
Paladin People – Alena Hoyer
Alena is Paladin Support’s Swiss Army Knife: She Does it All
A lot has happened at Paladin in the past three years. The corporation headquarters has moved to Arizona and opened two new offices. Paladin became employee-owned in 2023. And just recently the company surpassed 1,500 client stores.
Alena Hoyer hasn’t been in Paladin’s Support office in Bend, Oregon, for the past three years but that hasn’t stopped her from playing a crucial role in its success. She moved to Coalmont, Tennessee, with her boyfriend, Trevor, in 2021 to be closer to her family and get some land for their horses. But she’s still a huge part of Paladin Support.
Her dedication has made her a favorite among clients:
- “Alena is part of why we feel confident with Paladin. She speaks our language. I know how everything is set up, but when I was in high school, we didn’t have computers. It’s comforting to have knowledgeable people looking after us.” – Renee Zaman, Mazo Hardware & Rental, Mazomanie, Wisconsin
- “Support agent Alena is top notch and has more knowledge than the Knowledge Base Articles.” –Tim McMillon, Ace Hardware of Orange City, Orange City, Florida
- “Our account manager, Alena, has been so helpful and knowledgeable in helping me to utilize the features that are relevant to our needs.” – Laura Belanger, Kelly’s Chelan Hardware, Chelan Washington
- “Alena is amazing. She always has a positive attitude and will work until the job is complete.” – Marcy Starks, Harbor Hardware, Egg Harbor, Wisconsin
Alena joined Paladin in 2016, initially supporting software and hardware challenges. She later moved to the training team, helping new store staff learn the software. Now, she is a customer experience specialist on Charles Owen’s CX team.
“We work with a lot of new stores coming over from project management that either just need additional training or that just need more help and want to deal with one person. I like that. I like to get personal with our customers,” Alena explains. “I love doing the travel and meeting new people. It’s been such a great experience.”
Her move to Tennessee also turned Alena into Paladin’s East Coast representative. She attends nearly all the dealer markets in the Southeast. She’s a “short” three-hour drive to Sevierville, where many of the markets are held, and just six hours from Charlotte, North Carolina, where the latest House-Hasson show was held.
Alena has also become one of Paladin’s demonstrators, showcasing the software to prospects. She has excelled in this role.
“The last couple of years, I started doing more demos, which has really expanded my knowledge of the software. You have to do it in such a way that you’re not training, but you find out what challenges they’re having and show them how Paladin can help them,” she says. “I have been above Charles and (Mike Horn) sometimes on the demo board, so that’s pretty cool.”
Her enthusiasm for her job earns her praise from her coworkers and her supervisor.
“In my opinion, Alena is a super star. Just about every interaction Alena has with her fellow teammates and clients is always professional and enjoyable. We receive compliment after compliment from clients about the fine works Alena performs. She is knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. We are fortunate to have her at Paladin and I am excited that she is on the Client Experience team,” Chief Experience Officer Charles Owen says.