On her desk there are three mobile phones as well as a laptop. Concentrated, the specialist looks at her computer. When a call comes, she smiles and answers the questions of the caller patiently with her calm voice. The caller is lucky because he speaks to a committed customer consultant. Her name? Salma Sabry.
“Every day I learn something new”, says the charming SEKEM member. Those who spend more time with Salma can hardly escape her remarkable sympathetic nature. Salma is working as a customer service specialist in SEKEMs Company ISIS Organic. The 26-year-old is happy with her work and exudes this joy.
From the supermarket to ISIS Organic
Salma joined SEKEM as a company representative in supermarkets to present and promote products on the spot. There, she also often came into contact with customers, which is very useful for her present task. In this way, she also got in touch with ISIS Organic products for the first time. Afterwards she was in charge of a campaign for ISIS Products in Supermarkets in Cairo and Mansoura, in total 11 branches. In Cairo her work was so successful that she recorded the highest selling numbers in her branches. “After this success, my supervisor asked me, whether I would like to join ISIS Organic‘s customer support,” says the bright customer advisor. This step proved to be right one for the young woman.
Salma is able to bring her skills and knowledge into the customer service and has been an integral part of SEKEM for the past four years now. In her responsibility are customer requests as well as customer satisfaction. She also passes inquiries on to the responsible authorities. Before a new product will access the market, the eager SEKEM employee tests and evaluates the opinions of the test persons. In her work, she knows that customer satisfaction is paramount.
It’s not always about the money
In order to get to work, Salma takes a two-hour journey every day, since her place of residence is located in Helwan, south of Cairo and about 60 kilometers far from SEKEMs main office. “I really learn a lot from my colleagues,” she continues. Speaking about her colleagues, she almost gushes: “The teamwork in our department is incredible: everyone helps each other and there is a great team spirit.” Her special wish is to praise her boss Hisham Adel: “Hisham helps me a lot and I really learn a lot from him,” the young customer advisor says enthusiastically. “Of course money is important, but it’s more important for me to develop myself,” says Salma, who values SEKEMs creed of sustainable development.
“Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish is really a role model.”
Salma is aware of the advantages of SEKEMs vision. That is why she loves her work even more. “Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish is really a role model”, explains the young woman. “Not only did his family and he have the courage to realize his vision, but the fact that he still seeks the dialogue with his co-workers and actively contributes to us, is very impressive,” Salma continues. For her, SEKEM is not just a company, but a community. She refers to the SEKEM School, the Medical Center and the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development as well as to SEKEMs contribution to the local and international society.
Responding to the circumstances in Egypt, Salma becomes thoughtful. “In Egypt we suffer from the fact that our food is not clean,” the employee notes. “We at SEKEM know how important clean food is. We consider it as our mission to provide the Egyptian population with clean ingredients for healthy food,” she continues. Salma is convinced that SEKEM can pioneer the way into a healthier and better future and that more companies should take SEKEM as an example, because the whole society ultimately would benefit.
At Salma’s workplace, two of their three mobile phones ring simultaneously. With a smile she explains: “The two ringing mobile phones are business mobile phones. The third one is private,” and answers a call with a friendly smile again.
Sherif Abou El Naga
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