Customer Experience Team Review

We work all around Heathrow Terminal 5 mainly focusing on providing a quality service to customers and helping with any queries or concerns that they have. The areas that we operate are- before security in different types of check in and hosting roles. After security in the lounges, boarding flights and meeting arriving flights. In connections for when someone’s stopping of to travel onto another destination, on customer service desks and lastly in the arrivals baggage hall where customers go for luggage collection.

I’ve learnt a different side to customer service from a non selling point of view, where in my role you are providing the service that customers have paid for, rather than trying to up-sell and sell items there. Also my team work skills have definitely been enhanced as in the industry I work in, your colleagues around you are there to help support you and provide different types of knowledge and information.

The building is absolutely amazing to work in, the team around us are very supportive and our trainers are very knowledgeable and supportive too. I personally love the whole of the aviation and service industry and the apprentices around me are great people too, so I definitely enjoy it a lot.

The programme is made up of upskill courses and then we go back to continue our normal roles in the terminal and can put what we’ve just learnt into practice. We have a learning log to keep up to date with everything we learn on the job and have a clear learning path that’s dated so we can always prepare for what’s coming up next.

We have a little bit more room for error as they understand we’re learning so don’t punish us severely if we make a mistake, instead we are supported more. We work at the same level as full time employees and aren’t really treated any differently, so they put a lot of faith and trust in us and we always know all the different numbers that we can call to get help or advice on individual queries, from hr, to passport and visa requirements, to the baggage team.

We are emailed in advance with the next training date, what we will need to bring with us and where it will be. They really help us with expanding our knowledge and explained from the start, each individual part of the course and what we will have completed by the end so we have a good understanding and what there is to do.

We are given a deeper understanding of different ways of handling customers and many different scenarios. It allows us to know how to give individual service and a higher quality of service to customers whilst also carrying out our normal role at the same time. It’ll also benefit us in the future as we have a lot more knowledge of the basics to take into management.

There are different opportunities within the company. Personally myself and the other apprentices have gone out as a group on a few occasions. But I’m aware of many different sport and social groups that keep in contact on our messaging network (Yammer) and strange activities on there. We also get involved with the charities- comic relief and flying start and have lots of things to get involved with and help arrange throughout the year.

Yes

The industry itself is an amazing industry to be a part of. Once you’re part of the company you can eventually start to progress and move around to gain other experience or to go to a department which may interest you even more. And the team ethic and the fact that no two days are the same, make it a very enjoyable company to be a part of.

Definitely show your personality and let that stand out at the interview process, because beyond the minimum requirements of grades and other things, BA are looking for people who want to provide customers with outstanding service and enjoy putting a smile on peoples faces. So be yourself, try and gain experience with interacting with all different types of people and resolving different problems and just enjoy it as the industry is such a fast moving and enjoyable one to become a part of!