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Answer Midwest Employee Spotlight: Lauren

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We at Answer Midwest know how important our employees are to the ongoing success of our business. We would like to focus on a very special young lady, Lauren Pruitt, who has been with Answer Midwest since November of 2013.

Lauren is a senior at Alton High School with dual credits through Lewis & Clark. She looks forward to going to college and majoring in International business. She is a part of the National Honors Society and the Spanish Club.

Lauren has been involved in Panama missions for the last 3 years and is planning to go back this February for her 4th missions trip. She was so inspired after her first trip, she founded her very own non-profit foundation, Project Panama. She has already raised enough money to provide a wood burning stove and a water purification system for a village in Panama. We are proud to have Lauren as a part of our team!

 

Answer Midwest Employee Spotlight: Bailey

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Here at Answer Midwest, we love taking care of our clients’ customers and fulfilling their needs. This wouldn’t be possible without our amazing staff, who always help out with enthusiasm and a smile on their faces, no matter what time of the day or night. Our Employee Spotlight this month showcases Assistant Dispatcher Bailey!

Bailey has been with Answer Midwest for a year and has recently been promoted to Assistant Dispatcher. She takes incoming calls and provides customer service for a variety of companies. As a dispatcher, she also follows the clients’ protocol in making sure that their messages are delivered to them as they desire. “Our business always tries to help the customer to the best of our ability,” she said. “We always want to have a nice tone, positive attitude, and make sure that the caller feels comfortable and that their needs have been addressed!”

A native of East Alton, Bailey attended Roxana Schools and is a graduate of Roxana High School. She is currently working on her second year of college at Lewis & Clark Community College and plans on getting an associates degree in science and will begin working on her elementary education degree.

Bailey was drawn to Answer Midwest when one of her friends mentioned working here. “My friend thought that I would be good at customer service and thought that I would be friendly to the customers. I immediately applied and ended up getting hired,” she said. “I love the people I work with, and I like coming to work and knowing that I will be working in a positive environment. Since I am a full-time college student, it’s also very nice that they are willing to work around my school schedule!”

Ambitious and hard-working, Bailey is in the process of completing the training for another promotion to Main Dispatcher. She is hoping to receive this promotion in the next few weeks!

Her ambition doesn’t just stop at her job. Bailey drive and motivation have led her to Jamaica for a week to do mission work in which her group helped rebuild an orphanage, conducted street ministry and taught at different schools. “It was an incredible experience to engage in the culture there,” she said. “I will always remember that trip as one of my best summers ever!”

Bailey also went to Washington D.C. three years ago for a conference in leadership training. “I stayed for a week and went to seminars and got to sight-see all the different monuments,” she noted. “The last day of the conference was July 4th, and the group and I got to see the fireworks on the Potomac River in a Double-Decker boat. It was a great way to finish up the conference and celebrate our freedom.”

When Bailey isn’t assisting our clients’ customers or handling calls, she can be found spending time with her big family, her amazing friends, and her golden retriever-lab mix Ollie and her Calico cat Angel.

Want to know more about Answer Midwest? Call us at (618) 463-2430

Answer Midwest Employee Spotlight: Leah Zirkelbach

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We at Answer Midwest strongly believe in taking good care of our clients’ customers with our exemplary customer service. Day or night, we pick up and answer with a smile, happy and enthusiastic to serve. We really feel that our wonderful employees make all the difference in our customer service and satisfaction. This month for our Employee Spotlight, we are proud to showcase Leah Zirkelbach, one of our main dispatchers here at Answer Midwest!

Leah has been with us for one year and was promoted just recently to the role as one of our main dispatchers. “My role is to take incoming calls, screen them, and get the message to the appropriate person based on the criteria that has been set by our clients,” Leah said. “I also try to help both the caller and our clients as much as possible, whether it’s an office message or a major emergency call.”

Leah joined the Answer Midwest team for many reasons. “Initially, my mom heard about Answer Midwest at her office. She’s a nurse practitioner, and the people in her office referred me to the company,” said Leah. “I discovered that I really like it at Answer Midwest! I have great co-workers and management. Everyone is really down to earth here, and it’s also close to home.”

Most of all, Leah loves helping people in need. “Every caller is in need of something, and even the callers that think we are ‘just’ an answering service end up realizing that we play a key role in helping them,” she said.

A graduate from Lewis & Clark Community College, Leah grew up in Bethalto and fondly remembers spending time with her grandparents. “I had the best times as a child camping on weekends and holidays with Grams and Grandpa! Our favorite spots were in Vandalia and Nashville, Illinois,” said Leah.

Leah recently got married this year as well! “I married my husband in April, though we have been together for six years,” she said. “We went to Mexico with our family and close friends for our ceremony. I have never really traveled much, but going to Mexico was amazing!” Leah and her husband don’t have children yet, but their Chihuahua wiener dog, Lucy, tends to think that she is their child.

When Leah isn’t helping those in need at her job, she can be found outside. “I’m an outdoor girl! I love fishing, camping, boating, four-wheeling, hunting, and anything that keeps me outside,” Leah said. “I especially like gardening and working in the yard.”

Want to know more about Answer Midwest? Just give us a call at (618) 463-2430! No matter what hour of the day or night, we pick up!

Answer Midwest Employee Spotlight: Chrissy Pollock

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Here at Answer Midwest, we love making sure that our clients’ customers are always taken care of and have all of their needs fulfilled. This wouldn’t be possible without our amazing staff, who are always happy and serve our clients’ customers with enthusiasm and a smile on their faces, no matter what time of the day or night. Our Employee Spotlight this month showcases Chrissy Pollock, Senior Dispatcher and soon to be our Office Manager here at Answer Midwest!

Chrissy has been with Answer Midwest for 4 and a half years and has worn several hats while at the company. “I’ve been in training for about a year now on all aspects of running the office,” she says. “I do account programming, the first level of employee performance reports, call-handling, dispatching, and I am also responsible for several reporting functions as well as being the trainer for new employees and new customers learning our systems.”

Chrissy has never been short on ambition and is always in pursuit of knowledge and self-betterment. “There are lots of other things that I’m training on!” said Chrissy. “Basically, I want to be able to know everything there is about keeping this office running smoothly for our Answer Midwest team and for our clients.”

A native of Wood River, Chrissy grew up spending time with her twin brother Chris and racing soapbox derby cars as a child. “I was on the news once when I won a trophy, which was almost as tall as I was,” she said. “That was a pretty cool thing for a kid!”

Chrissy graduated from SIU-E and studied social work, criminal justice, and business at the university. She chose to work at Answer Midwest because she wanted to work with people in an office setting and was looking for a job that would match the need she had. “My best friend Tess had worked at Answer Midwest while she was in school, too, and she told me that it was a great place to work,” said Chrissy. “She was right – I love it here!”

More specifically, Chrissy loves the people most when at her job. “I love both the people I work with as well as the long list of different companies and callers,” she said. “I also enjoy being able to learn new things and share ideas here!”

Chrissy has been married to her husband, Don, for 8 years and together they have two dogs, Leroy the basset hound and Stitch the Shih Tzu. “My husband has been my rock through so many trials – we really are soul mates!” she said. “We don’t have children currently, but we both love kids and definitely see them in our future.”

When Chrissy isn’t happily assisting our clients’ customers or her coworkers, she can be found reading, crocheting blankets, or camping or fishing with her husband. An avid baseball and St. Louis Blues hockey fan, Chrissy also loves to watch her twin brother Chris race on the dirt tracks at TRI City Speedway, being part of her cousin’s free haunted house, Mason Mansion, in Wood River, and being part of the Ladies Auxiliary in Hartford.

Want to know more about Answer Midwest? Call us at (618) 463-2430. We’ll pick up!