A day in the Life of a Customer Enquiry Consultant

Hi, my name is Isabelle Oehler, and I have been working in the Customer Enquiry Centre (CEC) for a little over three years. Essentially, we are the first point of contact for prospective enquiries – acting as the ‘front door’ to BaptistCare.

The CEC Team is a phone-based role, driven to provide high-quality customer experience as we help connect customers and the community to their required services. In addition to managing the general enquiries line (13 22 78), we also manage BaptistCare website enquiries and general emails.  

There are two main roles within our team: The Customer Enquiries Consultants and In-Home Sales Consultants (SCs). SCs primarily nurture In-Home Care Package (IHC) leads, while Enquiries Agents (like me) respond to queries encompassing all of BaptistCare’s services, not just Aged Care. 

A typical day for Enquiries Agents looks like: 

• Answering inbound phone calls (all enquiry types).
• Having an allocation of Salesforce cases to work through (all enquiry types).
• Checking emails that have landed in the enquiries inbox (all enquiry types).  
• Liaise with our SC’s regarding any IHC leads that have come in through phone, case work or email. 
• Problem-solving with callers to determine the best services to assist them and connecting them to the relevant teams as required. 
• Complaints handling. 

The most enjoyable part of my role is talking to customers and having meaningful conversations with them. I particularly enjoy the discussions where I inform the customer about the My Aged Care Process. Sometimes, it is like a light bulb goes off. This is a very satisfying moment because I leave the call knowing that I have just made a small impact on a customer’s journey! 

I also encounter challenges day to day – with the wide range of enquiries we receive, we are speaking to people who are often overwhelmed, confused or in a vulnerable place. I find the best way to manage these conversations is with good listening, empathy and trying to simplify the complexities as much as possible for them.  

These are the scenarios where embodying our WECARE values (Wellbeing, Ethics, Co-creating, Accountability, Respect, Effectiveness) really does make a difference.

I am also very appreciative of the team I work with and the other departments. Having friendly and supportive colleagues makes each day at work engaging and rewarding. We will see you all around the office!