Hannah Anderson

At my current role as a Service Advisor no two days are ever the same I deal with 101 calls and soon to be trained on 999 calls, We have to ensure the call is handled in a appropriate manner. When someone phones us it is never for a good reason and you have no idea what to expect, you need to be able to use a map to locate someone who might not know where they are. Also having to know your motorways and be able to handle a call which might be of a sensitive nature in a polite and calming way, you are the first point of contact so listening skills and accuracy is very important and being able to pull out the key details in what a person is reporting. Fast typing and computer knowledge is also needed as we need to learn our systems, we have 2 of them with a numerous other applications we must open and operate each day. Being a fast learner and able to move on from one thing to another is a skill you need to have for everyday of the job, one call from the next will be drastically different and you need to be ready for what is coming next. As much as it is only you and the caller on the phone, everyone is there to help each other so working as a team to sometimes find the best outcome for a situation is just as important as working independently and efficiently.

At my role in Abbey Cabs I would be responsible for dispatching Jobs on time that I had previously taken for customers, It was important the correct time and location was used so I could work out the appropriate time to give a job out to a driver to ensure it was on time and not late. I would also have to reply to emails for Job bookings that we would have and ensure a great customer service attitude was used as at Abbey Cabs the customer comes first and looking the best for the company. Working here taught me how to be time efficient and independent whilst also needing to work as a team and reach deadlines to ensure we answered the calls in an appropriate and timely manner. Whilst watching for what drivers where available and what we already had to come in you need to be organised and focused to ensure you do not double book anyone or take more than we could handle at that moment. I dealt with the public every working day and always made sure i put a smile on their face even over the phone by ensuring I built a relationship and cared about their days. We might have only been providing them a taxi however I am a firm believer in killing people with kindness and making sure you have done everything you possibly can for them can make anyone's day that bit better as we would also have some customers needing travel for medical treatments and talking to myself and others on the phone was sometimes the only highlight they had.

At my Role in I would either open or close the shop with other team members, opening the shop would include being there for 5:25 am and setting up the shop ensuring everything was filled up and the coffee machine was turned on, laying out all the stickers and bakery products, making sure the food was started cooking for our busy morning rush. I would serve customers and make sure nothing was running low in stock you need excellent communication skills and listening skills as when it got busy a lot of people where in at once and your focus was on the customer you where serving. I would handle money and operate the tills ensuring I was giving out the correct change to customers. For closing the store near the end of the day you would start to tidy up as you went along still serving customers again ensuring your focus was on them. When it would be time to close the store I would continue sweeping and again filling up stock and ensuring everything was neat and tidy for the next morning after that I would go downstairs and assist the supervisor and watching over them cash up and count the money for the end of the day.