Benjamin Lillywhite

• I worked as a casual employee and gained experience in the following:
• Customer service
• Money handling
• Stock control
• Cooking
• OHS in a fast-food environment
• Working in teams under pressure

KFC was my first job in the customer service industry and set me up for a future with the skills necessary in this particular field.

• As a Crew Member I was responsible for:
• Excellent customer service in a fast-paced environment
• Money handling
• Stock control (FIFO stock rotation)
• Cooking and cleaning to KPI standards

Working at McDonald's as a crew member grew my expertise in the customer service areas. I had a much greater understanding of delivering exceptional service to all customers and I gained the ability to assist disgruntled customers with any issues or complaints they may of had. As a result of my experience I have received multiple compliments from customer's and managers regarding my performance and satisfaction of any complaints/issues.

An example of this is when a customer approached me on the front counter looking upset and started explaining their issue. I listened intentively with understanding of their frustration and quickly resolved the issue. The customer explained that they were missing a burger, I then replaced said burger ensuring it was fresh and made correctly to ensure customer satisfaction.

• In addition to Crew Member duties, I was responsible for:
• Training & supervising new crew
• Assessing skills of new crew
• First point of contact for crew queries or assistance during shifts

As a Crew Trainer I began to learn teaching/training techniques in order to train in the most efficient way possible. I was also faced with training individuals with different learning abilities as such I had to cater to each person to ensure optimal learning.

An example of these training techniques was when I was training a group of new Crew Members and there was a crew member whom had difficulty understanding the information I was giving the group. Once I had the rest of the group positioned and learning allocated areas, I worked one-on-one with the Crew member to show them "hands on" learning. They excelled with the training received and was able to work efficiently in their allocated area. I encouraged them and the group to speak with myself or any managers should they have any questions.

• As a Shift Manager, I was responsible for:
• Advanced money handling and control including banking
• Escalation point of contact for crew management on shift, as well as any customer complaints
• Advanced stock control including food safety and testing
• Managing OH&S for all crew whilst on shift

As a shift manager I handled escalated customer issues effectively, demonstrating strong problem-solving skills while upholding company values and standards. I also managed all crew on shift ensure breaks were allocated to them at correct times to ensure a smooth running of the restaurant.

I was also trained with techniques handling high-risk customers, an example of this is when a disgruntled customer attempted to enter the restaurant and get to one of my crew members. I intervened by calmly walking to the customer and politely requesting they exit from the front counter and speak with me regarding their concerns. Upon listening and learning of their concerns I proposed a free meal be given to them and I politely requested that they leave after as we have a right to safety and comfortably in the restaurant. Using a combination of body language and respectful communication I was able to resolve the issue with no incident. After the issue I consoled my crew member to ensure they were okay and if they needed anything.

• As a Department Manager, in addition to Shift Manager responsibilities, I am also responsible for:
• Product statistics and reporting
• Evaluation of reports to seek opportunities for improvement, including communication to all staff
• Stock control – in charge of stock areas including maintenance, presentation and work standards

As the Product Quality Department Manager I ensured the highest quality products were being served to our customers. By using clear communication to my crew and our supplier we were able to minimise product based complaints.

Having a software that collected any compliments, complaints and reviews we are able to not only receive information of improvement but also what we are doing well. Having that information available to us meant we could uplift our crew with positive feedback and work on the things that were not up to standard.

When I first took over the department, there was an average of 10 complaints regarding quality per week. Focusing on the communication and training of crew, I was able to drop that number down to 3 or less complaints per week on average.

• Duties as per 2019