Response Time: Vol. 9

You satisfy your customers, but can you satisfy our curiosity?

With John Burns, Ambassador Team Lead at Casumo.

Please tell us a little bit about your company and what you do there.

We are an online casino offering a fun, exciting, and safe space for our players to play their favorite games. I am the Ambassador Team Lead, leading a multinational team of ambassadors supporting our players around the clock.

Which celebrity would be really great at your job, and why?

Monica and Chandler Bing’s love child! Monica’s attention to detail combined with Chandler’s ability to make anything entertaining.

What’s the most valuable thing that working in customer service has taught you?

That there is always a solution, and that is what counts when it comes to brand reliability.

What’s your greatest productivity hack?

The Pomodoro Technique is essential! 🍅 ⏰

What gif best describes your mental state right now?

What’s the best customer service you’ve ever experienced?

My last stay at the Gantry hotel in London. On arrival, I found a bottle of wine in the room – the same wine we had been drinking in the bar during our previous stay. There was a little note beside it welcoming me back to the property and mentioning that they noticed I enjoyed this wine on my last stay and hope I enjoy this complimentary bottle. They made it memorable, personalized, and guaranteed that I’ll be staying there for my future trips! Wow factors!

What’s the worst customer service you’ve ever experienced?

I once spent four hours on the phone with a mobile phone operator. Every 20 minutes, they put me through to someone new and didn’t hand over any information, so I had to repeat the scenario over and over. I’ve never felt more unheard.

Which movie robot would you choose as your AI sidekick, and why?

Baymax! Warm, friendly, hilariously innocent.

What’s the strangest thing a customer has asked you?

What sort of shoes am I wearing…

What can you do that a bot will never be able to replicate?

Due diligence and understanding on a human, empathetic level. And the finest quality sarcasm.

“It may be the 100th time you’ve handled a particular query, but it’s the first for your customer”

What do you doodle when you’re on video calls?

I do not doodle, I’d lose focus so fast on whatever abstract “art” I’d have conjured up.

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to your peers in the customer service industry?

Be kind! It goes a long way. It may be the 100th time you’ve handled a particular query, but it’s the first for your customer.

What book are you reading at the moment?

Answering Tough Interview Questions for Dummies.

What’s the best thing a customer has ever said to you?

That is tricky. Honestly, any time someone makes a point to say they are returning because of their experience with you. It really pays off when you make that kind of impact.

What words make your skin crawl?

Negative words. “No,” “can’t,” “I’m afraid,” “unfortunately,” “sadly.”

“Ultimately, we provide a service – and a great one at that!”

Do you identify more with the title “customer support,” customer service,” “customer success,” or “customer experience,” and why?

Customer Service. We provide a service to ensure the experience is a success … by supporting customers. But ultimately, we provide a service – and a great one at that!

What was your “15 minutes of fame” moment?

A Christmas photo of me appeared on a BBC breakfast show in 2017.

What do you wish people knew about working in customer service?

It teaches you an abundance of soft skills that can be utilized in such a wide variety of work and personal situations.

Conversation closed… for now 😏