Tuesday, June 3, 2025

The Magical Creatures Who Are Customer Service Representatives

CLAC’s Queue Team exists to provide excellent service to members. That’s it, that’s the goal—service

By Jennifer de Jager, Lead Retirement MemberCare Specialist

The following is a quote I found that aptly describes the work of customer service representatives (CSRs):

A magical creature who spends their days navigating the chaotic jungle of questions and complaints, armed with only a headset and a bottomless cup of coffee. Masters of multi-tasking, they can juggle a member meltdown while simultaneously looking up their account balance or googling a question they’ve never heard before. Often mistaken for therapists, they possess the uncanny ability to turn frowns upside down with witty banter and the occasional dad joke. Their superpower? Transforming “Can I speak to a manager?” into a heartfelt connection, one call at a time.

And with a smile, I’ll add.

The wonderful team of CSRs I work with are fondly known as the Queue Team in-house. I am privileged to work with the best “magical creatures” who manage not one but three call queues in support of CLAC members: retirement, vacation pay, and myCLAC support.

We don’t call ourselves CSRs, and we aren’t a typical call centre. There are no quotas and nothing is being sold.

The team exists to provide excellent service to members. That’s it, that’s the goal—service. They educate members on their retirement options, advise members on their vacation payout status, and occasionally feel like they’ve won the lottery when they’ve helped a member successfully log onto myCLAC.

Most of the time, they’ll tell you it’s rewarding work, and most of the time the members are great! But it’s not always easy.

The Queue Team are care agents and patient people who constantly have to repeat instructions, troubleshoot blindly for login support, repeat how to spell r-e-t-i-r-e, or advise that five business days does not include weekends.

They are the bearer of bad news when members are not eligible to access their funds. They are the hearer of hard news when a couple is separating, or a heart-wrenching young death is reported.

They listen to laughter and jokes but also bear the brunt of some colourful language. And when that call is done, they start over again with a cheery, “Hello, how can I help you today?”—250-plus times per day, 59,690 times per year.

They listen to members who are calling from their loud work trucks, with heavy equipment running in the background, or from members sitting in their car, a pub, an airport, a drive thru, jail, their lawyer’s office, the bank, at home in the tub, and, yes, even from the toilet. . . . flush.

But the Queue Team will tell you that the good calls far outweigh the bad. Great calls include helping someone prepare for retirement, do a withdrawal for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, tell a former member they have $10,000 still invested in the CLAC Pension Plan, or simply help a member find their forms online. It’s all worth it!

There will likely be a time when you need to speak to a customer service rep somewhere. The next time you do, remember that these “magical creatures” are just trying to do their best to provide you with great service.

The Magical Creatures Who Are Customer Service Representatives

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