A relative newcomer to the industry has won this year’s Outstanding Customer Service Award.
Gail Satchell from Chippenham in Wiltshire joined Siemens Rail Automation in February and hit the ground running as a technical training administrator.
Says Barrie Fulker, training liaison manager at Siemens Rail Automation, ‘Gail joined the Siemens Rail Automation (SRA) Capability team in February 2015 as a technical training administrator.
‘The team is small with five members. Gail’s role is crucial to the team which is responsible for ensuring that the SRA business, with 1,600 employees, has the engineering capability and competence to fulfil its project delivery commitments.
‘Gail’s customers are SRA employees along with external customers and training providers, who are all reliant on the effective management of the dynamic SRA Technical Training Plan.
‘Gail manages, with great professionalism, enthusiasm and a smile, the co-ordination of this plan. By applying herself, Gail has gained the credibility and confidence of her customers which is necessary for the plan to work.’
Says Gail, ’I’d like to thank Barry Fulker for nominating me and the team I work with. They have been very supportive and welcoming.’
On her own initiative, Gail completed a series of the company’s technical training e-learning packages which explain the company’s products and processes. This was over and above what was expected from her.
A measure of good customer service is the retention and growth of customers. This is evident in the numbers of customers currently being provided with a service by Gail through the SRA technical training plan.
The plan currently has 170 live technical training courses for SRA customers and 46 live external customer training courses with a total of 1,300 delegates booked to attend – a 50 per cent increase over the same period last year.
Says Barrie, ‘A great example of how Gail manages her work and provides the great customer service required is the co-ordination of the Safe Work Leader programme for all SRA control of site safety and engineering supervisors – more than 200 people. This was a requirement of a customer, Network Rail, which needed to be co-ordinated in very short timescales. Gail stepped up to the plate on her very first day to demonstrate her commitment and skill by speaking to many people to ask for their support in getting the job done.’
A construction manager said, ‘I worked with Gail while acting as the route implementation manager in the East Midlands. I found her to be exceptionally pro-active and helpful in ensuring all the training went smoothly; she is highly efficient, friendly and professional in her approach.
‘What struck me the most, compared to others I dealt with, was the way she wasn’t afraid to ask for more clarity or help. This may not seem important but it meant whenever we corresponded, I knew she fully understood what was required.’
The Outstanding Customer Service Award was sponsored by GB Railfreight (GBRf). GBRf employs more than 600 people and operates over 1,000 trains a week, transporting 15 per cent of Britain’s rail freight. Says GBRf managing director John Smith, ‘The key thing is they’re being recognised by their peers, so the people being nominated are being nominated because people think they’re good. And that’s who they work with which is brilliant.’
Highly commended
- Lauren Hynes, Intertrain(UK) Ltd
- Robert Richmond, QTS Group
