Case studies: Service specialist: Nick

Nick works as a service specialist within the customer service department at Abel & Cole, a company specialising in the home delivery of organic fruit and vegetables.

Nick studied for a degree in music at Cardiff University, graduating in 2004. He has worked for Abel & Cole for about 18 months. He initially joined as a regular member of the customer service team, handling customer calls and emails, before being promoted to his current role.

As a service specialist, complicated or ongoing customer problems are referred to him from other members of the customer service team, which he must then bring to a satisfactory conclusion. It is also his role to examine what lessons can be learnt for the future, and feedback to relevant departments. A number of customers entrust keys to the company to aid deliveries, and Nick is responsible for managing and administrating all aspects of handling these keys, including queries relating to them. He is also responsible for contacting customers if any of their order becomes unavailable at the last minute and can't be delivered. His duties incorporate a number of other advanced administration tasks, such as card verification checks and checking for fraudulent accounts.

Nick needs to have excellent communication and diplomacy skills, as he is often dealing with customers who are frustrated or annoyed. He must also communicate and liaise effectively with other departments within the company, both to resolve queries and ensure similar problems can be avoided in the future. As the number of queries that are referred to him can be unpredictable, he needs good organisation skills and the ability to prioritise. In resolving queries fully, Nick must be precise and pay attention to detail, ensuring all loose ends are tied up.

He likes the variety of the role, as no two days are the same. His work has a number of routine tasks, but the detail within that routine is always different. He also finds the work worthwhile, gaining satisfaction from successfully helping resolve queries for customers and the company.

The aspects of the work he likes least are that it can be mentally fatiguing, and working a variety of shift patterns (for example 8am-5pm, 10.45am-7.45pm, with an early shift sometimes immediately following an late one) can make it more so.

Although his degree did not relate directly to this area of work, he feels that some of the skills he learnt at university have been useful in his current role. In particular, the collaborative and teamworking aspects of creating music have been highly relevant to working with people.