Listening to the needs of our clients, acting upon their feedback and always striving to improve. It’s no easy task, but our Customer Services Manager, Annette Ritson, is on hand to ensure our clients are well looked after throughout the customer journey.
What’s a regular morning for you?
I’m a morning person, so I like to get in to the office nice and early to prepare for the day ahead. It’s normally very quiet at this time so I’ll check our survey results, review the complaints register and produce other customer service reports, such as write offs, VASTs, positive feedback etc before things start to get really busy!
I also make sure that I keep in regular contact with account managers and the finance management team as I need full visibility of any issues affecting our clients. I also attend regular meetings with the executive team to provide updates on current issues, actions taken and resolutions that we have put in place.
What are your main responsibilities?
Part of my main responsibilities is to manage customer feedback. I monitor the customer journey, by hopefully turning a negative experience into a positive outcome or resolution. It’s natural for people to complain, especially in a service-based environment; travel especially can be such an emotive subject. The most important thing is how an issue or complaint is dealt with. It’s about being proactive, holding our hands up when things have gone wrong, by identifying the root cause, and saying sorry. Then it’s about looking how we can improve as a business and ensure these issues don’t continue to take place. We continually look for new ways of working by reviewing processes and ultimately managing our customers’ service expectations.
How did you get the job?
As I’ve worked for other TMCs, I’d heard great things from people within the industry and the fact that it was a young, vibrant business full of opportunities really appealed to me. The customer service department and my role did not exist when I started so it has been a fantastic challenge to be able to develop the department along with the customer service function and really put my stamp on it!
How would you describe a particular day?
Only one word for it – busy! I work closely with my team discussing current complaints, agree actions and responses. I’ll also catch up with our Director of Operations to ensure he’s fully up to speed on current issues and potential changes to operational processes/procedures etc.
What’s your memorable moment?
My role has changed so much over the last 12 months, and I put that down to when Steve Riley, our Director of Operations, came on board. Steve has empowered me to get on with the job and he values my opinion. I’m excited to see where growth in the customer service department could eventually take us as a business!
What is the worst part of your job?
When I need to hold a colleague to account. It’s part of my job to make sure people understand how a ‘little’ mistake can have such big impact on our business in the long run. The important thing is to try and manage the message in the most constructive way – a little humour can help, too!
And the best part?
Being able to proactively change the way we work by evaluating and making improvements to our service which enhances our client’s experience. It’s also great when a customer takes the time to write a commendation to say how much they value an individual at Clarity and our overall service.
And then, of course, there are the people. I really enjoy working with my colleagues and have been so lucky to make some fantastic friendships along the way, which I am sure will last a lifetime!
And after work?
I like to chill out with my friends and family, especially my identical twin sister. I also love to travel and go on holidays – the odd pink gin and a bit of karaoke doesn’t go a miss either!