Service Consultant Review

I am a customer service consultant. On a day to day basis I take calls from customers and deal with any issues or queries that they may have. I also have to liaise with different departments in the business to check things etc. Everyday I take on the responsibility of dealing with people's insurance.

Through this course I have been developing my customer service skills as this is the qualification I am working towards. As well as this my personal time keeping skills have been improved as I have to stick to all my targets and meet deadlines. Mainly I have improved my sense of responsibility.

I really enjoy my programme, everybody at the office is really friendly and makes an effort to include everyone. My team leader always makes an effort to check I am supported and helps me out with anything I need. It definitely exceeded my expectations for a first full time job. It is also a very wide range of people, broadening my horizons.

By my manager I feel very appreciated as we have monthly one to one sessions where we discuss how everything is going. There are also lots of awards given out around the office which consultants nominate each other in. However by the business I don't feel as appreciated, this is due to the fact apprentices don't get the monthly bonuses like the other consultants on the floor and we also have to work longer shifts.

The induction process with our qualification provider was slightly long winded and at times patronising however they were nice people and were just following their power point given to them. My mentor is a nice person however he mentors all of the apprentices plus many other consultants at direct line so does struggle to reply to me and others quickly which is frustrating when I need help.

I don't receive as much support from my assessor as I would have liked and we haven't been given any online access as promised to be able to track our progress through the NVQ. He does have a very good general attitude towards me and my learning he just is very busy. When he does respond to me he definitely helps me progress.

From my employer I receive more support, as mentioned earlier I have monthly meeting with my managers to see how I'm doing and have team meetings three times a week, in these I am given the chance to voice any problems, things I feel could be improved within the business or even just any general queries about work.

The salary is amazing, nearly triple the minimum wage with a yearly bonus if you do well. The location is in the middle of Bristol so is easily accessible by public transport, a downside is that there is very little parking, and what there is very expensive. However with the salary you don't get the bonuses monthly for hitting your stats like the other consultants.

There is a Christmas event for the bristol office every year which is fun and everybody on the floor arranges to go out together fairly often. As well as this we get one day a year where as a team we get paid to go and spend the day helping a charity. We also get discounts for many big brands and retailers for working at DLG.

Yes

Everybody's is really friendly and it's the perfect place to do a first full time job as it gives a sense of responsibility yet isn't too stressful and if you are struggling with something then your manager always wants to help as it is in their best interest for you to do well.

For the telephone interview learn the values of the business as these are very important to the company. Also for the real interview make sure that you are very vocal as that is all they are looking for, the exercise they give the group to do is purely to see how well people communicate.