This month we sat down with Kristina Duzong, one of our Answering Service agents. She has been with Answering Service Care since July of 2013.
What is your role with the company?
I act as a virtual receptionist. I help callers with what they need. If a caller calls and wants to leave a message, I take their message and then relay it to the client. I can also help schedule, reschedule, cancel and confirm appointments. I also provide general information and answer questions, such as What type of insurance do you accept? for medical practices. I also answer questions and give information about hours of operation, locations and employment verifications.
What is it like to work with this company?
I love the diversity of this company. I was born in Queens, then I moved to St. Martin when I was a baby, I moved to Jersey for high school and after I graduated high school I moved to Florida. Here, we have people from all areas of life, all phases of life, people from all different countries. There is a “Flag Wall” in the Cafeteria, and it is pretty full now with all of the countries represented here at Answering Service Care.
Have you learned any important lessons while working here in this job?
I have learned that patience is absolutely key. When someone calls and is upset or feeling nervous, scared or concerned in some way, I always let them know that I am sorry about how they are feeling and that I am doing my best to relay the message and fix their issue. Sometimes, people call from far-off places such as Africa or India and it may be difficult to understand their accent or word choices. I stay patient and listen to what they have to say.
I sometimes act as a problem-solver and work hard to connect the people who need to be connected. I had one elderly woman who called and was concerned because her home nurse did not show up. I was able to connect her to the nurse who did show up, but the door wasn’t answered. We resolved the issue, and the nurse came back for the shift.
I also try not to take anything personally. My job is to answer questions, relay messages and, to the best of my ability, resolve problems. If a person who is calling is having a bad day or a bad experience, they may take it out on the operator or agent on the other end of the phone. One of the managers here, Jane, has helped me realize that I should not take anything personally and that doing what I can to address the issues that I can address is the best way to act in my role as an answering service agent. I tell myself, “Keep a smile in your voice and everything will be OK.”
What kinds of things do you like to do outside of work?
I like to research commercial and residential real estate, and I think about running a property management company one day. I also love to drive everywhere and anywhere.
