Employee Spotlight — Talking about Quality with our Quality Manager, Birgit!
It has been a real breath of fresh air collaborating with the lovely Birgit on this employee spotlight piece! We have learned so much about Birgit’s life in Customer Service since she joined in 2021.
Quality has become a very important topic of interest and a particular focus amongst our teams here in rebuy, so sitting with someone whose daily focus is on this very topic seemed only fitting to bring attention to just how impactful it can be in your work environment and for your business!
Here’s how our chat went with Birgit:
Can you share a bit about your journey within the company and what inspired you to specialize in quality management?
I started at rebuy in May 2021 after some years with the big orange online fashion company in their Quality Training department. Somehow, however, I felt that they became “too big” for me there, and that quality was pushed back in favour of speed and cost-effective solutions. I wanted to strengthen and motivate people and make a difference in a young company with values fitting with mine.
How would you describe your role as a Quality Manager to someone outside of our industry?
My task is to ensure the quality of rebuy’s answers throughout the various contact channels that my colleagues handle (call, mail, chat). I carry out quality checks and give subsequent feedback to the employees to motivate them to give their best and to communicate process-compliant, correct and at the same time empathetic, individual solutions to our customers.
I keep an eye on the CSAT (the customer satisfaction survey), send the customers’ comments to the agents, reply to our customers (both complaints and positive remarks), and thus close the feedback loop.
Together with our team leads, I identify training needs and develop measures to improve the agents’ performance, both in terms of AHT (=Average Handling Time) and CPH (=Cases Per Hour) and quality requirements.
What’s your personal motto or philosophy when it comes to quality in customer service?
“Es muss von Herzen kommen, was auf Herzen wirken soll.” (Goethe) — It must come from the heart.
That’s a good one! Can you share a story where you felt particularly proud of your team’s commitment to quality?
Two years ago, an old couple in their mid-80s stopped at the warehouse in Rudow because they wanted to return a device and thought it would be a good idea not to waste rebuy’s money for a return with DHL. They somehow got into the warehouse area (strange enough) and were then stopped by security who called the Head of CS at the time. This old couple told us that they had never before received such personal emails from a big company. That’s why they wanted to make their weekly “Kaffee-Ausflug” to Rudow just to hand over the return and to say thank you. — For me, this is was a touching experience, especially in a world like ours. It’s not always about efficiency, but we also make the world a little better when we’re simply friendly.
(… and of course, we took their return and offered a coffee). If customers like this couple have their next coffee with family and friends, we will win new customers, I am sure!
Without focusing on specifics, how do you approach identifying areas for improvement in customer service?
To be successful in customer service in the long term, you have to find the balance between quality and quantity and at the same time offering process-compliant and economical solutions to customers.
Can you describe a time when you turned a challenging situation into a success story for the team?
This happens almost every day when I read the customers’ comments in the CSAT (=customer satisfaction survey). I not only send these comments to the respective agents as motivating and constructive feedback but also close the feedback loop to our customers. There are often situations when our customers are enthusiastic that someone sends individual and empathic replies although the process might not meet their expectations.
What qualities do you think are essential in a team to achieve high standards of customer service?
Team spirit is one of the pillars of success in customer service. In our customer service management team, we have experienced the 4 phases of forming, norming, storming and now finally performing (Bruce Tuckman) with personnel and structural changes. I think the basis always has to be respect and friendliness in working together.
… And a good dose of fun and pizza!
Quality management is an evolving field. How do you keep yourself and your team updated with the latest trends and practices?
Apart from watching our competitors and their strategies, in the near future, we will have a change of our systems and will also use AI-supported tools for quality evaluations.
Personally, I am continuing my studies in stress management, resilience, employee development and motivation as well as work psychology.
Reflecting on your career, how have your views on quality in customer service evolved?
My former lead had a favourite saying “You can’t ride a dead horse.” Over the years of getting to know many, many people in customer service, quality management and training, I have made the experience that, of course, you can achieve a lot through training and knowledge transfer, but if customer orientation and the joy of dealing with people is missing, all this will be a waste of time and effort.
What exciting developments do you see on the horizon for quality in customer service? How do you envision the role of technology in enhancing quality management in the coming years?
AI will change a lot, and it will challenge me too because it must, of course, be “fed” and adapted to our needs but will open up completely new possibilities. It will help to identify specific training needs and carry out quality evaluations in a very individual way. That is an exciting vision and I am grateful to be part of it (even at the age of 59).
Outside of work, what are some of your passions or hobbies that you believe contribute to your success in your role?
My husband and I travel a lot, especially since our children have grown up and left home. As a result, we get to know a lot of people and cultures. This has often helped me in customer service, because intercultural competence is a key to customer satisfaction, especially when dealing with customers.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting their career in quality management, what would it be?
Here again, I come up with a saying: “Love what you do, do what you love” (Wayne W. Dyer). Even if it sounds a bit cheesy, love for people in all their diversity is the basis for outstanding customer service.
What would you say has been the most rewarding part of your job?
On the one hand, it is a great feeling to be part of customer service agents’ development when they increase their performance and simply feel good and strong at work and on the other hand, when our customers are enthusiastic about us because we have succeeded in creating a WOW effect!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our team or customers about your commitment to quality?
According to the EFQM model (developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management), quality is based on three pillars: people, processes and results.
And so for me, people come first every day, with our customer service agents, with our customers and in our team.
Birgit, this has been such an incredible tour into your views on Quality and the experiences you have brought with you into rebuy’s world! Your words outline the rebuy values so perfectly and your focus on people and passion in your work is truely admirable. Thank you for your dedication and for the impact you have made on our teams and customers over the years.
