Hello, I’m Kinga. I’ve worked with Maersk as a Customer Experience Agent since November 2021. Here is a list of the things I do each day at work.
Arrive at the office
I work remotely with my team for 4 days a week, and one day a week, I go to the office. Today is my office day, and I prefer to arrive 10 minutes early to have a relaxed start to my day. Despite living in my hometown, it takes me 1.5 hours to reach the office, but I love interacting with my colleagues, so I make an effort to go to the office whenever possible. Thankfully, I’ll be moving closer to the office soon, and my travel time will be reduced to 20 minutes. When I reach the office, my first thought is to grab some coffee. A kitchen is always a bustling place with many colleagues, and I enjoy chatting with them and catching up on the latest news before starting work.
Time to start work
When I get back to my desk, the first thing I do is check my calendar for the day to see if I have any scheduled meetings or calls with clients. This helps me plan my day better and prioritize my tasks accordingly. I also check for any new cases that have come in from customers overnight through our case management system, which we primarily use for customer interactions. Since our work is highly dependent on customer needs and bookings, it is often unique and requires a flexible approach. However, some of our regular tasks include communicating with terminals, tracking container movements in the port system, and monitoring leasing and container holds.
Morning
My top priority is to handle urgent cases and requests, especially those with time-sensitive deadlines that need to be resolved by the afternoon or the end of the day. Once I have addressed these urgent matters, I spend the rest of the morning working on other customer queries and requests. Some of these can be quite challenging and interesting because of the complex nature of some of our customers’ businesses. For example, I recently dealt with a customer who imports fish from the Mar Del Plata terminal in Argentina to Poland, with transit stops in London, UK, and Bremerhaven, Germany. In Germany, a veterinary inspection is mandatory for the container to proceed with its journey, and the container needs to be offloaded from the ship, inspected, and arrangements made with the customer for the inspection. This requires coordination with other departments within Maersk to ensure the process goes smoothly. After the inspection, we need to remove the previous customs alloy before the container can continue its journey to Poland. This entire process has several steps, and any delay can impact the frozen products in the container, so time is of the essence.
Training
On a monthly basis, I have a one-to-one meeting scheduled with my manager, which provides me with an opportunity to discuss anything that’s on my mind with her. During these meetings, we reflect on the successes of the past month, identify areas that require improvement, and discuss priorities and new challenges. I always come out of these meetings feeling motivated and energized.
Today, I’m not scheduled for a one-to-one meeting with my manager, but I’m still engaged in an activity that excites and energizes me. The Operations department changes have led to some of their tasks being taken over by our CX department. As a result, my colleagues and I are undergoing training to learn how to use local port systems, which I find very interesting.
Lunchtime
At around 1 pm, I typically take my lunch break. Throughout the day, I make an effort to take small breaks to stretch my legs, refill my water, or make coffee. During lunchtime, I usually get to spend more time with my colleagues in the office, which I enjoy.
There is no canteen available on-site, but we have three different caterers who provide lunch options every day. These options usually include healthy, vegan, and meat choices. Lately, I have been choosing healthier food options such as salads. I enjoy having lunch in the open-space kitchen area in our Gdynia office and use the opportunity to chat with colleagues about various topics such as travel, pets, and hobbies.
Afternoon
Every week, I attend a couple of team meetings that are mandatory for all team members and led by our manager. The first one is held every Tuesday at 1:30 pm, and we try to maintain a balance between work and personal life. During this meeting, we discuss current events and offer each other advice on difficult customer issues that we may be facing.
On Friday afternoons, we have another team meeting called the “catch-up call.” This meeting is more relaxed and provides an opportunity for us to unwind and have some laughs after a long week. Since not all team members may be physically present in the office during these meetings, we use Microsoft Teams to allow those working remotely to join us.
End of the day
As my workday is coming to a close, I ensure that all urgent tasks have been completed and begin to prepare for tomorrow’s responsibilities. Since it takes me a while to travel back home, I usually leave the office immediately after work. However, once a month, my team and I gather together after payday to grab some food and drinks. We also enjoy participating in various activities such as pub quizzes and escape rooms, where our teamwork skills come in handy.
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Source: Maersk
