing to fail.  And then you have to be willing to fail again.  Through the failures will come great work!
6. What’s your favorite memory so far from JustBats.com?
One of my favorite memories here at JustBats.com so far…well there’s a ton.  The All-Star festivities this year were pretty cool!  One thing that’s great about JustBats.com is that we work hard, but we really know how to have fun, too!
7. What are some challenges you face either shooting or editing video?
We’re always looking/thinking of new ways to entertain our viewers.  We want to make the videos as fun and enjoyable as we can.
8. Tell us what you enjoy doing outside of working at JustBats.com.
I began doing photography, so I definitely enjoy doing personal work outside of JustBats.com.  When I’m not behind a camera or computer I enjoy time with my wife, my little bulldog (Bruno), and hanging out with friends.  Seriously, if I’m not working I’m doing something with my family or friends or playing ping pong.
9. What’s your favorite sport and team?
Being in a creative position you probably can guess that I’m not the biggest sports fan.  But, I love Sporting Kansas City!  My wife and I, along with a bunch of friends have season tickets to watch soccer almost every week.
10. What gets you laughing the hardest?
I’m a sucker for Youtube junk!  It’s not the most valuable source of media, but there is definitely some humorous stuff on there.  Also, Dumb and Dumber.

Monday Meet And Greet: Jake A

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Jake! Jake is one of the Web Developers here at JustBats.com! Here is what makes Jake tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
HR tells me I have been here since February 2008.
2. What are some of your responsibilities as a Web Developer at JustBats.com?
I lead team meetings, handle code reviews, offer solutions to problems, handle site emergencies, triage work items, write back-end code, and I am sure I am missing something.
3. What are your favorite aspects of working with the Web Development team?
I get challenged and the opportunity to solve a different problem everyday.
 4. What is your process like for coming up with new content for the website?
I do not create new content for our websites.  I create the processes, tools, and structures for our employees and customers to make new content.
5. What would you say to someone coming into your line of work?
Never stop reading and learning about your craft… school has not scratched the surface of what you will need to know to do well in this field.  That and find somebody better with way more experience than yourself to mentor you.
6. Whats your favorite memory so far from JustBats.com?
It is probably when we covered Davey-bug’s truck with about four thousand magnets turning it from a bright red to all white.
7. What are some challenges you face being a Web Developer?
New problems everyday.
8. Tell us what you enjoy doing outside of working at JustBats.com.
I write more code for personal projects, play video games, watch movies, hang out with the lady friend, fight the dog, and I am starting to tutor.
9. What gets you laughing the most?
Archer and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia make me laugh nearly uncontrollably.

Monday Meet And Greet: Kara K

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Kara! Kara works in the contact center and makes sure you get some awesome help when you have questions about our products! Here is what makes Kara tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
A year and a half.
2. What are some of your responsibilities in the Contact Center?
Provide outstanding customer service to all of our customers!
3. What do you enjoy most about the Contact Center at JustBats.com?
The people I work with and the entertaining customers.
4. What’s your favorite memory since working at JustBats.com?
During traditions training last year we played a game of whiffle ball and I hit a home run! I was the only woman in the class so it was very satisfying!
5. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love to take pictures and scrapbook.
6. Any advice for people coming in to your line of work?
Have fun and listen to the customers.
7. What gets you laughing the hardest?
When Tommy dances to Rebecca Black’s “Friday” song!
8. What’s your favorite sport and team?
Baseball of course! The Royals are my favorite team. I feel very loyal to them (my son is named after George Brett), but they make it really difficult to support them sometimes!

Monday Meet And Greet: Derek H

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Every Monday we’d like you to meet someone new around here at JustBats.com. Get to know us a little better! Meet Derek! Derek is the Contact Center Coordinator and he makes sure you get awesome answers to your questions online! Here is what makes Derek tick.

1. How long have you worked here at JustBats.com?
I’ve been working at JustBats.Com since February, 2012
2. What are some of your responsibilities as Contact Center Coordinator?
I manage the customer service team that handles online customer communications. That includes the customer’s Q&A’s, our Live Chat feature, customer emails and product reviews. Most recently I’ve been working with the rest of the Contact Center Management Team revamping the training program for newly hired Customer Service Representatives.
3. What do you enjoy most about the Contact Center at JustBats.com?
Life in the Contact Center changes on a daily basis. That variety is what keeps things fresh and interesting. I also get to work with a great management team and CSRs.
4. What’s your favorite memory since working at JustBats.com?
In the office, I’d say completing the new hire training. It was a group effort that took a lot of time and it’s satisfying to finally be training new CSRs soon. Outside of the office, I’d say it was winning my heat in the 400M Corporate Challenge track meat. I chased down the leader on the home stretch and passed him just as we reached the finish line while all my teammates were there cheering me on.
5. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I enjoy Kansas City sports teams, the Kansas Jayhawks, fishing and camping, grilling, CrossFit and traveling to see friends and family.
6. Any advice for people coming in to your line of work?
Be truthful with yourself about your desire to help people. Our main goal in the Contact Center is to help customers and this can be challenging at times. If you aren’t a people person and not truly interested in helping the customer, than the Contact Center is probably not the ideal place for you.
7. What gets you laughing the hardest?
Nothing gets me laughing harder than hanging around with my buddies that I’ve known since 3rd grade. We’ve lived through each others ups and downs, know all the skeletons in the closet and exactly what to say to crack each other up.
8. What’s your favorite sport and team?
I love the Royals and Chiefs, but nothing gets my competitiveness fired up like the Kansas Jayhawks. Rock Chalk!

JustBats.com Goes To The All-Star Game

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As most of you probably know Kansas City had the huge honor of hosting the 2012 MLB All-Star game at Kauffman Stadium this past week. As you can imagine there was a lot of excitement around here at JustBats.com, I mean how often does a bat company have an All-Star game hosted in their hometown? It was a very eventful time and several JustBats.com employees had opportunities to go the All-Star game, the Homerun Derby and several other All-Star related events, along with tailgating. We hate to see it go, but luckily we captured several shots to help us remember this exciting time for Kansas City. Up above are some of the action shots taken throughout the week as all of us here soaked in the All-Star experience, hope you enjoy!