BEING A CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON ME.

Had a reflection about my first job, I never knew I would practice customer service as a job.

As a petroleum engineering graduate, applying for the position of a Customer Service Representative was never my plan or one of my dreams to achieve. It was a last resort after all applications for the position of a Petroleum Engineer in oil and gas companies proved abortive as they needed Petroleum Engineers with years of work experience. I knew I had to begin from somewhere at least for the work experience as a graduate.

You might have come across this blog post where I mentioned a bit about my position as a Customer Service Representative which was my first job after my NYSC (National Youth Service Corps). I commenced the job in December 2017 and handled the hotel, events halls, the gym and the basketball court section. It was a good experience to warmly receive and attend to the clients and customers. I made sure that my role as a customer service rep. was properly carried out and ensured that customers were satisfied and had their issues sorted out.

I had colleagues in the same unit whom I worked closely with. This helped me exercise my team playing and leadership skills and also learned more about working with people in an office environment. We assisted each other with our shifts when the need arose I was diligent in my work and had love for the people. I realised that I love to assist people and solve problems and so I enjoyed the job even though it was challenging.

When I was on duty, I made sure to document everything including the enquiries and conversations with clients and customers, I mean, that is what should be done, but at times, my colleagues negleted that before they handed over to me to resume my shifts. This gave me more work because I had to track the room keys and sort out the rooms that were occupied and the ones that were available for accommodation. I had to fill in their report because if I did not, if would affect mine.

Some Challenges I Faced.

It was not all smooth as I faced the some challenges.

• I had to deal with angry customers which was not easy but I stayed calm to solve whatever issue they had.
• It was not easy to juggle both my job and my cake decorating trainings which at some point, I had to attend to after my night shifts at work which ended by 7:30 am. It was hectic but I had to manage the situation.
• Attended to a number of customers at the same time and had some of them who were impatient. Whenever the event halls were booked for wedding reception, almost all the rooms (52 in number) would be booked to be occupied by family and friends of the couples. So you can imagine.
• Dealt with customers who refused to pay late checkout fee and a customer who refused to pay for six nights accommodation fee after paying for the first night (the manager was involved), I will share this story in another blog, watch out for it.

My Resignation And Other Opportunities.

In February 2019, I was itching to resign because I had already acquired the knowledge and work experience I needed and wanted to begin my cake business. I weighed my growth and made up my mind to resign. I had cake orders that I accepted and turned down others because of my work shifts. There was nothing new to learn and I felt like it was time for me to move. In order to continue assisting and serving others and also solving their problems, I thought to myself that there should be an online job that is flexible enough to enable me continue my cake business.

Fortunately, I got informed by my elder sister about an open interview in a travel agency- Wakanow Travel Company for the position of a travel agent/consultant as an affiliate. I showed up for the interview and there were four stages at different desks but I got accepted after the first stage, my interviewer was impressed with my presentation and said there was no need for me to pass through other stages. He took my document and led me to the training room. We were about 20 applicants that qualified for the training out of about 60 applicants.

I attended the trainings in the morning and also got back to work for the evening shifts. I dropped my resignation letter and after a month my work ended as a Customer Service Representative. I worked in the establishment for a year and eight months.**

As a travel consultant, I still practice customer service and ensure to advice, suggest and make flight reservations that satisfy my customers and also offer good travel deals which I do from home and still run my cake business. Customers are my number one priority and when I book flights, I don't leave them but travel with them. What I mean is, I check on them a day to their travel date and also on their travel date to ensure they fly smoothly with no issues and also reach out after they have arrived. My services have gained customer retention and more referrals.

It Changed My Life

• Working as a customer service rep. built my confidence and boldness, communication skills, offering satisfactory services, creatively solving problems and working cooperatively in a team.

• I was able to meet a lot of people, network and share ideas. Some of my colleagues and customers I met at my first job became my customers both in the cake business and the travel consultancy services.

• It gave me the courage to meet with the CEO of Wakanow to have a deal with the company and also met Managers of some establishments to partner with them. I remember sitting in the conference room in Wakanow with the company's lawyer and one of the managers to sign a deal as an affiliate recruiter which I commenced and got a few in.

• Made a positive impact in the lives of people and a change in the environment. Loving the people and not the money leads to bringing value and quality and of course people love to pay for what they will gain. I left a good reputation at my first place of work.

• In October 2022, I enrolled for an internship- HNG Internship in the Digital Marketing track which was more of research work, SEO, content writing for Web Apps and Mobile Apps, worked with interns in the UI/UX Design track, Product/Project Management track and Developers. With my input from the start, I was made the team leader of the Digital Marketing track in my team of over 250 interns in the different tracks mentioned above.

I made sure to guide my teammates in each stage task in order for them to carry out their tasks properly. I will share more about the internship in another blog, also watch out for it. With over 11,500 interns, I was among the 700 finalist.

Conclusion

Becoming a customer service rep. built me to be able to juggle through life, work in teams, improve my skils, build networks and work under pressure. I believe my experience as a Customer Service Representative has changed my life till date. I would say that being a customer service representative was not a mistake, it was meant to be.

It gives me joy to see customers satisfied with their problems solved.

At times, we may not get what we want but it does not mean that where we are heading to is a wrong path, there is always a reason for everything. If you think that you are not where you need to be today, it's not late, you can still make a change on the path of life you are on. I hope my blog inspires you.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog. I would love to hear from you in the comments.

Love from @winanda

SEE YOU SOON IN MY NEXT BLOG.

---

About Winanda

	Winanda (Ikwuoma Winifred Diala) holds a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering. She embraced her passion and became a baker, recipe developer, creative writer, and food content creator. Composing songs, listening to music, and seeing movies are a few of her hobbies.

---

<sub>All images are mine.

This content is written by me.</sub>