This edition of AccessDirect Employee Spotlight features our newest team member, Valerie Martin!
1. How long have you been with AccessDirect?
I joined the company in February of 2014. I was injured on the job and looking for something that would be a safer work environment. Richard put out a notice on Facebook that AD had an opening, and I jumped at the chance. It’s the perfect marriage of my two basic skill sets: customer service and theatre. The voiceover work is a great way to keep my vocal and dialect skills sharp, and my entire professional life has been in customer service. I have never worked for a small business before, and I’m very much enjoying this opportunity to do so.
2. What do you do in your spare time?
I was a theatre major in college, and I have been able to find a second career here in Kansas City. I’m an Equity actor and stage manager, and I’ve worked all over town. My brother is a local actor and director, and I often join him on the props team of his productions. I pet-sit for several families in the area, and I’m studying to become a sommelier.
3. What is your favorite part of your job?
The customers. I really enjoy cultivating relationships with our customers; it’s nice to be able to recognize voices and names when they call in for assistance. I think that personal touch benefits both of us. I like be able to make someone’s day better, just by solving an issue that was very important to them. I know that I have made a difference, no matter how small it might be.
4. If you were to start a business of your own, what would it be?
I would probably be a personal concierge. I have worked as a concierge in both New York and California, and I really enjoyed finding things that made people happy. Whether it was getting tickets to a Broadway show, finding an off-the-beaten-path restaurant or showing them free things to do in the city, I just loved that personal interaction. I loved sharing my joy and affection for a city with them and making them see why that city was so amazing. It’s a business I could do anywhere, because I try to find the special and unique places in every city I visit. I could be a personal concierge to visitors exploring a new city or to locals learning to appreciate where they live. That would be fabulous.
