Most little girls love playing with make-up but for two employees at a leading north-east interiors specialist, this interest turned out to be the perfect foundation for their careers.
Jen Allen and Rachel Borland, employees at Claremont Office Interiors, based at West Tullos in Aberdeen, started their working lives as beauty consultants with prestige make-up brands, Chanel and Clinique respectively. However, the girls decided to switch careers and leave the retail industry, opting to find a Monday to Friday role.
Today, the girls are sales coordinators at Claremont Office Interiors where they are responsible for handling and managing client enquires, order processing, liaising with customers and supporting the sales team on a daily basis.
Jen started working part-time after school at Clinique, and worked with the firm for nearly four years, while Rachel, previously worked with Chanel in Aberdeen, and remained with the firm for four years.
Although the girls loved their time with the luxury cosmetics brands, they both decided the time was right for a change of profession where they could make use of their transferable skills.
Jen, said: “Through my previous job role, I managed to gain a great deal of customer service experience which has proved invaluable at Claremont. We have a high level of customer interaction, so it is important that we communicate well in order to build strong relationships with clients and working in the retail sector has definitely helped this. Being approachable is also vital to ensure clients can phone us at any time with any questions and trust us to complete their requirements.”
Rachel, added: “At Claremont, we have to be able to react quickly to changing clients requests which very often happen at the last minute, so it is vital we are organised and attentive to ensure we can provide proactive solutions. As we also have an in-house installation team, we have to go the extra mile to communicate any changes and work together to ensure clients are fully satisfied with our services.”
Director at Claremont Office Interiors, Laura Jevons, said: “Working for such prestigious companies has enabled Jen and Rachel to develop strong customer service and organisational skills which is essential for their roles at Claremont. As a business, we pride ourselves on being able to make the process of sourcing and installing furniture as simple as possible for clients, with a flexible and personal service to ensure we can accommodate all their needs. The girls organisational skills, attention to detail and professional attitude is vital when dealing with clients and within tight timescales.”