Meet the FLORENCE ROBY team: Margaret
As we continue with our new meet the team blog series, we get to know Margaret, one of Florence Roby’s longest standing employees. Margaret is basically part of the office furniture (but much more glamorous). She’s seen it all, done it all and knows more company history than our archives.
Name:
Margaret ‘I’m still not retired’ Burrows
Job title:
College Accounts Co-ordinator. I was Dispatch Manager until December 2024 when I was due to retire but I was persuaded to stay. It didn’t take much, to be honest! Let’s call it a soft exit!
How long have you been working with Florence Roby?
I think it’s fair to say I’m a long-term employee. I have been Florence Roby since 1978, when I was 16, which was 46 years last December. Florence Roby is the only company I’ve ever worked for. I finished school and a week later I had an interview with Florence Roby at the original factory. I started doing general office work, everything from taking and typing up orders to ordering fabrics. I was shown the ropes on the Monday and by the Tuesday I was left on my own to get on with things. I was earning £19 a week! Florence Roby was very small at the time, but it felt huge to me. Since then, I have worked in pretty much every department, from accounts and wages to production. The only thing I’ve never done is sewing, cutting or embroidery, but I’ve have done a bit of everything else.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Now it’s answering emails and looking after college accounts for Ben. I can’t help myself though, if someone on holiday I still step in and pick up bits of my old job!
What do you enjoy most about working for Florence Roby?
It’s the people. It’s not just a workplace to me — it’s family. It’s so relaxed and not corporate at all. I suppose to me it’s not a business relationship; I’ve spent more time with Florence Roby then I have with my own family, and that says a lot!
What do you think sets Florence Roby apart from other uniform suppliers?
Our quality and our service. We’re very open and honest, and I know hand on heart our quality is the best. We manufacture in-house, and that means we can keep a close eye on standards. I know for a fact our uniforms are a cut above the rest, and I take real pride in that.
If you could switch jobs with anyone at the company for a day, who would it be and why?
I think I’d like to work with the machinists. It’s the only part of the business I’ve never tried. I’d love to understand the patterns and styles all come together.
Tell us something about you that most people don’t know?
Honestly, I’m an open book. What you see is what you get — no secrets here!
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
It’s would have to be memory power, I’m always forgetting things these days. Either that or the ability to see into the future — though that might be a bit dangerous with my curiosity.
If Florence Roby had a mascot, what or who would it be and why?
For me, when I first started Mr and Mrs Roby had a shaggy old dog called Seamus. He used to sit underneath my desk so, for me, he’ll always be the true Florence Roby mascot.
What would you sing at a karaoke night?
Venus by Bananarama. I sound like Hilda Ogden from Corrie, but I used to love belting that out with my niece at family parties
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk right now?
A bottle of hand gel left over from the COVID days. It’s become a bit of a relic now.
