When almost 100 boxes of a client’s product arrived at the wrong address, Kate Foley jumped into action, got in touch with the customer and quickly fixed the situation.

“I made sure to call them instead of email, so we were able to work it out with UPS and Fedex,” says Foley. “We gathered all the boxes and got everything rerouted to the correct location. Because I was able to do it over the phone, it was solved in a matter of minutes.”

Foley’s calm head, empathetic demeanor and solutions-based thinking has made her a standout customer account manager at Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear (asi/84358) where she manages accounts for outside sales reps Holly Bray and Meg Erber. She’s done so well that she’s increased some accounts’ spend by double and even triple-digit percentages, since she left a long career at retail and joined the company in August 2020. And it’s why she’s been named the 2022 Supplier CSR of the Year.

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Foley joins Sara Lavenduski, ASI Media executive editor of digital content, to discuss her many years in customer service at retail, how she came upon S&S Activewear, why the phone call is still the best method of communication (especially when challenges arise) and her hard-won advice for other customer service reps.

“I’m patient and there for them,” she says of her accounts. “I try to do everything in a timely manner, and if I get overwhelmed I’m not afraid to reach out to my team. But I treat clients like family and how I would want to be treated.”