Waterloo Quay Properties
13 October 2017
Top-flight customer service skills help property firm takeoff
From transatlantic flight attendant, to HR & business support manager at a busy property development company, Carolynne Yule proves that there is no such thing as a traditional career path.
With her days taken up with everything from carrying out office space viewings to looking after tenants’ daily needs, and catching up with clients in the sleek surroundings of 210 @ Caboose, the onsite coffee shop and bistro, at Waterloo Quay Properties (WQP), Carolynne has come a long way from her days as a filing clerk at Stewart Milne Homes.
Eager to see the world, Carolynne joined Virgin Atlantic in 1998 as a flight attendant, with her first flight taking her to Barbados, before moving on to work for KLM and then BMI. After short spells living in Canada and Australia, Carolynne moved back to Aberdeen and, as a mum of a toddler, worked part-time before joining an HR specialist firm. Having been a cabin crew supervisor, Carolynne was interested in HR, so was happy to develop her skills, before joining her fellow school mum and friend Anna Eardley as PA and HR support at the well-established harbour-based property management company Waterloo Quay Properties.
Carolynne used her HR experience and organisational skills to help make positive changes, and soon progressed to HR & Business Support Manager. Carolynne’s training with leading airlines equipped her with an insight into anticipating clients’ needs and so she was in an ideal position to help directors Anna and Shaun Eardley as they faced an increasingly challenging marketplace, at the start of the economic downturn. In early 2015, WQP lost a third of its business as its principal tenants ceased trading, and the team worked relentlessly to promote the facility when there was already a huge surplus of office space in Aberdeen.
As first point of contact, Carolynne helped to bring in approaching 20 new tenants during a busy yet difficult 10 months. From helping out in the coffee shop in the early days, to running networking events, her hands on attitude has been vital to building the business during the downturn.
As well as supervising viewings, Carolynne works closely with new tenants to ensure that offices are fitted out to their individual needs, from complex IT requirements to décor and furnishings.
With the property now at over 90% occupancy levels, and with the launch of Quay Life, a flexible membership scheme for businesses, Carolynne can reflect on having been instrumental in a dramatic turnaround in the firm’s history.
“Seeing the office spaces fill up, and catching up with happy tenants makes all the hard work worthwhile,” says Carolynne.
“By looking closely at what business people in Aberdeen want – a safe, comfortable workplace, plentiful parking, sports and leisure facilities and excellent networking opportunities, we have been able to secure many new tenants, taking numbers from 34 in early 2015 to nearly 60 today.
“My cabin crew background has given me a strong belief in providing outstanding customer service – and that is reflected not just in the compliments we get from tenants but also in watching their businesses grow and succeed.”
For more information on Waterloo Quay’s facilities, office availability, Quay Life memberships and the Corporate Coffee Club, please contact carolynne@waterlooquay.com