Sharon Mason-McCauley

I am a highly motivated, target and goal driven individual with a wealth of customer service experience in range of industries such as retail, aviation, automotive and social housing, in addition I have managed my own successful business. Over the years I have received several personally written letters of thanks, compliments, and service satisfaction feedback. These are something I really treasure and am very proud of, these thoughtful communications from my customers represent to me "a job well done" and a happy customer.

I enjoy building strong, lasting customer and colleague relationships based on trust and delivery of good practice. I also work well on my own, using my initiative to plan and prioritise as well as working as part of a team.

Whilst in my role as Passenger Services Supervisor I worked regularly on a night shift as the only senior team member, preparing for the day ahead, organising schedules, staffing , report writing and completing paperwork showing daily statistics,
fully completed and on time for the 05:00 starting shift team members. It was imperative that the early shift team had everything prepared for their day ahead as the implications of this would mean delayed flights which would in turn cause a knock on effect for other arrivals and departures, cause additional revenue costs to the business alongside disgruntled passengers which in turn could bring complaints and damage the company reputation.

Many of my roles have required me to work as a part of a team, I have many great memories of fantastic team work such as to try to win many airport based competitions which were to celebrate special flights to New York. I organised an event where staff dressed in costumes, sang and danced as we set the scene and created a great atmosphere for the customers flight to the Big Apple, this was recognised and appreciated by customers and the company.

Working in the aviation industry often involved me regularly dealing with difficult and challenging situations and/or members of the public. This could range from inebriated, disruptive and delayed passengers where mitigation and negotiation skills were regularly brought into practice. On one occasion it was necessary to manage the risks of whether to allow a passenger to board the aircraft for safety reasons. This passenger was very intoxicated, and I needed to make a judgement call considering the safety and comfort of themselves and that of the other passengers. I did not believe it was safe for them to continue their journey and I therefore made the decision to deny boarding. The passenger became very upset and angry however I remained calm and explained the situations and what I was able to do going forward.

In my role as a Trainer, I coached, developed new and existing members of the team, creating conditions for them to unlock their own potential. It was expected that I was always a role model and would champion the vision, values and purpose of the business. This is an attribute I have carried with me naturally throughout my working life.

Whilst working for Blackpool and Flyde College I was involved in working within the community. I would visit residential homes and community centres to spend time with the visitors and residents. The older persons who I had the pleasure of meeting and working with had a variety of needs including disabilities, dementia and loneliness. Some of the older persons were able bodied, or were carers and needed some much needed time for themselves. It was my responsibility to organise social events for them, this included visits from local school children at Christmas for carol singing, arts and crafts sessions and holistic therapies such as hand massages. It was a pleasure and privilege to get to know these older persons and be able to gain their confidence. By being transparent and open, acting with integrity I was able to gain high levels of trust with them knowing that if they were struggling in any way, they could reach out to me and I would assist them obtain help, support and advise from third parties including social services and other third party agencies.

During my role with Npowers Bereavement Team I helped and supported customers at a very distressing and difficult time which could be during illness and/or following the death of an account holder. These calls were often emotionally charged for the caller and I would advising on the practicalities of an account and signposting for help and support with third parties such as Macmillan Cancer Care. I dealt with the closure of accounts and probate issues if applicable. I supported a customer after the suicide of her husband after they became refugees and following their settlement in the UK. All my customers were reliant on me ensuring that I assisted in every way possible, sensitively, calmly and confidentially.

I have a positive "can do" and "happy to help" attitude and I will always go that extra mile to make a positive difference to the customer and colleague journey. I have great listening and communication skills. This was recently demonstrated within my role at Karbon when I helped a very vulnerable, suicidal tenant. I have been able to help provide food parcels/personal hygiene and cleaning products to several vulnerable tenants through a charitable organisation I have contacted. I have personally developed this relationship with the charity, and we are now working together to be able to show by way of photographs and written information the available package options we can offer to our tenants. I hope to be able to role this out within the Customer Relationship Team soon, enabling more of our customers to be able to benefit from the amazing generosity of this charity.

Recently, I began volunteering with Silver Talk, alongside my daily job role, this gives me a great insight to the needs, struggles and support that many of our older customers wish for. It is great to be able to help, if needed, with support plans to promote independent living and a better quality of life. If support is not required or wanted it is still great to just have a natter.

My Fire Warden Role enables me to have shared responsibility to ensure that colleagues, customers, buildings and grounds are safe.

In summary, I believe I would be an asset to the team as I am totally focused on making a difference to the customer and their journey, where no query is too much trouble and where I can use my natural people skills and genuine inclination to want to help and support people by communicating warmly, with a smile to ensure all customers receive an exceptional customer service experience.