Hello, my name is Franziska, but everyone calls me Zissi.
Since mid-February 2023, I have been working as Communication Manager at Juvigo in Berlin. This means that I am responsible for any contact requests from our customers that reach us by phone, E-mail and WhatsApp. After six months in the DACH team so far, which takes care of the needs of all customers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, I can say that I have never enjoyed working in customer service as much as I do at Juvigo.
A large product selection
Firstly, as an agent for children’s and youth travel from various tour operators, Juvigo provides an incredibly large product range of camps that I can offer my clients in their search for the right trip for their children. From horse whispering camps, to canoe tours in Sweden, to survival camps or youth trips to Lake Balaton. There is something for every child and teenager here and I can adapt perfectly to the children’s interests. It’s always a fun surprise to still discover camps after six months that I haven’t heard of yet, because there are so many different offers. Thanks to the many varied camp themes, I can usually recommend at least 3 to 5 camps to my clients for their specific request, so that they have a selection from which they can choose the one that suits them best.
Finding the right camp
Through our internal tools, I can quickly find suitable offers by using many parameters such as age, holiday time, desired destination, etc., check availability and take into account special restrictions such as whether the camp only has places for boys or girls. In this way, I can ensure that customers only receive offers that really meet their wishes and can actually be booked at the current time. If we are not able to make an offer, for example for very last-minute travel requests or for niche camps that are already fully booked, we have a process to inform the client as soon as the camp can be booked for the next year, so that our clients don’t have to think about it themselves.
Flexible work
What totally decelerates my work here is that any paper clutter is eliminated, as our internal tools allow us to leave notes for each prospect in our system that only colleagues in the same team can see, this also benefits nature as I don’t have to use paper. So during a phone call I can write down information and record to-dos in parallel. If the client calls again and I am not available, one of the other colleagues can advise the client and thus know exactly what was discussed and what information the client still needs. Even though I am happy to accompany my clients from the first contact to the booking, this way no client is left behind and does not have to repeat his entire request, but can be sure that we are up to date, no matter who from our team he talks to.
The individual counts
In a job in customer service, it is also totally important to me that I can contribute my own personality and that it is not seen as something negative that everyone works in their own way. At Juvigo, this is even desired. Of course we have certain procedures and processes that we stick to, that give us a structure to know how to react to which request. But the way I communicate verbally and in writing is up to me. On the one hand, I can respond to the client and their personality individually and take their details such as information about the children into account in my response. On the other hand, I can formulate everything in a way that I identify with, as long as I remain friendly and polite, so I have the feeling of being significant as an individual person and do not feel interchangeable as a client advisor. At Juvigo, personal contact with our customers is very important to us, which is why I like to take up information about hobbies, for example, when preparing offers and also respond to parents’ concerns if they express them.
Every customer is important
Something that I find very special about Juvigo and have rarely experienced is the time I can take for the customers. Every customer is valuable and is not treated like a number, but as an individual person whose needs we want to meet. This means that I get to take the time for the client that it takes to find the right camp. Some clients I consult with for weeks until we have found a suitable camp, because in between there were changes in plans or I had to clarify questions with our colleagues on site. There are no time limits, as is usual in call centres, for example, or formulated answers that have to be read out 1:1 or used in e-mails when a specific question is asked. Both we as employees are individual and are valued just as much, as our customers are individual and should feel the same way when they are advised by us.
Great collegial cohesion
In our DACH team, there are about 10 of us who advise clients. This means we get to hear a lot about each other’s advice and can support each other. On the one hand, it is very easy to pass on clients to a colleague who has already advised them, which is a nice feeling for the clients because they have a recurring contact person. On the other hand, and especially when you are new, you still feel insecure for a while because you don’t know everything about all the camps yet, but the colleagues all around are always open to questions and happy to help if you can’t answer something. Besides, our team is also great on a human level. We can laugh together and like to spend our breaks together and exchange ideas. Stressful days weld us together and each colleague is equally responsible for tasks. Even though we naturally have someone who makes decisions, we work hand in hand and no one gets preferential treatment.
Good cooperation with partners
If some questions cannot be answered even by colleagues, our partners always have an open ear for us. We have a good relationship with the organizers whose camps we arrange, so our colleagues are always willing to help us if we have any questions. We are on a first-name basis with all of them and they are easy to reach when we need them. Of course, the trips are super exciting, where we can get to know the partners and the accommodation personally. Sometimes we are even on site while a camp is taking place and thus have a great insight into the daily life of the camp, can personally inspect the accommodation and thus also offer high-quality advice because we can draw on our own experience.
Award for customer service
It was especially nice that Juvigo won thee German Sports and Leisure Award 2023, where the customer service was particularly convincing. As an employee in customer service, it makes me very proud and motivates me to continue doing my daily work with as much fun and commitment as on the previous day and to give 100% in advising our customers in order to satisfy them and to enable children and young people to have a unique time in our camps.
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Here you can read more about Juvigo as the European market leader in youth travel.
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