Calie Freestone

Background

About Calie Freestone

Right out of college I found a job in Customer Service that I thought would be a quick stop on my way to finding my niche. It turned out that Customer Service was my passion, and I was blessed to stumble upon it very early in my career. I have heard many people say that these jobs were just entry points and were really monotonous, but that is not what I have experienced! Working in customer service/experience has grown my skill sets exponentially. Continuous Learning Customer Service, and the products it supports, never stays the same. You have new technologies, methods of support, leadership skills, and products. You are continuously pushed to expand your knowledge and grow your skill set. Complacency is not a luxury you are afforded. Change Management Every department relies on Customer Service, so you are in constant communication across the organization. Customer service provides the critical care to get real customer feedback. This feedback then drives change to every aspect of the organization. Customer service agents are the heroes of change! Innovation and Problem Solving Your brain is never idle. New processes must be innovated utilizing customer feedback to stay competitive. New skill sets are developed in your talent pool to be as efficient as possible. Each unique problem requires a unique solution. Many solutions are best when supported by the team bringing out team building opportunities regularly. Some solutions also require multiple stake holders, so you get to continuously manage projects across the organization. Analytics Data isn’t for everyone, but slowly over time I developed skills in using data to make decisions. Excel is my favorite tool, and I can become engrossed in formulas and tables for hours! I could never be bored in Excel. You have data on your team’s key performance indicators that can help you set standards of service, identify when a process is broken or clue you into agent needs for support. You can analyze sales trends impacted by customer service experiences. My favorite, customer feedback can be quantified to help the organization make changes with the right priority. Last but not least, the skills I have learned in my roles have opened me up to move my career in many directions. I have learned and enjoy sales, training and process improvement roles. My goal is to continue developing skills that impact the customer experience!