Inside Bamboo Loans: a day in the life of Natalia, Customer Service Representative

Hi Natalia, tell us a bit about yourself, what do you do?
I have been with Bamboo since May 2017. I began my journey here as a customer advisor in the applications team, helping customers fill in their applications and to understand the process. After few months I was promoted, and moved to the completions team where I help our customers send through the documents we require from them and inform the customer of our decision.
Why did you decide to work for Bamboo, and what are your working hours?
Bamboo provides a chance to progress within the business. I am motivated by targets and get competitive with the team to reach the top of the leader-board with the most amount of calls made/most amount of customers spoken to. I work full time with Bamboo. My working hours are flexible because of the different shift patterns, which helps with managing everyday responsibilities. For example, I have time to go to the bank if I need to.
What was your background before you joined Bamboo?
Before joining Bamboo, I worked for Old Mutual Wealth as an administrator, checking customer applications and documents to set up an ISA account.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working in the completions team, helping to make the application process easy for our customers. I am also learning how to assist returning customers with the loyalty team.
What is your favourite part about working with Bamboo?
It is fun to work for Bamboo, everyone is always smiling and happy to help if you struggle. You don’t need to be scared to ask any questions when you are unsure. The managers make time to help you and give you feedback when required. We also have the radio on! I have never worked in a place where I can listen to radio while doing my job!
Any favourite projects you’ve worked on?
My favourite project was to help towards motivating the team and find fun activities/incentives to help us to achieve our targets.
Outside of the office, how do you spend your free time?
Mostly, I like to travel around the UK as well abroad. I have seen a few countries already such as Spain, Germany, Turkey and France. My next destination is Italy.
I’m also a professional photographer and I love doing photoshoots with my close friends.
What would you say to people about Bamboo?
I will always recommend Bamboo to anyone as a place to work, I never feel awkward or underestimated. The managers take care of you, they will always give you as much training as you need for you to feel confident and happy with what you are doing. Also, when we achieve our targets there is always time to celebrate! For example we are going bowling this week with the team. And the Bamboo Christmas parties are fantastic!
What are your top tips for being successful in the working environment?
Make sure that you understand what you are doing, don’t be shy to ask any questions, stay focused and have a positive mental attitude. I have realised that the more open you are, if you are keeping your eye on a task and you help your colleagues, the closer you are to achieve your own success.
A day in the life of Natalia: Tell us your daily routine
I get to work before 8:00 a.m. and always make a cup of coffee and check my emails. Once my shift starts, I call customers who have requested a call in the morning. Around 10:00 a.m. I usually take my first break to eat breakfast and have a chat with anyone who is in break room. After that, it is time to motivate myself and make sure that I am half way through my daily tasks. It is important to make sure that I take care of the queue I’m assigned to and help any colleagues/other teams who might be busy. I usually have lunch at 12:30 pm and always have an hour’s break. Most lunch breaks are spent with my work mates. You will find me eating some Polish food that I make before work! Having an hour long break also allows me to go into town to do some shopping if I like.
When I come back from lunch I have only 3 hours left. The time flies by while all of us try to finish our work on time, making sure we achieve our daily targets. An hour before I finish, I take my last 10 minute break to make myself a cup of coffee or tea. My shift ends at 16:30 and I then walk for around 25 minutes to get home, which is part of my daily exercise. I usually spend my free time with friends or family.
Every day at Bamboo is different, the office is open from 8 am to 8 pm and shift patterns vary – 8 am to 4:30 pm, 10 am to 6:30 pm and 11:30 am to 8 pm. The mangers are very flexible, and ask what your preferred shift patterns is, which is good.
- Author The Bamboo Team
- Posted 22 March 2019