Lee Taylor
Customer Support Specialist
Contact Centres
Lee Taylor's Story
I was a chef before joining here in 2013. I worked on the Toyota, Lexus and Police accounts before starting a secondment in my current role. Shortly after that I was made a trainer, and I recently turned my role into a permanent position. Achieving that so quickly is probably my biggest achievement. It’s a great organisation: if you put the work into your job, the AA put the work into you.
It’s what you make it
Coming from a small kitchen in one hotel, the sheer size of the company has come as a big surprise! If you’re ambitious, like me, there are lots of opportunities to move to and senior roles to deputise in. As for me, I’m always happy to take ownership of anything, and very approachable, two qualities that are very important to get ahead. Now I’m responsible for leading a team of Call Managers, and my role has expanded to include investigating issues. Everyone is pretty fun and laid back, too, which helps with the pressures of the job. There’s a real camaraderie to fall back on.
Ready for anything
We had a call from a young mother and her one year old, who suffered from epilepsy and a heart condition. They were 325 miles from home, on the other side of the country. For breakdown recovery of that distance we normally have to arrange it in sections. But as I was concerned for their health, I arranged for a taxi and hire car to get them home with a minimum of stress. Thankfully they were fine.
Ready for recognition
The bonus structure and performance related pay are very good.
There’s also real time recognition, with on the spot rewards, which is a major bonus. And there are bigger recognitions every quarter. I won the ‘Apprentice of the year’ award and in my current role I’ve already been named ‘Manager of the quarter’.
Predictably unpredictable
The best thing is that every day is different. You can forecast calls but not how many people will break down, or the number of complaints, or seasonal effects. So there are always new challenges and you’re never bored. The three years I’ve been here have felt like five minutes!