Archive for "Confessions"
Social Media Spotlight
Posted on March 22, 2014 by Ching under Confessions.
About a month ago Corporate Communications sent me twenty questions to answer for a social media spotlight on our company Facebook page. Only a few of the questions made the cut so I’m posting all of the questions and answers on here for your reading enjoyment.
When did you start working here? I started working for the company on May 2002.
Briefly, what jobs have you had with the company? I have always worked in the Customer Relations Center (CRC) and see myself as a customer advocate. I started as a Customer Service Representative (CSR) in back then what was called the phone center. Two and a half years later I became supervisor of our team. When we reorganized in late 2009, I took on the role of Quality Assurance Manager. In 2011 we combined Training and Quality Assurance and that’s when I became Manager, Quality Assurance and Training, which is the position I hold today.
What would people never guess you do in your role? The one thing that people would probably never guess I do in my role is have fun. Most think of Quality Assurance work as monotonous and boring. It can be but I find it extremely rewarding. We don’t just evaluate service interactions for compliance. We also listen to catch people doing things right and we celebrate these successes. I find my job fulfilling and fun because I work with the most amazing group of people. They make it fun.
Tell us about your family (if you’re married, who’s your spouse, how did you meet, how long have you been married, your kids and their ages). My husband’s name is Brian. We met over 15 years ago and have been inseparable ever since. We were married on August 2002. I’m grateful to Brian for being supportive of all my goals and aspirations, specifically all the years I spent attending Wichita State for undergrad and grad school. He inspires me to be the best version of me that I can be and I’d like to think that I have the same effect on him. We do not have any children.
What is your favorite childhood memory? I will always have fond memories of the summers that my sister and I spent in my grandmother’s village. We lived in Las Pinas which is located in the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It’s the main island. As soon as the school session was over, we would ride the ship to the island of Negros. We couldn’t afford to go by plane. Once there my days were spent playing outside, swimming in the river, celebrating town fiestas, attending street dances, etc. The time I spent staying with my grandmother is how I learned to speak the local dialect Cebuano which I can still speak today. The primary language in Las Pinas is Tagalog, which I also speak.
What life dream is still out there waiting for you? I dream of traveling the world someday and being able to speak other languages (specifically Spanish) fluently.
At what time do you feel like work is the perfect place to be? This is true every day. I see myself as a customer experience advocate and in that sense I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Where is the place you feel most at peace? I’m most at peace at home with Brian.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of work? I teach Zumba for the YMCA and Wichita Parks and Recreation in my spare time. I love Zumba because it’s the only kind of exercise I know that actually makes people happy. Everyone has a smile on their face in every Zumba class I’ve ever taught or attended. Zumba is so positive and uplifting that it brings me great joy to be able to share it with others. I feel like I’m making a difference in their day even for only an hour. I know it makes a huge difference in mine. I always feel better after Zumba class.
What’s one thing people are surprised to learn about you? People are most surprised to learn that I enjoy playing poker. Since I’m very expressive so people don’t think I can bluff, much less keep a straight face when I have a great hand. Texas hold ‘em is one of my favorite activities, second only to Zumba.
Five things you personally like: I like staying busy, learning new things, traveling, connecting with people, and achieving goals (personal and professional).
Three things you don’t like: I dislike being around grouchy, negative people; gaining weight; and being sick.
If you could spend one day with any contemporary person or person from history, who would that be? Why? I’d pick Sheryl Sandberg because I was captivated by her TED talk and I really enjoyed reading her book which my mentor gave over a year ago. I find her ideas inspirational and see her as a great role model. Within the organization, I’d pick Doug Sterbenz. In the 12 years I’ve watched him grow as a leader and speaker. I would love the opportunity to shadow/observe him for a day and find out how he got to be such an eloquent public speaker.
What are three things you cannot live without? Internet, my phone, and music. Having an internet connection was actually a condition of my moving in with Brian fifteen years ago. I wasn’t about to move to a place without internet.
What is your biggest pet peeve? There are things that drive me crazy but I don’t have a major pet peeve because I’m generally pretty tolerant (or so I’d like to think).
What is your favorite movie of all time? It’s hard to pick just one. I really enjoyed Pitch Perfect
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be? The superpower that I’d want to have is multiplicity. I want to do so many things and there’s just not enough time in the day to do them all. Sometimes I want to do things that are happening simultaneously and I can only pick one event or activity because there’s only one of me.
What is your favorite quote? “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” That’s a quote from my all time favorite children’s book, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery.
What was the most interesting job you’ve had? I’ve only worked for one other company besides here so I don’t really have an answer for this one. I worked at Spiegel (catalog) for almost 7 years before the call center in Wichita closed its doors. I held various positions there including customer sales associate (front line), customer satisfaction specialist/help desk, OJT trainer/helper, lead sales associate, team lead/coach, interim supervisor – none of these are really exotic or interesting.
If you could buy any one thing, with price being no object, what would it be? A trip to space. That is the one thing in this world that my husband wants to do and if money were no object I’d want to help him fulfill that dream.
2 Comments
It’s the Little Things
Posted on November 16, 2013 by Ching under Confessions.
A year ago I was invited to attend a super secret meeting with Don, Jim, and some hotel chain execs who were vetting Wichita as a possible location for their newest call center. I put on my best suit for the meeting but something was noticeably missing.
Don and Jim both had fancy name tags. “Don’t you have one of these?” Jim asked. I didn’t have one then, but guess what. I have one now — thanks to the Operations team. We were all given these fancy metal name tags at the Operations leadership conference that I attended this week.
I joked to coworker/friend Sally that they had to switch to the fancy metal nameplates in place of the sticker ones so that she wouldn’t feel people up under the guise of helping them keep their name tag sticker on. So she actually gets credit for getting us all fancy metal name tags. LOL.
Jokes aside, it’s the little things that make my day. Believe it or not, I was really excited to finally get my very own fancy name tag. I have arrived!
No Comments
Summer Means Pedicure Season
Posted on May 23, 2013 by Ching under Confessions.
I love watching Brian get a pedicure because he’s really ticklish!
No Comments
Putting Things in Perspective
Posted on May 9, 2013 by Ching under Confessions, Family, Health.
Brian had some chest pain yesterday and decided to schedule an appointment with our doctor for this afternoon. He said he felt like he was having a heart attack so I was worried. I wondered if we should have gone to the ER. I had trouble falling asleep last night because I didn’t want to wake up to a lifeless husband the next day, but he said he was fine. I finally fell asleep.
When we woke up this morning, I told Brian I wanted to work a couple of hours over and stay until 6 pm. (We carpool and both go to work at 7 am.) He reminded me that he had a doctor’s appointment. Thinking that he was feeling better, I told him that was fine and to just hang out at home after visiting with the doctor (our family doctor’s office is in Andover) until it was time to come pick me up.
Around 2 pm this afternoon Brian called me to tell me he was on his way to the doctor and that he was scared. I told him that I changed my mind about working late and to just pick me up from work after his doctor’s appointment. He asked me why I changed my mind and if I’d gotten caught up. Honestly, I’ll never get caught up because there’s always plenty of work to do. I told him that I would rather spend time with him.
Around 4 pm he called to tell me that he was still at the doctor’s office. I told him that was fine because I had plenty of work to do and I would just work until he came to pick me up. I had originally wanted to work late anyway, but felt guilty about working late when Brian wasn’t feeling well. I should be taking care of him. Anyway, it was well after 5 pm by the time he got back downtown to pick me up so I got almost an hour and a half of extra work time.
I’m such a workaholic that sometimes I take for granted how much quality time I’m spending with Brian. It worked out today that I was able to get some extra work done. I’m also grateful that we are blessed with the opportunity to hang out and spend some time together this evening. However, today put things in perspective for me. I really need to spend more quality time with my husband.
No Comments
Be A Role Model
Posted on May 5, 2013 by Ching under Confessions, Family, Leadership.
As we were leaving the rec center after my Zumba class yesterday, we walked by a mom and four kids getting out of their car. All the kids were very young. None of them were older than ten. I think the oldest kid was probably seven or eight at best. One of the kids had apparently left one of the rear passenger side doors open. The mom yelled, “Shut the fucking door!” This is what drew our attention to them. We would not have noticed them otherwise.
“That explains a lot,” I told Brian once we got in the car. I guess people grow up hearing that sort of language. They hear it so much that it becomes natural and eventually becomes part of their vocabulary. It’s so pervasive in their language that they don’t even realize that they’re saying it. Once they find themselves in a professional environment, it becomes a challenge to change and speak in a different manner and every now and then they end up slipping back to their natural tendencies.
I’m lucky that English is not my native language. I didn’t learn to cuss in English because my parents didn’t say or use those words. Actually, they didn’t cuss in our native language either. Cussing just wasn’t a regular part of our vocabulary. I’ve learned to cuss over the years, but it still feels gawky to me. You know when I’m really angry because then I force myself to cuss. However, it comes out sounding so strange that I (and the person I’m yelling at) just end up laughing at my awkwardness. Yes, I’m an awkward cusser.
Brian and I have no kids of our own so we have no business offering parenting advice. However, I can offer an observation. Actions speak louder than words so please be a role model to your children. You can preach against using foul language to your children but, if they grow up hearing you use foul language in everyday life and everyday conversations, chances are they’re going to follow your lead. Kids (or people in general) will often do as you do, not as you say.
They say that our attitudes, values, and beliefs form at a very early age. Corrupt your children if you must, but at least make the early years count. Wait until they’re older to start cussing around them. LOL. They will thank you for your great example later.
P.S. Thank you, mom and dad, for not teaching me to cuss.
No Comments
