Celebrating the people behind great customer service

Building trust through every interaction 

For Flavia Ribeiro, Supply Chain Development Specialist in Brazil and recently recognised as Customer Service Professional of the Year at the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards, customer service is about creating experiences that make customers feel understood, valued and confident in doing business with Croda: "It goes beyond solving problems. It is about listening, anticipating needs, and continuously looking for ways to make the customer journey better. Great customer service is when every interaction builds trust." 

That focus on trust is shared by Sara Gasperi, Senior Customer Service Administrator in Brazil, who describes customer service as being close to customers, understanding their needs and working collaboratively across teams to deliver the best possible experience. She highlights the importance of agility, transparency, and helping connect customers with the information they need to succeed: "For me, Customer Service at Croda means being close to the customer, understanding what they need, and also working together with other areas to always ensure the best possible experience. Today, I see that customers are increasingly looking for agility, transparency, and information on topics such as sustainability. And that is where our role makes a difference, bringing teams closer together and facilitating these conversations." 

Meanwhile, in the UK, Caroline Parris, Customer Complaints and Returns Lead Coordinator, sees every customer complaint as an opportunity to learn, improve and strengthen relationships. Through global collaboration, training programmes and process improvements, she has helped create greater consistency in how complaints are managed across the business, ensuring customers receive the support and service they expect. Caroline tells us: "I believe that every customer complaint is an opportunity to learn, improve and strengthen relationships. Lasting improvements only happen when people come together around a shared purpose."

Connecting customers with innovation 

Innovation is at the heart of Croda, but its true impact is only realised when customers can successfully access and benefit from it. 

For Flavia, customer service plays an important role in bridging that gap. By connecting customer needs, data, technology, and people, she helps turn ideas into practical improvements that enhance the customer experience. Flavia explains: "My role is to connect customer needs, insights, processes, technology and people, helping turn ideas into practical and scalable improvements across the customer journey." 

Across Latin America, customer service teams are using technology to improve efficiency, enhance visibility, and create a more seamless experience for customers. Combined with strong collaboration and customer understanding, these tools help teams respond more effectively to changing needs. 

It is the combination of digital capability, collaboration, and human understanding that makes the difference. 

Linz Phillips, Chief Information Officer at Croda tells us: "Technology is transforming how we work, but on its own it's not what differentiates us with our customers. Our success continues to be built on the expertise, judgement and relationships our people bring every day. When technology enhances human capability, we create experiences that are both more intelligent and more personal."

Helping customers navigate challenges 

Great customer service is often measured in moments customers never see. Behind every delivery, every solution and every successful outcome are teams working together to keep things moving, communicate openly and find practical ways forward. 

That's something Jenny Lee, Supply Chain Management Team Leader in Korea, experienced first-hand when a warehouse transition threatened customer deliveries. Working closely with colleagues and external partners, the team successfully established a new operation while maintaining continuity for customers. As Jenny explains: "For me, customer service is not only about processing orders. It's about finding practical solutions and helping customers when unexpected issues arise." 

For Monireh Vannoy, Customer Service Representative in the US, success comes from building trusted relationships and being a reliable point of contact for customers. Through proactive communication and responsiveness, she helps customers navigate challenges and stay informed when circumstances change. 

"Being responsive to any issues that may occur, keeping customers updated on changes that can affect their orders and being the person that they can depend on and contact for anything. I am very proud of the relationship that I have with this customer."

Supporting a customer-focused culture 

While customer expectations continue to evolve, several themes consistently emerge from transparency, reliability, speed, and seamless experiences. Delivering those expectations requires more than great products. It requires teams across Croda working together to understand customer needs, remove barriers, and continually improve the experience we provide. 

From the first customer interaction to ongoing support, collaboration sits at the heart of great customer service. By bringing together expertise from across the business, our teams help create solutions that strengthen relationships, build trust, and deliver value to customers around the world. 

Thank you to our customer service teams 

National Customer Service Week gives us an opportunity to celebrate the colleagues who make a difference every day, often behind the scenes. 

From supporting customers through complex challenges and introducing new technologies, to improving processes and strengthening relationships, our customer service teams help connect our expertise with customer success. 

Their dedication, expertise and commitment to continuous improvement help ensure that innovation reaches customers; partnerships thrive and great customer experiences remain at the heart of everything we do. 

As we celebrate National Customer Service Week, we'd like to thank our Customer Service teams around the world for the role they play in helping our customers succeed every day.