PPB December 2019

first arrived at Performance Running Outfitters, I was greeted at the door and asked questions to find out exactly what I was looking for. They also performed an analysis on my feet to get me the right shoe. They brought out maybe five different pairs of shoes that would fit my needs and asked me to run a little bit in them to see how they felt. Once I got my new pair of shoes, I no longer had the pain in my feet. The service was impressive because I felt like the individual helping me cared about what I was looking for. He asked me many questions and didn’t try to just get me in one pair of shoes and then out the door. He spent time telling about the shoe and how it can improve my stability. I have since gone back to that company for running shoes and running essentials and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good pair of running shoes. PAOLA EDITH MORALES MULATO Vice President, Sourcing The Sourcing Solution Years At This Company: 5 P aola EdithMoralesMulatowas nominated for this honor by four distributor clients who praised her unwavering ability to handlemulti-faceted, complex projects without missing a beat. “We recently had a very complicated order that was produced by The Sourcing Solution in China,” says Jeff Sampson, president of Elevate BrandMarketing. “We provided extensive drawings and renderings to the factory so that they could provide pre-production samples. We were on our fourth iteration of the samples and the factory was still missing themark. Paola traveled to the factory by planes, trains and automobiles and stayed there for three days to ensure we got a correct sample in time for our client presentation.” Originally fromMexico, she previously worked for a spare parts sourcing company as a buyer dealing with suppliers in the UK, China and Brazil. Now she lives inMainland, China, andmanages a teamof employees there. “Paola’s Western education and her business acumen are critical to her ability to support our business,” adds Sampson. “And her work ethic is unmatched.” How Paola Sees It Best Part Of The Job: My favorite part is when our clients share pictures of the events where they used the product that we helped them to develop. It is always very satisfying to see the result of our job in action. Biggest Challenge: I think the biggest challenge is to keep innovating. I walk several trade shows around the world looking for the next cool promo item that we can share with our clients but that is not always an easy task. Her Inspiration To Go Above And Beyond: In our industry we get to help our clients create all sorts of products. While this can be challenging, I love the feeling of a job well done and knowing that we are helping our clients grow their business with the products we help them with. No. 1 Tip For Enhanced Customer Service: My No. 1 tip would be to never assume anything. By asking questions I can often ensure that I totally understand my client’s needs, which helps me create a bespoke product for them and ensure they are getting exactly what they hoped for from the outset. Best Personal Customer Service Experience: The food ordering service I use is my favorite example of great customer service. There have been times when I accidentally ordered my food to be delivered to my home on a Thursday morning instead of to the office. They phone just to confirm I’m not in the office. Sometimes I am in the office and forget to change my delivery address. It may sound like a small thing but helping clients not to make a mistake is one of the things I value the most. AKHIL SHASTRY Senior Technical Support Representative BrightStores, Inc. Years At This Company: 3 B efore Akhil Shastry joined BrightStores almost three years ago, he was working in customer service for a streaming service provider. What he learned in that position helped set him up to make a significant contribution to both internal and external customers at the Denver, Colorado-based business services company BrightStores. “Akhil is the glue that connects users to a positive software experience,” says Victor Nakada, account manager and one of 10 nominators. “Most importantly, he makes Service Superheroes | FEATURE | DECEMBER 2019 | 69