TSCS PODCAST 13: Customer Service: Choosing Kindness
13 | Customer Service: Choosing Kindness
In this podcast we are talking big ideas, actual and actionable takeaways, and lots of fun with the camp community and professionals!
Allison Krabill is joined by Abbot Pittman and Carolyn Harari to talk customer service at camp and the off-season. They share what they’ve done to stay in touch with families, and pose the question, how do you advocate for communication boundaries during camp? This group dives into some big wins and big lessons that cultivate ideas and plans for year-round touch points.
If you’re looking for ways to think about customer service on and off the campsite, this is the pod for you.
Producer EmJ’s takeaways:
It’s cool to tell caregivers when things are going well too. Is over-communication is the new normal?
Text your families, not from your personal phone number*. Who is picking up the phone these days?
*When you use a secondary number (zoom, GoogleVoice, etc.) it helps create a work/life boundary and you know when it’s a work call coming in.
Snail-mail goes a long way.
What to LEARN MORE FROM CAMP PROFESSIONALS? — become a member
SHOW NOTES:
Maddy’s Cookie Jar Communities
Carolyn Harari
Carolyn Harari, at age 10, won the all camp talent show with a performance of “Sk8ter Boi” by Avril Levigne. Carolyn believes batons are critical in relays and there is nothing better than packing for camp. She has experience with day camps, overnight camps, and even running a camp out of your house. Currently, Carolyn is the Associate Director at URJ Henry S Jacobs Camp. Carolyn’s background is in early childhood and teaching. When thinking about anything related to camp, she asks “how will this impact the kids?” She loves to dream big and turn those dreams into reality.
To get in contact, email CHarari@urj.org
Abbot pittman
Abbot “Abbi” joined the Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA camp family in February of 2022 as the Chimney Corners assistant director. Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, he has a combined 11 years of camping, youth development, and hospitality experience in both NC and Keystone Heights, Florida as the assistant director of YMCA Camp Immokalee. Having grown up in Y programs and sports, he is committed to the “for all” mission of the YMCA.
Abbi holds both a BA and a BS from Appalachian State University — one in Spanish and another in sustainable agriculture and will complete his MS in Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management from the University of Florida in 2023.
In his free time, Abbi enjoys riding his motorcycle, discovering new music, traveling, and drinking a lot of coffee.
To get in contact, email apittman@bccymca.org
Allison Krabill
Allison Krabill first chanted the camp name to light the magic campfire at age 6 and quickly became that one kid that never stops talking about camp. At 28, she became one of the youngest YMCA executive directors in the country as she led YMCA Camp Immokalee through doubling the budget, master planning, board restructuring, capital improvements, and more. She loves being a camp director to camp directors through TSCS and will never turn down a game of a Gaga.
To get in contact, email allison@thesummercampsociety.com
The Summer Camp Society Podcast is edited and produced by EmJ Juszczyk.
