As the first point of contact for customer calls, Laurie Parker plays a vital role in Tsurumi’s day-to-day operations. As Administration and Sales Support for Tsurumi’s Illinois location, Parker is a key resource for the Sales, Accounting, and Human Resource departments. She also is responsible for coordinating trade shows and internal company events. 
 

Q: What does your job position entail?  
My name is Laurie and I've been with Tsurumi for almost nine years now. I do a number of things here around the office. My number one responsibility is answering the phone and connecting the caller with the staff that is responsible for the request. 

I’m very involved with the Human Resources department and planning events. We have lunches, recognitions, all sorts of things are always happening here at Tsurumi. They are a lot of fun, just to get the staff together and take a break from work. 

In addition to that, I also do the trade show coordination. We have 30 plus trade shows a year, consisting of both small and big booths. I'm responsible for ensuring that everybody has what they need at the show, each person has a hotel room and is prepared for the show to run smoothly.

Q: What does customer experience mean to you? 
A big part of what I do is answer the main line for Tsurumi along with Emma. We ensure that we send the call to the team member who can best answer the inquiry to avoid them being transferred around to different departments.
I think that's unusual because many times when I answer the phone, people will be say something like “oh, that was quick. I didn't expect a person to answer.”

What makes me well-suited for this role is my ability to hop around where I'm needed. I help our Accounting team and Sales department, I am also the first point of contact when our customers call in, they get to speak with a person, rather than just an operator.

Q: Do you have any hobbies outside of work? 

When I'm not at work, I enjoy going to concerts and I really like outdoor music festivals. In addition to that, my husband and I like to travel. I've got a son who lives out in Colorado - we enjoy visiting him, going hiking and partaking in snow activities, all sorts of activities to do out there. I also like the beach and taking relaxing vacations as well.
 

Watch the full video here.