Customer Service
My experience with customer service ranges from running front desk to being a server and a cashier.
In the summer of 2017, I worked at a culinary school in Paris called l'Atelier des Chefs. I not only ran the front desk (including answering all calls and emails in French), but within a given day I would spend part of my time running the store (including inventory and cashier work) and part of it serving the cooking class attendees the meals they'd created (including waiting on everyone and introducing the wine selections).
In my job as an Admissions Specialist at Growing Generations, a gestational surrogacy and egg donation agency, my responsibilities included customer-facing actions such as answering calls, responding to the website's inquiry forms, and conducting video consultation calls.
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In my role as Internal Affairs Director at BareStage Productions, I had customer service responsibilities such as reaching out to people who filled out our online "get involved" form, as well as sending out surveys and reviewing constructive feedback.
In all of my roles I have had to deliver a lot of bad news, from telling an auditioner that he didn't get cast in a show to telling a potential egg donor that she might be infertile. I've had to listen to complaints and take responsibility for things that weren't my fault and, occasionally, for things that were.
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From these experiences I have learned that the most effective way to communicate with a customer is by treating them like a human. The best thing I've been able to do has been to simply listen, and then to be honest and genuine in turn.
However, when possible, I try to go above and beyond the call of duty, too. When an egg donor had to re-take a fertility test twice because of faulty results, I hand-wrote her a card and included a Starbucks gift card in the mail, since she'd mentioned on her donor profile how much she loved coffee. When we held a special class for visually impaired customers at the cooking school, I asked a colleague to cover the front desk so I could escort one of the elderly couples to the metro station.
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I am drawn to companies that really care about their customers, and that give employees the freedom to take initiative in addressing customer needs. I believe that it's not only creative solutions, but also human connection that fuels customer satisfaction.