Students learn power of good customer service

Young people have been getting to know about good business from one of the city’s biggest customer service centres.

The students from City of Sunderland College visited EDF Energy’s customer services centre at Doxford Park to learn about good customer service as part of their studies.

All eight of the students have learning difficulties and are working towards a Progression Award in Business Admin at the college.

Carli Fletcher, 20, from Sunderland, said: “It was great to be able to look around the EDF Energy offices and we learned a lot about what makes a good customer experience.

“Everyone was very friendly and we even got to listen in to some real customer calls. The building is really nice and we were all really impressed with the gym.”

During the day-long visit the students took part in role-plays, listened to calls, discussed good customer service and were taken on a tour of the building.

The visit will support the students’ studies on the customer service module of their course. They are also studying IT, reception and telephone skills as well as basic administration duties.

Ann Swain and Melinda Gloss, training advisors at EDF Energy, hosted the visit. Ann said: “The students were enthusiastic and keen to learn about how good customer service is promoted at EDF Energy.

“We gave them a tour of the building and during the course of the day completed a number of activities that are used in our Induction training sessions with new employees.

“It is always a pleasure to work with young people to show them the many career opportunities available in customer services.”

EDF Energy employs more than 1,600 staff in Sunderland, the company’s largest UK operation. Employees provide crucial customer contact and billing services for residential and small business customers across the country and are responsible for managing more than 30 million energy bills each year.

Pictured above: Lynn Mearns, front, and her fellow students from the City of Sunderland College learning about good customer relations from EDF Energy’s Ann Swain, left, and Melinda Gloss, second left.