Discover what it's like to work in our Customer Services Team
Our Customer Services Team is the first point contact for all our residents and partners. The team helps to resolve issues, book in repairs’ appointments and answer any queries from customers who log them on MyHastoe or call in by phone.
Abbey, one of our Customer Service Advisors, is happiest when helping residents. Here she talks us through what a day working in our Customer Services team might look like, with additional insights from her colleagues.
The first thing Abbey and the team does in the morning is immediately answer any incoming calls. One of the team will contact tenants who contacted Hastoe's out of hours emergency phone lines e.g. in the case of a water leak. This team member will phone the tenant to check that the out-of-hours service was able to help them and if they need any further assistance.
For the rest of the day, Abbey is on the phone taking incoming calls until 4pm when the lines close. Those calls are very varied so every day is different. Abbey can deal with everything from rent queries to enquiries about moving house because their home is no longer suitable for them, to a shower no longer working. She says:
When taking calls about potential repairs, we prioritise them according to the degree of risk they present: emergency, urgent and non-urgent. We follow a script to work out a priority for the individual repair that’s required. We can deal with people in crisis so it’s important to provide a sympathetic ear and practical advice for what to do next.”
Whenever the calls quieten down, Abbey can respond to messages on MyHastoe. Anything customers raise on MyHastoe gets sent to Customer Services and the team will deal with the query themselves or direct it to the relevant departments.
In order to be confident when dealing with such a broad range of calls, Abbey has been given the opportunity to undertake additional training and learn more about each department within Hastoe. She says:
People are happy to take time out of their day to give inductions about what they do. I’ve also gained a first aid and safeguarding certificate since I’ve been here. After showing interest in learning more about the housing officer role, I’ve been invited along to house and site visits with a housing officer. This all helps build my knowledge about the company and allows me to help people more efficiently on the phones. ”
Throughout the day, Abbey takes a great sense of enjoyment from building a rapport with the customers and being the one to help overcome any long or short term problems they are facing.
On a busy day Abbey can take up to 40 calls so she recognises how important time management is to the role, especially during winter when there is a high call volume. She says:
The more time you spend chasing up tasks for the previous caller, the longer the next caller needs to wait so you must be very efficient. Some people are really worried about phoning us so it’s a nice feeling putting the phone down and knowing that I’ve done everything I can to help them.”
The whole team shares Abbey’s commitment and passion for the job they do. Another of Abbey's colleagues said: "I love helping people. I love to be able to take someone who has come to me in a crisis and make things better for them by resolving the issue they are having. My proudest moments are when I occasionally face situations with a seemingly unsolvable problem and I’ve found a solution for them. Sometimes this involves external contractors who might be unavailable to our tenants and I’ve managed to get someone in after involving additional teams."
I get a great sense of satisfaction from being able to make a real difference in people’s lives. We always treat people the way we would like to be treated ourselves.’”
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