CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: Job Applicant

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENATIVE: ROLE-PLAYING SCRIPT FOR JOB APPLICANT,
Ms. Roberts, Eastern Maine Community College-Spring 2009

It is Spring, 2009, and you will graduate from Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC) with an Associates Degree in Business Management –Office Technology and a 3.5 GPA. You grew up in rural Maine and are the first in your family to go to college, so everyone is very proud of you.

You did well in high school and were Co- captain for the High School girl’s basket ball team where you learned teamwork and the importance of knowing about the game and your competition in order to win. You were also a member of Jobs for Maine Graduates where you identified your occupational interests and learned about responsibility, courtesy and customer service and again teamwork.

At EMCC, you studied business to learn more about skills needed to apply for jobs with industries in Maine. You took classes in Proofreading and Editing, Keyboarding, Math and Composition, Office Procedures and Oral Communication. You also did work study jobs with the Information Desk and with The Enrollment Center where you greeted applicants, did copying, collating and other organization jobs required while also holding jobs in the community.

You are a hard worker! During high school and college you worked for 3 summers at the Service Department desk at the car dealership where your father works as a mechanic. You were employed by Borders Books as customer service rep on weekends and after school in both high school and all through college and worked at LL Bean in their Customer Service Department, first as a picker, then on the phones initially at Christmas then moving into permanent part time.

Even though you worked and studied and did very well you volunteered at the local food bank and with Meals on Wheels, when time allowed.

Ms. Burke, Director of Customer Service at L L Bean has been a mentor to you and asked you to come speak to her last week. She has a full time position in Customer Phone Service at LL Beam’s new call center opening in May in Bangor. She asked if you would like one of the Customer Service Representative jobs upon graduation. She is in the process of opening the new office and needs to develop a professional Customer Service Team and thinks you would be a perfect member of the team. As this is a new and expensive venture for LL Bean, she must show positive results quickly, especially in this weak economy.

This is the perfect job for you and you immediately said yes. It gives you the opportunity to use the skills and education you have, and let’s you remain in the Bangor area where your family lives. She asked you to come back today just to settle a couple details like salary, benefits and a starting date and then sign a contract.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE JOB APPLICANT (2)

You’ve done your homework and know that a Customer Service Representative in the Bangor area has a salary range of $25,000 to $33,000 with a median salary of $29,000. The benefits for this position should add another $14,000 to the compensation package.

You’ve determined that your target salary is $29,000. You firmly believe your work and volunteer activities, your excellent education and diverse skills establish this as your value doing this job. The fact that you have experience at LL Bean and have trained with Ms. Burke will make it easy for you immediately be a productive team member..

You know that living in the Bangor will be more expensive than living at home. You have hefty student loans to pay off. You will need a car, and after working so hard, you would like to have a social life! You’ve done your budget and know the minimum salary you can possibly accept is $27,000 and that would mean living VERY modestly.

You have the last appointment of the day. Ms. Burke must leave in 15 minutes for a staff meeting in Freeport. Can you and Ms. Burke come to an agreement about a starting salary which you can accept? Can you get her to agree to your target salary figure? Will she offer an acceptable benefits package?

Make notes on what you consider your persuasive points. Decide the sequence in which you will present these points. Make notes about the language you will use. Make notes about likely objections and what you will say.

Use every minute of that time to get her to your target salary. It’s your last chance to start out with the best salary you can get. Remember, $29,000 is what you believe you’re worth in that job.

Go for it!