NYPDC Quality Specialist: Forthright and Formidable, On and Off the Job
March 14, 2012
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Associates
Rigorous Reviewer – Quality Specialist Barry Eamigh reviews claims from the 132 dealers served by the New York Parts Distribution Center.
When dealers file claims with the New York Parts Distribution Center (NYPDC), they get a candid response.
“I’m honest and upfront,” says Quality Specialist Barry Eamigh. “I don’t beat around the bush. I challenge everybody, and they know that. I treat Toyota money like it’s mine, and I don’t just give it to everybody.”
His approach may be blunt, but it earns him respect, both in and out of the warehouse. In addition to reviewing claims for damaged parts at the NYPDC, he works security at a huge Harley Rendezvous motorcycle rally, where timidity is not an option.
A former police officer, Eamigh joined the NYPDC as a contract security officer in 1984. He became a warehouse associate several months later.
“When I was hired, there were two supervisors, and I was the 13th warehouseman,” he says. “We had to unload trucks by hand. The parts weren’t on pallets. It took two of us almost two hours to unload one truck.”
Today, a forklift operator can unload a truck in 15 or 20 minutes.
After four years on the floor, Eamigh began handling dealer orders as a documents dispatcher. He later became a traffic specialist before being promoted to his current position 11 years ago. He attributes his success to a no-nonsense work ethic inherited from his parents.
“You go to work every day and do what’s asked of you,” he says. “You’ve got to be dependable. When you sign up to do a job, you do it. You don’t fiddle around.”
When he’s not at work, Eamigh often rides around on his Harley. He ordered his first motorcycle from a Sears catalogue when he was 16. “I graduated from a Schwinn bicycle to a motorcycle,” he says, “and I’ve been there ever since.”
Going Whole H.O.G. – Astride their Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Barry Eamigh (right) and fellow biker Paul Lambert gear up to supervise traffic at last year’s Harley Rendezvous.
“Maybe it’s called freedom,” he replies. “Maybe it’s like being a cowboy in the Old West. You’re not enclosed by four walls. You’re out in the weather.”
Once a year, he’s out at the Harley Rendezvous, a three-day event that draws 23,000 Harley-Davidson riders to upstate New York for concerts, competitions and displays. He joined the event security staff about 24 years ago.
“I liked what the staff people did,” he says. “And I liked their shirts.”
He works the night shift, specializing in traffic control. He rarely has problems with the bikers. “It doesn’t matter who you are,” he says. “If you talk to them straight up, you usually don’t have issues. We work as a team. We’re all watching each other’s backs, like we do at Toyota.”
Ask Eamigh what keeps him coming back to Toyota after 28 years, and he deadpans, “Habit.”
But it’s actually the people. “I enjoy the diversity of the people,” he says. “I meet people from all walks of life.”
Helping people is his greatest reward. “I’m helping dealers, and dealers are helping customers,” he says. “Ultimately, I’m helping the customer.”
And ultimately, he’s living up to his commitment to his job and his company. “I’ve given my word to Toyota,” he says, “and I’ve kept it.”
By Susan Pack