A General Manager’s Day Taking Calls in the Contact Center

Last week, MTM celebrated Customer Service Week, an international event devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service. Every one of our contact centers across the nation, as well as their support teams (okay, the whole company), commended our customer service efforts together with dress up days, potlucks, and more. One leader in particular chose to celebrate with solidarity.

Danielle Mezera is the General Manager of our Wisconsin operations. One of our largest contracts, team members here serve 1,051,073 members on average per month. Needless to say, Danielle is a busy woman. Despite the fact, on Monday of International Customer Service week, she stepped out of her own role and into the contact center for the day. She spent time the week prior in our highly awarded new hire orientation training class, learning the ins and outs of assisting members on the phone when they call in to schedule transportation with us. She even took her work home with her, studying flash cards she had made with her faithful dog Monty. Her coworkers made thoughtful guesses as to how many calls she might be able to take in her day in the contact center. They even channeled some of the excitement Danielle had created into raising hurricane relief funds in the office by hosting a 50/50 raffle throughout the day.

Staff guesses ranged from 36 calls on the lower end, all the way up to 74 calls. Danielle’s supervisor and Regional Vice President Nathan Mueller predicted she’d successfully complete 56 phone calls with Wisconsin members. The office buzzed for a week straight over what Danielle might do! When Monday finally came, it was evident that Danielle was taking the challenge seriously, showing up in her pajamas. (This being the dress theme of the day, she wanted to fit right in the contact center.) Updates were sent out frequently throughout the day. As it went on, Danielle surpassed most of the guesses her coworkers had made- 90% to be exact! She completed the day after taking 69 calls from local members. We’re thankful to Danielle for her fantastic work in assisting members and boosting morale in her office. This year’s International Customer Service Week wouldn’t have been so special without a leader’s day in a customer care representative’s shoes. The challenge is now on for other General Managers to beat her record!