Liberty At Your Service Call Center's guiding vision is clear: "With every call, they honor military families through warm, empathetic greetings, attentive listening, and efficient communication of their needs, reflecting their deep appreciation and pride." As the center celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023, Cindy Sheridan, Call Center Director, shares insights on the center's evolution and the enduring role of teamwork in their success.

CREATING A CALL CENTER

In August 2001, Cindy Sheridan began working for Liberty Military Housing (Lincoln Military Housing) without a dedicated call center in place. Instead, resident service requests were faxed to her by an answering service called The Villages.

Cindy would then replicate the requests onto a carbon copy triplicate ticket, which maintenance supervisors would collect for action. Ticket tracking was managed through a spreadsheet, and Cindy followed up with the residents personally to ensure satisfaction. After a few months, the need for district service coordinators was recognized, leading to the creation of Lincoln Service Track (LST) for more efficient tracking. By the end of 2002, it was decided that a call center would be created to meet the distinct needs of our military families and ensure we delivered on our mission. Soon after, Cindy opened the Lincoln Call Center and hired four call center representatives (CCR). The Lincoln Call Center received its first call in April 2003, operating within the General Management Office hours and using an after-hours answering service when closed. Later that same year, Cindy expanded the call center to meet the growing call volume with the addition of Camp Pendleton to our portfolio.

GROWTH AND EXPANSION

Following its launch in 2003, The Call Center was relocated to an old Navy Housing building in Murphy Canyon to accommodate the team's growth. The call center has been operating out of this location since then. In 2005, with the addition of the Mid-Atlantic Region, the call center expanded its operating hours to include weekends and introduced an overnight shift. Residents appreciated these adjustments, as they led to improved response times.

As Liberty expanded into the Southwest Navy and Southwest Marines regions, The call center grew to 40 dedicated call center representatives. To meet the increasing demand for service, they extended their operations to run 24/7, excluding holidays, when an answering service handled calls. However, after one Christmas break, Cindy returned to find over 900 messages and non-stop ringing phones, prompting the team to initiate voluntary holiday coverage to avoid backlogs. This ensured that a team member was always available to meet military families' needs.

With the addition of the West Army region, the call center's team grew to 46 call center representatives, each dedicating two hours daily to callbacks and courtesy calls. The team was committed to meeting resident expectations and forwarding issues raised during these interactions to district teams for resolution. The need for a dedicated satisfaction tracking system was recognized, leading to the introduction of the SatisFacts system. The system monitored resident satisfaction, enhancing the team's ability to identify and address concerns promptly. The call center also implemented the RedFlag emergency notification system, allowing for swift communication with families regarding inclement weather, utility outages, and scheduled service interruptions.

Today, the Liberty At Your Service Call Center consists of 46 team members, and Cindy Sheridan is still leading this team. In addition to the Liberty at Your Service hotline, the call center manages the Leadership hotline and the California Consumer Protection Act hotline.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to Liberty and our Military Families.

The Liberty At Your Service Call Center has always been committed to providing exceptional service that is empathetic and thoughtful towards military families. As the call center continues to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of multi-family housing, their dedication remains unchanged. With their innovative solutions and team spirit, they are poised for continued success and support for those who serve our nation.

Congratulations to the Liberty At Your Service Call Center on 20+ years of service and beyond.

Call Center Success Stories

Alicia Bighames

Alicia Bighames joined the team in 2003 as a call center representative. She recalls her early days, saying, "As one of six representatives, our days consisted of answering calls from residents within the San Diego region and entering their work orders on Lincoln Service Track. We were assigned properties and completed callbacks. We were the human SatisFacts." Alicia's property assignment was the Village at NTC, which she cherished, saying, "I loved what I did and enjoyed providing good service to the residents."

In 2005, Alicia joined the team at Village at NTC community as a customer service representative. Initially, she wasn't interested in the role as she loved her job at the call center. However, Cindy Sheridan convinced her to reconsider by showing her around the community. Alicia is thankful to Cindy and many others who contributed to her success at Liberty. She believes that her time at the call center taught her valuable skills that she still uses today. Alicia expresses her gratitude for the opportunity that opened the doors to a successful career path. In 2022, she was recognized for her hard work and dedication by being awarded the District Manager of the Year at the Liberty Excellence Awards ceremony.

Joel Martinez

Joel Martinez started his journey at the call center as a customer care representative in 2011. He credits the flexible hours, which allowed him to pursue his education while working full-time. While at the call center, he improved his skills in Yardi, phone etiquette, and handling challenging resident interactions. After two years, he gained a deep understanding of the company policies and culture and decided to shift his focus to building a career within the company. This decision led him to the maintenance side at the district level, where he started as a maintenance technician at Lofgren. He later took on the role of lead technician at the Village at Serra Mesa (VSM) and became a supervisor at multiple locations. Joel attributes his success to the Liberty at Your Service Call Center and states that he proudly serves as a supervisor at VSM today.