Carmen Aquilina is NetRefer’s Senior Housekeeper within the Facilities Management Department. Few others deserve such a title, considering she’s been part of the NetRefer family for the last 15 years, making her one of the longest-standing employees!
She’s seen the company grow from a small team taking its first few baby steps to the leader in iGaming Affiliate Marketing it now is. She goes beyond her job by bringing everyone together in fun social events and she has some entertaining stories to tell.
For the occasion, we sat down with her for a chat and reminisced about her time here. We also reached out to some of the NetReferians who know her the best and asked them to share their thoughts about her.
It became my future and my second home after I met Raphael Arnold and I was employed as a full-timer.
I found the job through a connection. The first time I showed up (at the previous premises), I got in the elevator, and there happened to be Raphael in it as well. At the time, I didn’t know who he was. He smiled and immediately gave me a very friendly impression.
As I entered the office, the person I knew back then took me for a tour of the office. And during the tour, we bumped into Raphael again and the person giving me the tour introduced him as his boss. And I remarked that he was really friendly and welcoming.
I started off doing one day a week. Then, I switched to part-time and finally full-time. I’ve been here ever since.
Again, he gave me a very friendly and approachable impression. After I started working for his company and got to know him better, I really made up my mind that he’s the boss I wanted to work for. He’s very charismatic and he’s done a lot for me. I owe him a lot.
The company started off really small, with a team of around 10 people. Then, as we moved to a new premises, it expanded at a fast rate.
I started off because I wanted to see my teammates having fun. When they found out that I had been organizing similar get-together events for my friends outside of the company, my colleagues encouraged me to do the same here. First, we started small, with karaoke, then a BBQ, and eventually bigger events like summer and Christmas parties.
I always find a lot of support and get a good response. It’s very refreshing since I love decorating places for special occasions. It’s a sort of hobby of mine.
It brought huge changes with it. Whenever there’s the need to sanitize or fumicate the premises, my team’s response has to be immediate. Our list of responsibilities has also increased notably.
We work very well together as a team and the communication is clear and friendly. Whenever there’s disagreement, it doesn’t take us long to resolve it.
Once we went on a holiday to Rome after securing a major contract with one of our clients William Hill. On one day, we booked a Segway tour around the city. It was the first time for me to ride one and I just couldn’t get the hang of it. I kept on crashing into trees! Then, I gave up and told Raphael – as well as the rest of the team – to go ahead and enjoy it; I’d just stay behind and grab a coffee. I figured that I didn’t want to waste their time any longer.
However, Raphael didn’t approve of me staying behind. He encouraged me to keep on trying and he also helped me get a handle on it. Eventually, I did and I joined them. What was initially a frustrating experience turned into a fun one, and everyone had a good laugh!
On another occasion, we went to Sicily on quad bikes. But that time, I got on as a passenger as someone else was driving.
Once, during a Christmas party at Madliena Cottage, we had a Secret Santa gift-giving. I had a few drinks that night, and suddenly I started guessing who had whose Secret Santa present. And to everyone’s surprise, I was guessing almost all of them! That night, I managed to entertain and anger everyone at the same time!
I hope that the company keeps its great environment and atmosphere that it has now. Here, it really feels that we’re one big family and I’d like for it to stay this way.
The whole NetRefer Team would like to congratulate and thank Carmen for being with us through thick and thin for 15 years. NetRefer always strives to be a family more than merely a company. And Carmen’s longevity in the family and proximity with everyone in it is indicative of this. Here, we truly believe that Carmen officially deserves the title of NetRefer’s own Auntie!
If, just like Carmen, you’re looking to belong to the NetRefer family, take a look at our Careers Page and get in touch with us today!