INTERVIEW
the young Karla was often around
shops and businesses, since she
comes from a family of retailers. Her
mum Kay and grandmother used to
own a florist’s in Berkshire, and her
Island-based Nan June ran a B&B
at Shalfleet, which she remembers
helping out with even as a child .
In fact Karla lived on the Island for
the first nine years of her life until her
father’s work took the family to the
mainland – and she was delighted to
be able to return to her roots when
she landed the Liz Earle job.
“I absolutely love the Island life,” she
says. She divides her time between
her own home and her partner
Justin’s place in Bembridge, and
winds down from her hectic working
life by walking the dog on the beach.
People constantly ask why she doesn’t
move to Southampton but she’s adamant
that “there is absolutely no way I am
leaving the Island”.
Instead, she leaves home at 7am to join
the daily commuters on the Red Jet, and
often doesn’t get back home until midevening, making for a 12-hour day.
Her days are filled with training and
recruiting staff, meeting customers and
brand representatives, and generally
“making sure our service is 1st class and
memorable”.
In fact, Parkhouse Hampshire is
home to one of the largest UK watch
collections outside of London, boasting
* Islanders can follow Parkhouse on
social media, shop at their leisure online,
with a delivery or a Click & Collect service,
or pop in to the store at 96 Above Bar,
Southampton and register their details
to receive invitations to exclusive events
all year round.
For more information visit the
website parkhousehampshire.com or
call 02380 226653.
Opening hours:
Monday - Friday: 9.30 - 17.30
Wednesday: 10.00 - 17.30
Saturday: 9.00 - 17.30
Sunday: 11.00 - 17.00
luxury brands including Rolex and Patek
Philippe, for which Parkhouse is the Isle
of Wight’s official stockist, plus Cartier,
Omega, and TAG Heuer amongst others.
The jewellers has dedicated technicians
trained in servicing luxury brand watches,
based in the company’s state-of-the-art
workshop.
At the heart of what Parkhouse does
is the bespoke diamond collections,
another specialism of the sixth
generation family jewellers, and to
this day, each and every diamond is
handpicked in Antwerp by Owner &
CEO Michael Laing OBE to ensure an
outstanding cut, clarity and quality of
diamond.
The company also recruits its own
in-house designers and experts to
ensure they offer a service that sets
them apart from other high street
jewellers.
Says Karla: “When you’re offering
premium service and luxury products,
the customer becomes part of the
brand, like a friend or family member.
They buy into the business, they have
to trust us to help them make the
right purchase no matter what the
budget. We pride ourselves on having
customers who become part of the
Parkhouse family, and we feel lucky
that we get to share people’s special
moments - be it birthdays, Christmas,
engagements or weddings”.
In fact Parkhouse has a whole
team of experts on hand to offer
one-to-one customer care, whatever the
occasion.
“We don’t want people to walk away
with ‘just a ring’ or ‘a new watch’, we want
them to walk away feeling an emotional
connection towards that purchase” says
Karla. “We want them to feel proud that
they own such a beautiful, quality item,
and most importantly, we want them to
enjoy the process and customer journey.”
She adds that many customers visit from
the Island - not just for the complimentary
glass of bubbly or superb coffee, but
because “Islanders respect tradition and
care for the customer, which is at the heart
of the Parkhouse philosophy”.
www.visitilife.com
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