Salad Money Impact Report 22-23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 10
WITH GREAT POWER
COMES GREAT
RESPONSIBILITY
Head of customer service Devan Fitzgerald on over-riding
AI, supporting people in a di昀케cult situation and what she
loves most about her role.
“I’ll never work in 昀椀nancial services.
It’s just not me.”
Devan didn’t mince her words when
she was approached by a former
colleague who had joined Salad
and knew she was job-hunting. “I
can’t imagine working for a loans
company – forget about it!”
But once he’d told her why we
exist, who we serve and about our
ethos, everything snapped into
focus. “I got a better picture of these
people who were excluded from
mainstream 昀椀nance and nobody else
was helping. Then Salad explained
what a di昀昀erence Open Banking
could make. Once I understood the
mission, I was in.”
That was four years ago: Devan
joined as Salad’s employee number
eight. “We were tiny.” Today the
Brighton resident – a keen sea
swimmer and gig-goer – leads
our customer service team of 14,
the biggest cohort of our growing
business.
10
“In that 昀椀rst year it felt like I spoke
with everyone who applied, that’s
how small we were. I knew every
customer and loved how we o昀昀ered
a personal touch. Our 昀椀rst customers
were mainly female, all working in
the NHS with most in their 40s to
60s, it felt like you were helping your
auntie.”
Salad is exponentially bigger now,
yet that approach remains core to
Devan’s team. “We train everyone
in customer service to support
people at all parts of the applicant
and customer journey, not just to
handle one element. That means a
customer can speak with someone
they’ve previously dealt with.
If someone emails to ask for a
payment holiday, for instance, then
someone who has supported that
customer earlier will call them. It’s so
much better both for customers and
our team.”
Devan’s team works from locations
including Stockport, Ramsgate,
Buckinghamshire and Arundel;
others from our Brighton o昀케ce. “We
are really close and support each
other when the team hear harrowing
stories.”
What sort? “The loss of a loved
one, other tragedies, serious
illnesses. The cost of living comes
up all the time now and we are
constantly confronted with how
unstable people’s situations can
be; we get many customers
whose 昀椀nancial circumstances
have changed considerably since
approving their loan. So it’s not
uncommon for a customer to
request a payment holiday so they
can catch up with things like their
energy bills.”
If a customer says they are
struggling they tend to appreciate
the personal response from Devan’s
team. “We’ll answer their request
based on their circumstances. We’ll
also signpost our bene昀椀ts calculator,
MoneyMind tools, and if it’s
appropriate, StepChange and debt
charities. A lot of this signposting
helps people 昀椀nd or save more
money. People are highly receptive.”
Fair Lending for Key Workers
