Tell us about your role
I work in contact lens support which involves responding to all queries from customers and stores about our Complete Contact Care scheme. There’s lots of elements to it and it can be challenging at times but that’s why I enjoy it. When I first started, I was trained on all customer service lines, which is a great way to gain knowledge and deal with a range of customer queries. I was given the opportunity to focus on contact lens support a few months ago and I’m really enjoying it.
What were your first impressions of Vision Express?
It was a huge difference from my previous workplace. I love the atmosphere, not just from the customer service team but the whole office – it felt great. I spoke to a lot of different people from different departments and it seemed like a great place to start with little experience and to build a career. The friendliness of the team made me feel comfortable straight away.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received at work?
At the start of my role here, I found that a lot of the work was getting on top of me but Sam, the customer services manager, said the best thing to me. She told me to focus and work hard but always ask for help if I needed it. She said that I could succeed and never to think that I can’t do something. I’d like to think that I took that advice on board and I’ve progressed in my role thanks to the managers I have.
Biggest lesson learnt in your career so far?
Since I started believing in my career at Vision Express and understanding that I was part of a great team, it changed my perceptive on life. I didn’t want to let anyone down especially as I had been given so much support since starting. My role has given me more discipline and the managers have motivated me to keep working hard and achieve something great.
The discipline has changed my lifestyle. Seeing my brother progress within the company (he started in the same role as me) and having great managers makes me grateful for working here.
What advice would you give to a new starter who might be at the very start of their career?
If someone is moving here from a different background like a smaller company, it will seem like a lot of hard work to begin with, but you shouldn’t think that you can’t do it. It’s a learning path every single day and if you stick with it, eventually you will get to a point where you’re confident in your knowledge and can start to progress. If you’re patient, it will come, and you’ll be proud of yourself for sticking to it.