Organisation: Gosford City Council
Job Title: Customer Service Officer
Word Limit: 250 to 350 words per criterion.
Location: Gosford
Outline your experience working in a customer service environment including a call centre
My ten years of accounts and office management experience has included operating in a call centre environment dealing with customers with queries and questions as well as complaints and issues regarding their financials. Working with a small team in the accounts call centre I receive calls either directly from customers or, when the centre lines are busy, pick up calls coming into the call centre. At all times I maintain a professional tone. Equipped with the knowledge and expertise to deliver outstanding customer service I have successfully managed and satisfied all types of customers.
Often these calls are from external customers seeking information regarding their accounts, or queries on their accounts. This often involves sensitive and confidential information of the customer. Sometimes the customer has concerns and is upset regarding some point of their finance concerning their financial situation and I listen carefully to ensure I duplicate the exact issue and can provide the exact information required or offer a resolution in the case of an issue the customer has.
My experience in customer service includes
Resolving product or service problems by clarifying the customer’s complaint; determining the cause of the problem; selecting and explaining the best solution to solve the problem; expediting correction or adjustment; following up to ensure resolution
Recommending potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analysing the customer needs
Resolving customer issues by listening and finding out the exact problem
Maintaining financial accounts by processing customer adjustments
Maintaining customer records by updating account information
Opening customer accounts by recording account information
The ongoing professional communication standards I have exhibited for our customers and internal stakeholders, promoting trust and engagement are productive in achieving common goals. This has also included opportunities to explore areas of conflict, for the purpose of achieving clarity and commitment to common goals
Please provide an example that demonstrates your flexibility in resolving customer issues
A specific approach is most important in maintaining flexibility resolving customer issues. I demonstrate my flexibility in resolving customer issues by identifying the problem or issue the customer has first of all. I do this by asking the customer to tell me the issue then ask questions to ensure I have all the facts. Once I have this I look for possible solutions to the issue that will satisfy the customer and still fall within the company policy. Understanding how much leeway one can employ is important to understanding the degree of flexibility available such as offering discounts, alternative products, or methods of handling financial arrangements.
For example I had a customer at one time ringing for the whereabouts of his stock which had not arrived as expected. I contacted the warehouse and found that the goods would not be ready for shipment for a further 2 weeks. I got back to the customer and explained this offering an alternative similar product that would suit the customer’s needs and offered him a discount with the goods shipped that day. This resulted in a happy customer and a sale that wasn’t lost. This demonstrates that my flexibility and ability to think outside the box can resolve an issue to both the companies and customers satisfaction. I do this on a regular basis even with accounts and have assisted other staff and peers with maintaining a flexible approach to handling customer issues.
During change initiatives and improvements, employing my professional communication standards, a demonstrated attitude of self-responsibility for outcomes has ensued, and worked towards supporting the leadership to facilitate this change to minimise the impact and influence of conflict, whilst maintaining momentum to drive the necessary change, in behaviour and in our compliance requirements and systems.
Please provide examples that demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with customers and staff at all levels
When communicating my style is confident and positive and I present information in a clear and concise manner, and have extensive experience structuring written and oral communication to ensure clarity. With excellent communication and negotiation skills I am able to communicate effectively with ease, at all levels providing both verbal and written forms. Consistent positive feedback from my up line managers will attest to this.
For example, on many occasions when receiving a phone call from a customer I would discover that they needed a copy of an invoice or a statement or some other financial document to be emailed to them. After verifying their identity, I would organise this and send them an email informing them I was following up on the phone call and attaching the documents that we had discussed and if they needed any more assistance to please contact me. Customers were always very happy with the quick and efficient response I provided. I also applied this principle of good quality customer service to my peers, up line managers and other stakeholders ensuring that I provided information and reports in a timely manner.
I take great pride in the successful, effective and supportive relationships I have built, maintained and continually see flourish with a variety of stakeholders on projects I have participated in. Frequently my role is not only to build and maintain relationships with individual stakeholders, but also between stakeholders of varying concerns from both internal and external realms. In a liaison capacity I develop, balance and forge robust relationships based on mutual consideration, and understanding. My friendly approach creates open communication and ensures that misunderstandings are avoided.
The ongoing professional communication standards I have exhibited for our customers and internal stakeholders, promoting trust and engagement are productive in achieving common goals. This has also included opportunities to explore areas of conflict, for the purpose of achieving clarity and commitment to common goals.
Please provide examples of how you organise multiple tasks at once, ensuring accuracy is maintained
I start each day by using my time management skills to write down everything that needs to be done for the day or the week. I then prioritise the tasks according to urgency and importance. Some tasks demand a specific time frame while others can be done at a later stage. During the course of the day if I am in the middle of writing an email or in an Excel document and I receive a phone call. I simply save the email or document and answer the phone as a priority. Once the call is concluded I then return to the task at hand and complete that. Sometimes however, the phone call results in actions I need to take immediately.
Having spent ten years in accounts and account management, I am in the habit of checking the accuracy of my and others work that comes to me on a regular basis. With finance matters accuracy is most important as even a small mistake at the start of the financial procedure can result in an expensive issue to be addressed later down the track not least of which is the time needed to locate the mistake or error in order to correct it.
I also have 2 years’ experience operating a 10 phone line switchboard consisting of multiple lines and extensions where I would answer and direct telephone calls in a polite and informative manner using professional telephone etiquette. I would transfer or direct calls to the party the caller requests or determine where the caller should be directed, based on information about the purpose of the call. For example, if a caller says he wants information about a product he ordered but hasn’t received, I would ask follow-up questions to determine whether to route the call to the shipping department or the customer service department.
Outline your software training and experience, including your level of proficiency
My education includes
An Undergraduate Degree Accounting – Open University Australia (Correspondence)
Cert IV Frontline Management – Just Careers training
Reach for Training – RSA & RSG course
The Fourth R Computer Training – Microsoft Access 2000 – Advanced. Microsoft Excel – Intermediate. Microsoft Power Point – Intermediate.
Hunter TAFE – Certificate in Bookkeeping & Financial Skills (7377)
C/- P&S Elec. Wholesalers – Certificate 3 Business and Office Administration
The Entrance High School – Higher School Certificate
With ten years’ experience using SAP at an intermediate level I am an advanced user of the Microsoft Office Suite.
In my previous and current positions I have used a diverse range of software, some very complex, and transferred data from one software package to another. I am highly proficient and adept at using a number of software packages simultaneously and have advance skills using the following software packages.
Attache, Mapics, Wintergrate, MYOB, Total Exact, Voyager, Accredo, all Microsoft products including Word, Excel, Publisher, Outlook and Internet Explorer.
I have strong typing and keyboarding skills and can effectively type and enter information efficiently. Overall, my skills are such that I can confidently pick up and learn new programs, apply them in my work and advance my skills to become a sole user quickly and easily.
