The Power of Service is Customer Service Week’s theme for 2021. At Athens Services, we leverage the power of service every single day. Every one of our 1,700 team members, 1,000 vehicles, and facilities are used to deliver exceptional service daily. These are the powerful aspects of our business that help Athens deliver exceptional service and exceed customer expectations. That’s the Athens Way.
Customer Service is another powerful aspect of our business. We believe in empowering our customer service representatives (CSRs) to deliver powerful and delightful experiences. Our local customer service department, staffed by 70 of the best and brightest in the industry, was built on the philosophy of service. From the day CSRs start at Athens, they are trained on the power of service. That same philosophy is reinforced every day by management and our core principles. And every day, CSRs rely on our team, our trucks, and facilities to WOW customers with the power of service.
Today, we would like to introduce you to six of the very best, who leverage the power of service to deliver exceptional experiences to our customers and communities.
Erin Reuter
Position: Customer Service Representative Lead
Year joined Athens: 2012
Primary duties and responsibilities: I am a customer service lead. I have just begun handling Thousand Oaks email requests and account setups. I also assist with city emails and Better Business Bureau complaints.
What do you like best about working at Athens? I enjoy the people I work with. We are like a family.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I am a mother to a 9-month old baby girl. I am newly married. I live in Azusa and enjoy the simple things of life.
What’s your favorite memory/story about a customer? When I first began working with the company, I assisted an older woman with a service issue. She was quite stressed, but I was able to alleviate her concerns and assure her that all would be well. With the help of our wonderful driver, everything was taken care of. She was very thankful and sent me a card with a very sweet note.
How do you help the environment in your role? I make sure not to dispose of any hazardous waste. I am doing my best not to create a lot of waste. I use dishcloths instead of paper towels. I use glass containers and /jars and reusable bags instead of plastic.
What do you like to do for fun in your downtime? I love a yummy meal cooked by my husband and shared with some wine and great company. I love being with my daughter and enjoying every moment of her growth and development. My weekends revolve around gathering with family and friends. When I have the time, a nice binge session of a favorite show is wonderful. Currently, I am enjoying American Horror Story.
What are your goals for the future? I would love to continue to grow within Athens. I cannot imagine working anywhere else.
Supervisor Comments: Nicole Espinosa
Erin is knowledgeable, professional, and a great asset to our team. She goes above and beyond for our team and the customers. Erin has played a vital role in handling emails from our newly franchised city, Thousand Oaks. She has a positive attitude, business mindset, and is a team player.
Cecilia Lemus
Position: Customer Service Representative
Year joined Athens: 2017
Primary duties and responsibilities: I assist customers by answering calls and following up when needed. My responsibilities are to make sure each customer is assisted and satisfied after each call.
What do you like best about working at Athens? The part that I enjoy the most is when the customer is satisfied at the end of a call and thanks me for my assistance. I feel satisfied because I was able to help them.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I am 40 years old. I am a single mother of two boys, 16 and 10. I love animals, and I am a people person. I am always smiling even when I feel blue. I have eight cats, two dogs, a hamster, and a turtle. I love to help others. I am very thankful to God because he has blessed me with the best people around me, at home and work, with lovely sons and a wonderful job.
What’s your favorite memory/story about a customer? My favorite story about a customer is when an autistic boy toured our building and saw the trucks. The smile on his face was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I have to say I ended up with tears of joy.
How do you help the environment in your role? I encourage customers to recycle as much as they can by making sure everything recyclable is put inside the right container.
What do you like to do for fun in your downtime? I like to take my boys to the beach and to visit my father in Mexico. I enjoy playing with my cats and taking my dogs around the block. I also love to sit down at the end of the day and watch a good movie or show with my sons, cats, and dogs all sitting next to me.
What are your goals for the future?
I want to grow as much as I can at Athens and hope to work for many years until I’m old and can’t work anymore. Another one of my goals is to send my boys to college to pursue the careers of their dreams.
Supervisor Comments: Nicole Espinosa
Cecilia is a joy to work with. She is always wearing a smile, and that comes across on her calls. During her time here at Athens, Cecilia has proven to be a vital part of our team. She comes in, has a great attitude, and gets the job done. Cecilia strives to provide excellent quality service. She will go above and beyond to take care of our customers.
Devina Robles
Position: Customer Service Representative
Year joined Athens: 2016
Primary duties and responsibilities: My duties right now are taking escalation calls from customers about issues with their account and question-line calls to help customer service with inquiries.
What do you like best about working at Athens? I like that there are growth opportunities and that Athens is a family- oriented company that cares about its employees.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I am a mother of three: Donovan, 9; Demi, 4; and Dakota, 2. I live in Montebello. I have been in the trash industry for seven years.
What’s your favorite memory/story about a customer? When the new Los Angeles recycling franchise was implemented, one poor woman was confused and missed pickups for three weeks. Her renters were upset, and she called us in tears. I was able to escalate the call and have dispatch service the bins at her property. She was very happy at the end and thanked me for helping her. She was finally at ease.
How do you help the environment in your role? I help the environment by educating customers about recycling.
What do you like to do for fun in your downtime? I like to take my kids to the park or to go swimming. If nothing is planned, I stay home and rest as much as I can with three kids!
What are your goals for the future? My future goal is to become a lead or a call center supervisor.
Supervisor Comments: Devina is a team player and always looks to take on additional tasks. She has stepped up, helping on our question line and escalation queue. She is ready and available to help our customers and associates get through their calls. She is happy to help and consistently says, “Let me know if you need my help.”
Paul Noller
Position: Customer Care Representative
Year joined Athens: 2017
Primary duties and responsibilities: I am an inside sales representative for open markets. My primary responsibilities are to assist with increasing sales and improving retention levels. On every call, I’m focused on the customer’s needs.
What do you like best about working at Athens? I enjoy providing a positive experience with each call so customers feel a personal connection to me as well as the company. My coworkers make every day special. They’re like family. We get together outside of work.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I’m a friendly outgoing person. People say I’m funny. I’ve done a few comedy gigs telling jokes.
What’s your favorite memory/story about a customer? On one occasion, I got a call from a customer who was very confused about her service. She could not understand why her containers were often overfilled. I reviewed her account and saw that recyclables were taking up all of her space. She thought everything went into the same container. So, I added some recycle bins to her service and educated her as to what goes in each cart. She is very happy now knowing that she is helping the environment and that she is using the right containers for the right service.
How do you help the environment in your role? Probably the number one thing is adding recycling service and containers to locations that do not have them. I also help recycle construction waste by making sure it’s diverted to the correct locations
What do you like to do for fun in your downtime? I like to cook, spend time with my family, go camping, play golf. My hobbies include refurbishing furniture and painting.
What are your goals for the future? I’d like to grow with the company. There are a lot of possibilities.
Supervisor Comments:
Paul is known for his infectious smile, positive attitude, and ability to see something as a challenge rather than an obstacle. Paul has risen through the customer care department in various roles and has really found his place selling and building relationships with customers.
Claudia Ramirez
Position: Customer Service Representative
Year joined Athens: 2018
Primary duties and responsibilities: I work for our digital customer service. I assist with customer, city, or broker requests via chat, emails, and phone calls.
What do you like best about working at Athens? I enjoy walking in each day and seeing friendly faces. I consider Athens like a second home, and my coworkers my second family.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I am 34 and have no children. I am originally from Monrovia but now reside in Baldwin Park.
What’s your favorite memory/story about a customer? My favorite memory is of a little boy I spoke to via chat. He mentioned he wanted to be a garbage man when he grew up. He enjoyed waiting for our driver to stop by weekly. He was so excited when I advised him we would send him an Athens goody bag.
How do you help the environment in your role? We do our part by providing customers up- to- date information about recyclables and changing California regulations.
What do you like to do for fun in your downtime? I love spending time with my family, boyfriend, and best friend. I enjoy reading, trying new restaurants, going to concerts, and rooting for the Raiders and our boys in blue. I’m starting back on my fitness journey.
What are your goals for the future? My goal is to continue growing within the company and become an indispensable part of Athens one day.
Supervisor Comments: Claudia plays a vital role in our contact center. In her time here with Athens, Claudia has shown to be a team player by helping with peer training and assisting fellow team members on the floor. She provides quality service to internal and external customers.
Adriana Lopez
Position: Customer Service Agent
Year joined Athens: 2019
Primary duties and responsibilities: My job is to assist customers via email and chat. I also communicate internally with supervisors to resolve customer issues.
What do you like best about working at Athens? My favorite part about working at Athens is seeing the impact we have educating our customers. Another great thing is the relationships I have built with my coworkers. I can truly say I am blessed to be a part of the Athens family.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I am 26 and live in West Covina with my three fur babies.
What’s your favorite memory/story about a customer? I enjoy when a new homeowner calls in to start service. I like to provide all the information they need. It’s nice to be a part of their journey as new homeowners.
How do you help the environment in your role? When a customer is not sure what they can and can’t put in their trash, I provide them with the correct information. Since I began working for Athens, I have become more aware of taking care of the environment myself and I make sure I do my part.
What do you like to do for fun in your downtime? When I have free time I enjoy going on walks with my fur babies, trying new restaurants, and spending time with my loved ones. I enjoy listening to true crime podcasts; my favorite is Crime Junkie.
What are your goals for the future? What I see for myself with Athens is career growth and possibly becoming a lead in the near future.
Supervisor Comments: Adriana has been with Athens a little over two years and has shown that she is all about providing quality service. She is a fast learner and adapts to any situation. She began by helping customers via inbound phone calls and now assists via digital email and live chats. Adriana has a positive attitude and is a team player.
Athens is proud to recognize these individuals for their contributions to providing excellent customer service. They embody our company principles of Service – People – Environment. Visit us at AthensServices.com.
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