Customer Services Assistant Review

My role as a CSA at the London Transport Museum is to provide the best standard of customer service and care to all the visitors at the Museum. I have face to face interaction with a lot of customers from London and all over the world. I have to utilise my interpersonal skills to ensure customer satisfaction and understanding. I work in five different positions throughout the Museum and am responsible for my own float of cash daily.

I have worked at the London Transport Museum for 3 years prior to my Apprenticeship therefore I already had an understanding of my role. However, with this previous experience I feel that re-training myself has helped to refresh my knowledge and skills. I am now looking at my role through new pair of eyes involving a lot more thought behind what I'm doing and why It's being done a certain way. I have done a number of Internal Training Courses such as Fire Warden and Manual Handling. I am also shortly attending an Ambassador course with TTL which I will gain great experience from. All this training has helped me to develop my customer service skills further.

We are still in the beginning stages of my Apprenticeship, so at the moment it is about settling in within the Museum and its Departments. It is a good programme and I should be doing more experience opportunities soon which is very exciting.

I definitely feel like a valued member of staff. My Manager is always giving me advice and guidance as well as all my colleagues throughout the Museum. TfL held a networking event at the Museum during my first week, it was a brilliant event and the staff at TfL seem very supportive of every apprentice they have taken on. It’s a nice feeling knowing that they believe you are the future of the organisation.

My apprenticeship is brand new, therefore it is all new for myself and TfL. I was given a full induction on my first week which included the fire evacuation procedure. I have meetings with my Manager at the Museum weekly to monitor my progress and can contact my Assessor via Email at any time. I also am given time during the week to do my studies. My programme is organised however due to it being a new scheme there are points that aren't as organised as it could be.

I can contact my Assessor via email with any questions I have. He is very positive and reassures me with any problems I have. We have organised future meetings each month where we can talk in a class room environment.

My Manager and I meet on a weekly basis for one on one meetings where we can discuss my progress. I can also ask my mentor questions at any time, not just within these meetings, so I have great access to support and advice. They are very positive towards supporting me and strive to make sure I'm getting the best out of it. Colleagues in other departments within the Museum are also very supportive and offer experience opportunities as well as their advice and time.

It is a slight wage drop from my previous role at the Museum but not by too much. I have a TfL Travel Card meaning I now get free travel which helps me save more money for living costs. The Museum is in Zone 1 and I live in Zone 4 therefore it is quite a while away however it has been a great benefit to travel with my staff travel card.

There are many opportunities outside of work such as the Ambassador course you can apply for on the TfL Intranet. I am shortly going on this course which will be great experience for myself to see customer service in a different field. In the future we will also be going to external venues to shadow staff and see how they work, this allows comparisons to be made and advice can be produced for the Museum or even for the chosen venue. Also the location of the Museum is near enough in the Heart of Central London, there are many Restaurants and Shops around, after work I can meet with colleagues for meals, or even get some shopping done. There is also a number of Theatres close by so I have the chance to go see shows. Its close to a number of tube stations and bus stops therefore it has great access.

Yes

Its a very positive organisation to work for. You also feel like you're helping to keep London moving.

The application process is quite long, just stay determined. The interview I had involved a presentation followed by a interview, just stay calm and its normal to be nervous.