For this month's Employee Spotlight, we spoke with Bethany Berry, who has recently been promoted to the position of Team Leader in our UK Customer Helpline. Bethany speaks about her career progression at Acorn and how her new role fits into our Helpline team.
Can you tell us a bit about your job role and your main responsibilities within our Customer Helpline?
I’m the General Enquiries Team Leader for our Customer Helpline. Other than taking inbound calls when needed, I deal with any customer feedback that has been escalated, as well as ensure that my team are completing the tasks they need to—And that they’re following the correct processes throughout the day.
What does an average day look like for you?
Generally, I come in and check all my emails and reports to see what is up to date. After this, I would delegate tasks to everybody. At the moment, I’m trying to provide my team with more variety in their work.
Previously, I noticed that it was the same people doing the same job, which made it difficult whenever somebody had time off. With this new initiative, my team seems a lot more interested and are asking more questions about their work, which is good.
Besides this, I monitor my team throughout the day and take calls when needed. It's safe to say it is never the same day to day.
How long have you been working at Acorn?
It will be my fourth year working for Acorn in November. I started by working on the Customer Helpline desk in the evenings. I had a baby, so I found it to be more convenient to work later in the day. I worked up to becoming a senior member on the evening team.
I wanted to work full-time, as my child has recently started school, and I didn't want to be sitting around waiting all day to go to work. I was lucky that a Team Leader vacancy became available at the same time, so I thought I would apply.
From being a senior on the evening team, a Team Leader position would be a natural next step for me. I've been working in this position for over a week now, and thankfully, it’s not too much different from working on an evening.
I'm really excited for what’s to come as a Team Leader, as I’m always looking for a new challenge.
What has the jump been like from being a Senior to a Team Leader?
It's definitely different, but not in the way that I’m talking to customers—As if we got any difficult queries on an evening, we had to manage it effectively.
Now I do appreciate having the resources to be able to ask questions to managers and other departments when they come in, rather than waiting for a response or delegating it to the following day.
However, I know there are always training opportunities and support from more senior members of the company whenever we need it. If anybody offers me training, I will always take it or see if my team needs more training – I only see it as a good thing.
I would say the biggest jump for me is in terms of managing staff. As a senior, I never had to work on certain internal servers relating to staff performance, so learning new things like that has been challenging. My team is really nice and friendly, and they ask loads of
questions, which keeps me on my toes. I always say, “You can never ask a silly question” because you can guarantee I’ve asked plenty of them during my time here.
Everybody has been very welcoming, which is what I was worried about at first. Working on evenings, I only knew people’s names but couldn’t put a face to them, so it’s been great to get to know more people in the company personally.
Do you have a favourite memory about working at Acorn?
Sometimes the best memories have come from talking to customers.
I recently spoke to a lady who was in hospital for an operation. I rang her to confirm her visit had been rescheduled, but she made me laugh by saying the hospital staff had trapped her in the hospital, and she was waiting to escape because she had to stay in longer. You could tell she was such a light-hearted person and not taking anything too seriously.
Internally, it’s been amazing to make such good friendships. I have a really great relationship with the Team Leader on the evening team. We are like the same person in different bodies. We bounce off each other all the time. With any job, it can be quite challenging at times, so you need to have those little moments where you can laugh about something stupid and reset.
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a paramedic, but because of a medical condition I have, I’m sadly not able to get a license to be able to drive the ambulance. I wanted to drive around with the flashing lights! It’s definitely sad, but it’s just something that happens – I’m happy where I am now.
If you were stuck on a desert island without electricity, what three things would you take?
Without electricity?! My life is centred around electricity! I was going to say my iPod or mobile, but I can't take that.
It sounds really silly, but I would probably take some glitter and some googly eyes to turn rocks into people, just like Tom Hanks in Cast Away—I’m not a sporty person in any way, so I won’t be taking a ball!
I'd probably take underwear, and then I’d take a Harry Potter book with me. My favourite is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because it just starts to get a bit dark—but not too much. I like that in-between stage.
Quickfire: What is your favourite...?
Season? Summer. Sadly, I don't have any holidays booked for this year, but I’m really tempted to book a trip for me and my daughter to go to Disneyland Paris, so watch this space.
Hobby? I quite like doing diamond art. I’ve done quite a few at home, but I have to take regular breaks, otherwise, it just consumes my life. You have to be so organised, and it’s so satisfying when it’s done.
Colour? I love purple! More specifically, the Cadbury’s chocolate purple – nothing can come close to it.
Snack? I’d say all snacks, but I’m probably not allowed. I suppose if it’s savoury, I like Doritos and salsa. For a sweet treat, I’m quite tempted by a lemon cake. Not everybody agrees with it, but more for me!
TV Show? Grey's Anatomy! I don't even have to think about that one. There’s something like 20 seasons, and I've definitely watched them all more than once. The Service Manager at Acorn is currently watching it for the first time, and we have weekly discussions about what’s happening. She’s becoming just as obsessed with it as me!
The Amazing Team Behind Acorn Stairlifts
Acorn's passion for helping countless people reach new heights all boils down to not only our confidence in our superior stairlift products, but the attentiveness and support of a team who truly cares about our customers and wants to make a difference.
From start to finish, Acorn assures that our customers are taken care of. From the strict standards we adhere to during manufacturing, to our superior stairlift servicing within your home, Acorn Stairlifts is hands-on throughout the entire process to ensure our customers are getting what they deserve—only the best.
Check back in later to learn more fun details about some of our other dedicated Acorn employees in the weeks to come.