Customer Services Manager
Lydd Airport
Natalie K
00:00:03 My name’s Natalie K, I’m the Customer Services Manager here, and I basically oversee the day to day running of the front desk, and the corporate facility next door as well. I have more involvement in like the background, like working with Accounts, setting up new procedures, doing Sales and Marketing, and just promoting the services that we offer.
00:00:25 The sort of aircraft that come in to us are just like business jets, like Lear Jet 45, like 8-seater private jets that people either have for like going on private holidays, or maybe they’ll have a meeting that they’ll come in on a private jet for.
00:00:40 I actually had a friend that worked here, on the front desk at the time, and there was a job going, and she told me about it. Came for an interview. I actually didn’t get it the first time round. And then I got called back, I think about four months later, had a second interview, and then got the job.
00:00:57 I was disappointed when I didn’t get the job the first time round, ’cause when I came for my interview it seemed like a really interesting place to work, and I hadn’t actually heard of it before I had the interview. I didn’t – even though I live locally – I didn’t really know what was here and what they did.
00:01:13 One of the best days was when Gatwick and Heathrow were closed, the runway was closed due to fog, and we had good weather conditions here. So we actually had like 40, 50 jets all in – all come in to us in one day, which is basically unheard of. But everything did run smoothly, like clockwork, and it’s just a really good feeling, and a really good buzz as well. It was a long day, but it was worth it.
00:01:39 At school I always wanted to be a journalist, I was like really interested in like creative writing. And I actually did my work experience for a local paper, and I thought that’s what I wanted to get into. But it didn’t happen. To be honest after my A levels I – I’d had enough of education, I just wanted to get a job and start earning money.
00:02:01 Aviation’s something I’m interested in now. It’s nothing I’d ever thought of doing at school or – or never even thought of. But now, once you – when you’re in it, it’s good. It’s ’cause it’s so different every day. I don’t think there’s many jobs that you actually don’t know what’s going to happen that day that you go into work. I couldn’t do an office job now.
00:02:23 Before I started here, I did my A-Levels, and then I went straight from that and started working in two different call centres. I did that for about a year and a half. This job’s a lot more challenging. I mean call centre work, I found quite tedious, ’cause it’s saying the same things every day. Each to their own, but it wasn’t – personally it wasn’t something that I enjoyed.
00:02:46 I’ve actually been quite lucky with training that I’ve received in house, I’ve actually had quite a lot of training, like done loads of Customer Services courses dealing with the public. So I have, over the four years, I mean I have had a lot of training here. So I’ve been very fortunate.
00:03:04 In the next 5 to 10 years I would – I see myself still working in aviation, maybe for like a bigger airport, like a Gatwick, or a Heathrow, or something like that.
00:03:15 If I could I would like to travel and see different countries and different cultures, and explore the world a bit. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, I’ve never been to America either, I’d love to travel round America and see what it – see what it’s like there. Everyone always talks about it, so I think it’s one of those places you just have to go to.
00:03:38 My Mum and Dad have always sort of inspired me, and wanted me to achieve the most that I could out of life. They always pushed me to do better, to achieve the things that they know that I can.
00:03:53 ENDS
Natalie K is Customer Services Manager at Lydd Airport. She started her career in a call centre, but found it tedious. “Aviation’s something I’m interested in now. It’s nothing I’d ever thought of doing at school. But once you’re in it, it’s good. It’s ’cause it’s so different every day. I don’t think there’s many jobs that you actually don’t know what’s going to happen that day that you go into work. I couldn’t do an office job now.”
More information about Customer service managers and supervisors
The UK average salary is £29,813
There are 37.5 hours in the average working week
The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male
Future employment
- Develops and implements policies and procedures to deal effectively with customer requirements and complaints;
- Co-ordinates and controls the work of those within customer services departments;
- Discusses customer responses with other managers with a view to improving the product or service provided;
- Plans and co-ordinates the operations of help and advisory services to provide support for customers and users.