Our staff feature of the week is Ms Erica Cherono, a Customer Service Associate at ABC Bank
Who is Erica?
Erica is a charming, loving and responsible lady. Why I say this is because I enjoy engaging people and making friends, I’m the kind of person who will sit next to a stranger in matatu and by the time one of us is alighting we are laughing. It’s not in me to see someone suffer yet I’m in a position to help, something that makes my job less of work but a passion. Responsible is because I take up my duties and do them diligently without necessarily having anyone to watch my back.
How was it joining ABC Bank?
I joined ABC Bank in November 2013 as an intern; I had just left school with little to no experience.
Let me say ABC Bank has a great team, as green as I was, I was nurtured into the confident and brave Erica you see today. I barely knew how to receive calls or how to handle a customer then but today I’m proud of the relationships I’ve been able to build with this clients, some of whom call to specifically talk to me because of the good services they are able to get.
How long have you been with ABC Bank?
I have been with ABC Bank Marketing and Product Development department for a period of four years now. I have been serving as a Customer Service
Describe what you do as a Customer Service Associate.
I handle customer queries on Email, Chat service, Phone calls and WhatsApp.
Customers rely on me to resolve their queries and challenges they experience while interacting with our banking services.
What are the highlights of your job?
The positive responses I get from clients for sorting out their issues keep me smiling through the job. For example- I do appreciate all the help you have given me in the transferring of cash and setting my accounts straight words cannot express my appreciation thank you once more and I hope to do more business with your bank. Have a splendid time and be blessed.
What are the challenges you face?
Some moments can be rough, like handling a furious customer and the issue is beyond my control. To get the client to exercise patience is sometimes an uphill task.
Which is your best experience with a customer?
There’s this customer who wrote to us with an urgent transaction. He had a sick child and needed to do a transfer to another account. His account was however dormant and his contact details were wrong. To make matters worse he had forgotten the correct contact details for his account. I called the customer to guide him through updating the contact details and then moved on to activate the account and finally effect the transfer on his behalf. The customer was very grateful and was able to attend to his sick child. The feeling that comes with such an experience turns my job from work to service which I appreciate doing.
Which is your worst experience with a customer?
There’s this time we had an issue with our emails and there was this customer who needed to trade in forex. The customer got impatient due to the delayed response and went ahead to contact us on all our platforms airing his dissatisfaction with our services. It took time to convince him that we were experiencing a downtime with our emails but as soon as they were back we would send him a reference code with the negotiated rate. Luckily the system was soon restored and I was able to assist the customer who was happy.
What keeps you going?
Martin Luther King JR said, “If I cannot do great things. I can do small things in a great way.” This always inspires me to give my very best.