Reservation Sales Representative Ken H. works for the Enterprise Holdings Contact Center from his home in Eugene, Oregon and was nominated as a stellar example of someone who consistently provides great customer service.
When we spoke with Contact Center Director Linda D.,she had nothing but glowing things to say about Ken. “Ken consistently and regularly provides encouragement, motivation and advice to other work-at-home employees via the company intranet, Office Communicator, team meetings and emails. Ken has an awesome personality and is incredibly professional. He is exceptional with customers and has great customer service scores.”
Q: What is your role?
A: I’ve been a customer service representative for Enterprise Holdings for eight years.
Q: What customer base do you support?
A: I book reservations for all three rental brands – Alamo, Enterprise and National. And while I speak with customers from all over the world, the bulk of my customers are from North America.
Q: What are the challenges of working with customers over the phone? How do you overcome them?
A: I would say the challenges rest in how you approach the day. Personally, I know what I need to do to get into the frame of mind to interact with customers. I prepare all of my meals and snacks for the workday the night before so I’m calm in the morning. I don’t like to rush before work.
On my best days, I’m in a very positive frame of mind and eager to help people by the time I get my first call. On a rough day, I just think about a part-time job I had years ago where I operated a ripsaw. It’s a big, noisy, dangerous saw used to chop up big chunks of wood. People who aren’t paying attention can lose their fingers. Compared to that, this is a piece of cake.
Q: How do you keep customers satisfied?
A: I try and establish a balance of professional and personal ties with each customer. I’m not afraid to be funny. I get a lot of energy just making contact with another person.
Having been through training with Enterprise Holdings, I’ve always approached my customer interactions like a fellow consumer first, then a rental car expert second. I never like to feel like I’m the person between the customers and the car. I want to be the person who makes the process easy, and advises them on deals and discounts.
Q: What advice can you give others about providing exceptional customer service?
A: It’s very important to listen to your customer. Also, be creative. Ask questions. Offer alternatives. Even when we’re sold out, I do my best to find them a car.
Q: How do you maintain a team environment with your work-from-home peers?
A: A lot has to do with our manager, Kelly P., who is tremendous. Kelly makes sure we interact as a group daily. She is excellent at motivating everyone. I’m personally extremely team-oriented, so I respond well to the idea of a group making a common effort to succeed.
Q: What’s your home office like?
A: I use my smaller bedroom for an office. Early on, I bought a nice chair and desk. In January, I decided to experiment with a stand-up workstation. So I have a keyboard on top of a bookshelf, my mouse stacked on books and the monitor on top of an encyclopedia. The main problem is that I almost knock my mouse over 20 times a day.
Q: What three words describe your approach to customer service?
A: Focus, listen and serve.