Beth Appleby is our Customer Service Team Lead here at Shoptimised. Since joining us in February 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, Beth has been working with the Customer Service team on client accounts as well as supporting the Sales department to help Shoptimised grow.

In this article, we asked Beth about her experience here and how she’s worked her way up to her current position as a Team Lead.

When did you start your journey at start Shoptimised?

I started with Shoptimised back in February 2020, right before the pandemic craziness started. I had roughly 6 weeks in the office before my role switched to fully working from home.

I was the first-ever Customer Service Manager managing client accounts and communications. It was daunting to me and crazy that I was given so much freedom and trust to lay the foundations for the Customer Service side of Shoptimised. Over the past few months not only have I progressed within my role, but I’ve also grown my own confidence too, which would’ve not been possible without the support of everyone. I am now currently the Customer Service Team Lead and I have a great team around me. We onboard new clients daily, take care of current clients and continue to support all users on the Shoptimised platform.

What brought you into the industry?

I honestly never thought about joining the digital world, I initially wanted to go into Criminal Law. Like many people, I fell into it and I am so glad I did. I first got into the Digital Marketing world as an apprentice. I worked in-house for a cleaning company and then onto an agency. With my previous agency, I started off in PPC, then got a taste for Account Management and the client side of the job which is what I really love.

What made you stick around?

There are three main things that made me stick with Shoptimised. Number one: the people. Everyone is just flippin’ mint! Apart from Mark, who likes to listen to one song on repeat while doing feed optimisation all day. And, apparently, all the dinosaurs in the office have never had Warburtons Milk Roll before?!

Anyway, I digress, number two is the opportunities for growth. As always, many places like to dangle the carrot and allude to growth opportunities that just fizzle out into nothing. Well, the opportunity here is real, everyone is really supportive.

The final and most amazing thing is that the office fridge is always stocked with Stella. What more can you want? Good people, even better opportunities, and Stella always in the fridge. Oh, and it helps that the platform we sell is fantastic!

When you first started, did you always know how you wanted to progress one day?

I always wanted to progress and reach the top of my department, but I had no idea how quick it would be. I went from agency life where we were lucky if we got 2 new clients a month. That cliché phrase you see in Agency job Ads saying they are ‘fast paced’ well… Life here at Shoptimised moves quicker than the man who spins you on the Waltzers at the funfair while Clubland classics blast on 10x speed. Basically, what I am saying is we are growing rapidly each month at an insane speed. With that being said, it is controlled growth, and we grow the teams in conjunction with the workload.

Explain briefly how you organise your workday

Truth be told, my workday starts when I’m woken up by my boyfriend’s ridiculously loud car as he leaves the drive to go to work, I am almost certain he wakes up the whole street. I will then make my way downstairs and grab a cuppa before my day starts at 8 am. I regularly join morning calls in my dressing gown and Pj’s. I think at this point I have more loungewear and Pjs than actual normal clothes. I mainly work at the kitchen table, then often move around when the Wi-Fi decides to play up.

My workday is always different. No two days are the same. A typical day for me involves 4 to 5 client calls and a lot of emails in between. I also check in with my teams in the morning and later with the rest of the management team.

I have a strict check-in client structure that I and my team stick to. I handle over 90 clients myself and my team have close to 50 each so without a schedule, clients would be missed. I pride myself on our service and fact that every single client has a Customer Service Manager and Account Manager they can speak to whenever they need us.

How do you communicate effectively with the team?

Although I have not met a lot of the team, we still have weekly calls and all work great together. We have a weekly round-up on Mondays and Fridays to go through client queries and issues. We also use Ring Central to communicate throughout the day.

Any post-work hobbies? 

At the moment I mainly count down till the pubs open (which is only 19 days by the way!). Through lockdown I got pretty bored and decided to try just about everything. I have taught myself to knit, make cocktails and bought some DJ Decs. I am also really into my pottery right now; it is no ancient Greek artwork, but I do a cracking little plant pot. I also purchased some roller skates, but I am not sure how long that hobby will last! I am looking forward to the weather getting a bit better so I can get back out on the paddleboard in the sea and hopefully away skiing this winter.