Why Customer Service is wonderful

When people think of customer service, they tend to picture a call centre full of people following a script with a phone glued to their ear. For security reasons, they're not allowed to have paper and pens to doodle on (true story).

Sarah Meyer joined Alan's Care team over a year ago. What she found was nothing like the call centre picture — and she still has her pen to prove it!

Customer service has an image problem. And yet, what we do at Alan looks nothing like that picture — we built something we'd actually want to use ourselves.

Like all of my colleagues, I didn’t study customer service. After all, there are schools for many things, but not for this.

That’s probably due to the fact the main quality this job requires doesn't need a degree. Loving to solve problems, wanting to help with genuine care, and sharing knowledge with passion — these things can be nurtured, but they're rarely learned from scratch.

If in your previous job you were told you were "too nice" or "living in a fantasy world", there's a good chance a great customer service team would see those traits as qualities.

Customer service is, at its core, about owning mistakes and making things right — not sweeping them under the rug. It requires honesty, humility, and a genuine desire to help. But when a company truly embraces that, something remarkable happens: turning a frustrated user into a loyal one becomes one of the most satisfying things you can do professionally. I think that's a big part of why customer service attracts such a wide range of people — not a specific background, but a specific mindset.

At Alan, written culture is one of our core principles — and our Care service is no exception. We communicate with our members exclusively via email and chat.

This is a deliberate choice that benefits everyone.

For us, it means no pressure of a live call: we can research, investigate, and think clearly before responding. Writing also holds us accountable in a way that a phone call simply doesn't. A written answer can be re-read, fact-checked, and followed up on. That means no room for vague promises or half-answers — what we write, we stand behind.

For our members, the response is there when they need it — whether that's right away or hours later, when they finally have a moment to breathe.

Of course, written communication has a reputation for feeling cold and impersonal — and often for good reason. A pre-written response that misses the point, a "do not reply to this email" footer, a help form buried three clicks deep: we know these frustrations as well as anyone. So we do the opposite.

Every message we send is written sincerely, tailored to the specific situation, and leaves the door open for follow-up. If we missed something the first time, we'd much rather correct it than leave someone stuck.

Insurance expertise? We'll teach you everything you need. What we can't teach is the mindset — and that's what we're really looking for: people who genuinely enjoy understanding how complex systems work, even one as vast as healthcare.

You're the first to offer help before anyone even asks. You're the person your friends call when in a crisis. Not because you have all the answers, but because you keep a cool head when others spiral. You listen, assess, and find a way forward — and somehow, you find that energizing rather than exhausting.

You care about doing things right, and you find real satisfaction in leaving someone better off than you found them.

And yes, we know that satisfaction alone doesn't pay the bills. We offer a permanent contract, a real salary, and benefits good enough that you'll actually read the fine print — with a smile.

Sound like you? Take a look at our open roles — we'd love to meet you. ❤️