PPB December 2019

to stay two more weeks. The weeks turned into months and she was hired permanently as administrative assistant. That was 19 years ago, and she’s kept moving up to increasing responsibility. What made her a keeper in the beginning hasn’t gone unnoticed by the company’s president, David Messe, who nominated her for this honor, or by her clients Barbara Dowden, senior account executive, and Elizabeth Hensley, senior account rep, both at Sunrise Identity Powered by HALO. Hernandez handles the company’s two top clients and the demands are enormous, says Messe. “She handles it all from standard orders to custom imports for these two top clients plus about 15 other clients in our top 50. She is level-headed and has a total grasp of distributor client needs and expectations. Her ability to juggle projects and produce more in terms of dollars and number of orders every year make her the superstar that she is,” he says. How Christina Sees It Best Part Of The Job: The part of my job that I enjoy the most is finding creative solutions for customers' needs. Also, because our products are custom, I love to work on different items every day. Biggest Challenge: The part of my job that challenges me the most are the tight deadlines, and those that challenge me in a good way are projects that spark creative thinking and finding solutions for distributors and their clients. Her Inspiration To Go Above And Beyond: I love working at Pinnacle because we have great owners (Brad Hartstein and David Messe). They are well respected in our industry and inspire me to want to give my all because I see how they treat not only our customers, but also their employees. When you work somewhere like this, you can’t help but want to give your all. Not only do I want to help maintain our reputation, but also to care for the clients the way our owners care for us and our clients. I also love being able to deliver great products for distributors on time and helping them accomplish their promotional goals for their clientele. No. 1 Tip For Enhanced Customer Service: First ask the right questions and then listen carefully. Best Personal Customer Service Experience: The best customer service that I experienced personally was at Dodger Stadium. I was about eight months pregnant and went to a concert there. My husband and I drove up to the gate to pay for parking, and the attendant politely and gently asked me if I was pregnant. I was in the passenger’s seat, and thought it was a somewhat odd question as I had not interacted with the attendant during the transaction. I confirmed that I was pregnant. She kindly informed me of a service where I could call a phone number and arrange for a golf cart to pick us up at the car and drive us to the entrance. I was ecstatic! They drove my husband and me to the exact area where our seats were located. The driver then told me to call again when I was ready to leave, and they would give us a ride back to our car. It was impressive because I found it so incredibly thoughtful for them to offer this service to expectant mothers. It made me feel very special and appreciated. This experience further enhanced my affection for the Los Angeles Dodgers. ERIN HILL Sales Support Manager Raining Rose, Inc. Years At This Company: 6 I f you want to learn a new job, you go where you’ll get the most experience—right? Erin Hill cut her teeth in customer service in one of the toughest customer service industries— telecommunications—as an executive escalations analyst. She helped resolve new and recurring issues with customers’ phone and internet service and handled billing and invoice issues. This background helped her dive in at Raining Rose as leader of the sales support team and made an impression on her nominator, Heather Mangold, national sales rep. “She has high integrity and is always doing what is best for our customers to make sure they are getting what they want when they need it.” She adds that Hill has recently partnered with the purchasing team to help make sure they are getting out-of- stock issues taken care of, and make sure they are proactively communicating with customers. “This has not only Service Superheroes | FEATURE | DECEMBER 2019 | 65