At Airly, we are creating a diverse team full of extraordinary personalities. Our new intAIRview interview series aims to show our team members from both a professional and more private side. It is time to find out who is behind the mission to repair the air.
Today, intAIRview’s guest will be Agnieszka Bednarz, our Customer Support Specialist
Who are you and what is your role at Airly?
My name is Agnieszka Bednarz and I am a customer support specialist. My task is to make sure that our customers and users of the Airly map and application are well informed about what Airly offers them and, above all, feel well taken care of by us. After all, Airly cares about the condition of the air and cares for the people who breathe it, and it is the task of the support team to show this concern and help in taking action to combat air pollution. The scope of my duties is constantly growing along with the development of Airly. Every day, I deal with a lot of things – I answer a whole range of questions about our services, send sensors to clients, prepare reports, update the sensor network on the map on an ongoing basis, and even logistically support large projects, such as, for example, recently installations in Warsaw or Gdansk.
What in your opinion are the ingredients for a great Customer Service at a company?
The basis is, of course, openness to people, patience and the ability to improvise. It is also necessary to closely cooperate with other teams in the company, because without them the support department would be like a waiter in a restaurant where there is no food – they can be extremely nice and helpful, but if the customer is hungry, they will not be satisfied. On the other hand, what distinguishes a good support team from a great one is the ability to be one step ahead of the client – meeting their needs before the client realizes that something is missing. Hence our proactive activities and contacting the client before they write to us with a problem themselves.
On the other end – what Customer Service member must remember not to do?
You can’t centre only on one issue. There are many clients with many needs and requests. Some of them can be solved in 5 minutes but some of them…well, it is not so easy. You have to learn how to multitask and prioritise tasks reasonably because if you don’t, not much will be done (and there is always a lot to be done).
What drives you to work with Airly?
I won’t be original in saying it’s Airly’s mission, but it’s true. I come from a town in the Beskid Mountains where smog is a huge problem and my relatives suffer from asthma. If I can contribute in any way to reduce this problem, and in addition do it with such wonderful people as those who work at Airly – this is the perfect motivation for me to get up in the morning for work, even on a rainy Tuesday.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I’m at the stage where I’m still trying to find my passions. For now, I’m trying different things and hoping one of them will finally engage me enough to become my true passion – learning Italian, doing yoga, playing badminton…My loved ones are trying to convince me to start cycling and I will give it a try this spring.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized lately?
I’ve been shocked by the amount of cruelty but also by the scope of love that human beings can give one another in the context of the war in Ukraine. On the one hand, some commit unspeakable atrocities on the vulnerable, and on the other, there are people who risk their own lives to help. It is both deeply frightening and comforting at the same time.
What surprised you the most when you became part of the Airly team?
The fact that the management board does not have separate offices, but works together with the team in a shared space. I was shocked because on the first day of my junior job I was sitting almost opposite the CEO. This would be unthinkable in most jobs. This is what surprised me, but also charmed me at Airly in the very beginning.
What’s your next biggest dream?
I would like to see with my own eyes the sensors installed in Iceland and New Zealand!