Spotlight - Sophie Dickinson,
Customer Service Team Leader.

You may be familiar with Sophie’s voice at the end of the line and to us she is a fantastic, walking DVD library but did you also know …….

……that she has kindly agreed to be our first staff profile. Thank you Sophie.

Sophie, you are in the frontline at Total; what does a typical day involve for you?

As Customer Service Team Leader I take incoming calls dealing with queries regarding mobiles, fixed line, BlackBerry, ADSL and all other telecommunications. I also make proactive calls, contacting our customer base, to introduce myself to new customers or double check everything is going well with existing ones. If there are any issues, I will pass them to the relevant department and inform the customer of the conclusion. I am the first port of call for both our customers and many staff too.

You have worked at Total for some time. How have you seen the business change in relation to your role?

I have been at Total for three and a half years and have seen the business grow, going from strength to strength. For me personally, my role has changed considerably as I started within the Sales Department, then moved to Customer Service and within 6 months was promoted to Customer Service Team Leader.

During this time, I have seen the introduction of additional services such as the online Helpdesk and YourView. The Helpdesk has particularly affected my position as customer queries are very easy to access and monitor. The process is also completely traceable and is a useful point of reference, both for myself and my team as well as our customers, who are automatically kept up to date with the progress of their query.

Which aspects of your work do you find the most rewarding?

I find it very rewarding building up good relationships with our customers. I am sure a few of them are very aware of my passion for DVDs. I also enjoy resolving problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.

What do you see as the challenges within you role for the next twelve months?

As Total continues to grow and expand and our customers have access to a wider product portfolio, it is important that my own knowledge is always right up to date, in order to support and advise them. The telecoms industry develops very quickly and this is a challenge but also means my role remains varied and interesting.

We know you love to travel. Tell us more about where you have been in the world?

I have been to Italy quite a bit - Rome, Tuscany, Venice, and the Amalfi Coast. I just love Italy, it’s such a relaxed country with gorgeous food and wine. I have also been to Paris and the USA; LA, which I did not like at all, San Francisco where I had so much fun, Las Vegas which is brilliant and New York which is out of this world. In fact I liked NY so much I went back the following year. My favourite shop in the USA is Old Navy, if you haven’t been to one you must go. I went to Canada this year to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara - it’s an amazing place, the people are so friendly and it’s a really safe environment.

So, where is next on the Sophie Around the World Tour?

I am off to Cape Town in South Africa, The Rockies and Sicily next.

What else do you like to do in your spare time?

I have become addicted to Swimming. I am one of those mad people that wait outside the pool in the early hours of the morning to be let in. I also like watching all my DVDs, deciding where to go on holiday next and shopping.

How many DVDs do you actually have and which is your all time favourite film?

Currently, about 500. My favourite film? Now that is a difficult one but it has to be Goodfellas, a classic film - mafia action, Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta. Need I say more!

Which 5 words best describe you Sophie?

Humorous, Driven, Realistic, Approachable and Straight Talking