by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Erika Zeigler has been working in customer service since she was 15. But she really learned how to solve people’s problems growing up in a house with 10 siblings.
Picture eight sisters and three brothers battling for the phone or for the bathroom and you’ll understand why Zeigler, a clerk at the tax collector’s office, doesn’t exactly hit the panic button when the line at the Yates Building stretches out the door.
“I try to talk to people, converse with them a lot so they feel like a person is listening to their problems,” said Zeigler.
Erika answers questions face to face now. She said it’s a big switch from her previous job doing customer service over the phone. Over the phone, complaints can be passed to supervisors, abusive callers are gone with the click of a button. At the clerk’s office, she said, her customers aren’t going anywhere until their questions have been answered, their problems solved.
“Face to face, you really have to be a problem solver,” she said. “Because they’ll keep coming back in until their problem is taken care of, and they usually want it taken care of now.”
On a typical day Zeigler will talk to about 50 people. They usually want to know how they can get a car or boat registered, what they need to park in handicapped spaces or how to get a hunting or fishing license. Zeigler tries to personalize their visits. She’ll ask them about their family or their pets. She said she’s surprised how much some people will open up to her.
“Some people just start talking about problems with their families. I think they just want someone to talk to. I try to listen as much as I can and still do my job.”
A Jacksonville native, Zeigler said she “loves” working downtown. On a sunny day, she walks to the Landing for lunch, although she said her favorite spot is the hot dog cart on the corner of North Newnan and Forsyth streets.
“I love Jacksonville, it’s not real slow but it’s not real fast. The people are friendly and decent and it’s a decent place to live.”