Solving Problems By Any Means Necessary:
A Day in the Life of a Service Delivery Team Member
Chris Smith is an expert at solving the seemingly unsolvable, serving as a Service Delivery team member for Smartpay. When Smartpay’s Help Desk and Customer Service teams aren’t able to resolve an issue, Chris and the Service Delivery Team come in.
“There's four of us in the team and a lot of the time one of us will be on the road somewhere. If it's an urgent fix like someone needs a terminal fix straight away or delivered or an install perhaps. [...]
And then when we go on-site for our team, because we're the last point of escalation, every now and then we can do some outside-of-the-box solutions. So, for example, sometimes if we go on site to a rural area the signal is really bad. They don't have Wi-Fi themselves. Something we've done in the past is we've gone to a local store, got a mini modem with a 5G SIM and then set that up in the shop.”
And then when we go on-site for our team, because we're the last point of escalation, every now and then we can do some outside-of-the-box solutions. So, for example, sometimes if we go on site to a rural area the signal is really bad. They don't have Wi-Fi themselves. Something we've done in the past is we've gone to a local store, got a mini modem with a 5G SIM and then set that up in the shop.”
When there aren’t site visits to be made, the expertise of the team is put to good use.
“Currently I’m working on creating guides and documentation and doing testing with the terminals in regards to new integration software. [...]
That's one of the reasons I like this role, is that you get that variety, every day can be different [...] Two days out of the week, I'm probably not in the office. I'm on-site in some suburb I've never been to before. [...] Compared to the office, where my day-to-day is structured to have somewhat of a routine.”
That's one of the reasons I like this role, is that you get that variety, every day can be different [...] Two days out of the week, I'm probably not in the office. I'm on-site in some suburb I've never been to before. [...] Compared to the office, where my day-to-day is structured to have somewhat of a routine.”
How are you hands-on with Smartpay customers?
Chris’ commitment to Smartpay customers can start from the moment he wakes up.
“One day I woke up and then I checked my phone at 8:00 am. And there were all these Slack messages from the team in New Zealand because they're having a connectivity issue […] By the time I had gotten ready at home and taken the train to work, we had solved that issue.”
And his commitment doesn’t end at 5:00 pm.
“There's been times where I'm out in the city on a Friday night at 9:00 pm. And then I get a message that this bar is having an issue and it’s right next door to me. I'll pop in and fix it up. [...] And that's why I always tell all the other teams and my customers: Feel free to call me or text me anytime. If I'm available, I'll help you.”
For the Service Delivery team, ‘hands on’ is taken very literally. They frequently make on-site visits and are the last line of defence for helping business owners solve their issues.
“My thought process when it comes to dealing with an issue the customer's having is that at the end of the day, all the customer wants to do is take EFTPOS transactions, right? They want to be able to accept money.
So my point of view is: Get them up and running no matter what it takes. [...] Sometimes that has resulted in me having to go to buy some Ethernet cables or something when that's something they should get from their internet service provider.”
So my point of view is: Get them up and running no matter what it takes. [...] Sometimes that has resulted in me having to go to buy some Ethernet cables or something when that's something they should get from their internet service provider.”
How has your experience shaped your work in this role?
Chris has drawn on a wealth of different life experiences to become the best possible Service Delivery team member.
“On the technology side of things, I did computer science in uni and then I had a job as a website developer for a while. So that taught me a bit about networks and that sort of thing.
Career-wise, my job history is kind of all over the place. I started in retail. I've done telemarketing, but all these kinds of things combine and you just pick up skills from each one.”
Career-wise, my job history is kind of all over the place. I started in retail. I've done telemarketing, but all these kinds of things combine and you just pick up skills from each one.”
His desire for new skills and experiences didn’t end when he joined Smartpay.
“I started on the Help Desk. I think I was only on the Help Desk for around three months when the Service Delivery Manager in New Zealand at the time came up to me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to work as an on-site tech?’
And they later told me that they were impressed that I had been taking on a bunch of things that weren't necessarily in my role. [...] Two days a week I was working in kit recovery, which is part of the Logistics department, trying to get old terminals back from customers that have cancelled or swapped out their terminals. [...]
Starting at Smartpay, my goal was to try to learn everything there is to know about the terminal. So even between calls, I would just be reading the Confluence pages about every little thing about the terminal.”
And they later told me that they were impressed that I had been taking on a bunch of things that weren't necessarily in my role. [...] Two days a week I was working in kit recovery, which is part of the Logistics department, trying to get old terminals back from customers that have cancelled or swapped out their terminals. [...]
Starting at Smartpay, my goal was to try to learn everything there is to know about the terminal. So even between calls, I would just be reading the Confluence pages about every little thing about the terminal.”
Can you share a memorable customer interaction?
As a Service Delivery Technician, Chris prides himself on helping customers in any way he can. This approach always pays off in a big way.
Here’s a remarkable customer interaction Chris shared:
Here’s a remarkable customer interaction Chris shared:
“We had one merchant initially sign up for six EFTPOS machines. His bar was close to our office so we said, ‘Instead of shipping them out to you, we’ll just come down and install them for you.’
And every now and then he'll have an issue and then we'll just say, okay, we'll just pop down. And I think because of that service, he changed all his bars to Smartpay.
So he ended up signing up for another 40 EFTPOS terminals, which we went down and installed as well for his other bar. And then a couple of times I've been out on Friday night and I get a text from him. ‘Hey, if you're around, just come through. I'll give you some free drinks. I'll let you in for free.’”
And every now and then he'll have an issue and then we'll just say, okay, we'll just pop down. And I think because of that service, he changed all his bars to Smartpay.
So he ended up signing up for another 40 EFTPOS terminals, which we went down and installed as well for his other bar. And then a couple of times I've been out on Friday night and I get a text from him. ‘Hey, if you're around, just come through. I'll give you some free drinks. I'll let you in for free.’”
What makes Smartpay different from the banks?
Working day in, day out to help customers solve any issues on their payment journey, Chris has plenty of insight into how Smartpay stands out from the banks:
“I think it's prioritising the customers. We do one thing and we strive to do it well. Whereas a bank might offer EFTPOS terminals, but they’ve got home loans and bank accounts and a million other things as well.
So if you're someone on a bank help desk and a customer calls up about their EFTPOS machine, you might not have done an EFTPOS machine call in three months because you’ve been dealing with home loans or whatever.
Plus, thousands of other people are trying to call the bank at the same time in regard to a million different things. [...] When you call up a bank, you might have to go through five robots and 20 minutes of Imagine Dragons hold music.”
So if you're someone on a bank help desk and a customer calls up about their EFTPOS machine, you might not have done an EFTPOS machine call in three months because you’ve been dealing with home loans or whatever.
Plus, thousands of other people are trying to call the bank at the same time in regard to a million different things. [...] When you call up a bank, you might have to go through five robots and 20 minutes of Imagine Dragons hold music.”
Why do you love to come to work every day?
Unsurprisingly, Chris’ passion for his work comes down to building a relationship with customers while helping them achieve their business goals.
“Each of us in our team, if we've solved someone’s issues before, they always keep coming back to us. And then it's good because you build this relationship with the customer. So I've got this guy who runs a coffee shop in Adelaide, and I helped him with an issue a year and a half ago. And I told him, any more issues, just give me a call. And then he always comes to me.
Now he kind of understands our challenges and product to the point where when we had the new product, I gave him a call and I said, ‘Hey, what do you think about piloting this new one? You might come across bugs and stuff because it's a brand new product.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ He starts to understand how we work as well, and it's really good.”
Now he kind of understands our challenges and product to the point where when we had the new product, I gave him a call and I said, ‘Hey, what do you think about piloting this new one? You might come across bugs and stuff because it's a brand new product.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ He starts to understand how we work as well, and it's really good.”
