Nobody wants to contact the support. But when something doesn’t work, all we want is for someone to help us. Olivia Lindqvist is one of the heroes who works as a coordinator in the Telia ACE support, and she describes herself as a natural-born problem-solver.
Hi Olivia, you have worked with support at Telia ACE for 3 years. What does an average day on the job look like?
– The issues that I receive, either digitally or over the phone, can be about anything from assisting customers who need help with our tools to communicating operational disturbances. We manage all those things that you don’t want to happen, or even think will happen. Currently I am also involved in an implementation project. That means that I am available for the employees at the customer during the launch phase of Telia ACE. From my perspective it is super smart to include the support organization in a proactive way and I hope it becomes a more common practice in the future.
You describe yourself as a problem solver, does that mean that you think it is fun when the washing machine leaks or when the refrigerator makes a strange noise?
– Ha ha, I wouldn’t say fun. But if I hear the fridge making strange noises, my first impulse is to think about how a fridge works and from that point start to figure out what might be causing the noise. When I am faced with a problem that I don’t know the answer to, my curiosity is triggered and I enjoy getting to the bottom of things. Problems are not fun, and certainly not the inconveniences they cause, but it is exciting to search for the solution.
Do you have any other personal characteristics that are particularly useful in your professional role?
– When I have a problem with something in my home or if I have to call an insurance company it makes a huge difference how I am treated by the person who takes the call, chats with me or answers my e-mail. I love meetings with people who are engaged and who care about my experience. I bring that insight with me into the meetings I have with my customers, and I feel that I am good at creating a sense of safety in situations when the person I am talking to feels stressed. My goal is for the customer not to feel that I am helping him or her with their problem, but that we are doing it together.
When are you the happiest at work?
– What really makes my day is to make the journey from problem to solution with the customer and to feel their genuine joy and gratitude. That’s a feeling I can live off for a long time, and it gives me energy to dive into the next tricky case.
