Rebecca Simmons has worked as a Customer Experience Co-ordinator at Mount Green for a year following 15 years in customer services roles. Her day-to-day role involves supporting residents with their queries, which can range from rent related enquires to questions on grounds maintenance.
Rebecca’s work is extremely varied, but here she shares what a typical day in the role looks like.
“During my time in customer experience, I have learned that residents may forget what you said and did but never how you made them feel, so it’s important to make each interaction count, even the small ones!”
Morning
I start my day by checking our customer services inbox. If we have any voicemails, I’ll listen to those and make return calls to the residents, making sure that all of these are documented on our system.
Once the voicemails have been answered, it’s on to the remaining emails and dealing with resident queries. These can vary from anything to do with repairs in their homes, to communal repairs or grounds maintenance. We also help residents with rent-related enquiries, neighbour disputes and car parking issues; the list is endless, but it is always rewarding!
Simply put, my role is to help residents with whatever they need. There is always a variety of enquiries to deal with and no two days are the same.
Much of my job role focuses on ensuring we are on the phone and available to assist our residents with any questions or issues they may have. It’s not only residents we are interacting with – we also take calls from solicitors for our shared ownership properties, various contractors and surveyors and of course, our internal teams and colleagues.
Afternoon
After each phone call is when a lot of background work begins! We have to ensure all calls are accurately recorded within our system. Depending on the nature of the call, we often also have to liaise with the correct teams to ensure we deliver on what we have agreed with the resident. This will involve various calls and emails both to internal teams and external contractors or service providers, ensuring this is also recorded on our systems, so if a colleague or resident needs an update, all the information is up to date and correct.
Problem solving is a huge part of the customer experience role and I’ve been fortunate to be able to be part of assisting residents with issues that they may not have been able to deal with themselves. I recently helped one of our more vulnerable wheelchair bound residents access her garden. She wanted our help to make improvements to the garden and make it easier for her to use.
I liaised with our Estates Officer and contractors, and they very kindly offered their services free of charge to assist. This resident also struggled with her door lock, so after speaking with our property team, we arranged for a new and more accessible lock to be fitted to the front door. Teamwork really goes a long way, and with everyone’s help, it enabled this resident to have safe access to her garden during the summer months and gave her an added sense of security to feel safe in her home.
Each day brings new challenges, and we are always learning and growing – it’s one of the best parts of working within Customer Experience.