Our bakery customers have several options for placing orders. Their primary point of contact is their field sales representative, and they can also place orders 24 hours a day via the marketplace www.grandsmoulinsdeparis.com. However, they also interact frequently with the telesales department.
Learn more about this profession through the story of Krislène Richard, a telemarketer in Entraigues.
Krislène, could you introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Krislène Richard, and I work as an in-house telemarketing representative for Storione. I’m based in Entraigues (84), near Avignon.
What was your career path before joining GMP?
My background is a bit unconventional. I’m originally from Mauritius, specifically from Beau Bassin. My education was conducted in English, and I earned the Higher School Certificate, which is the equivalent of the high school diploma in Mauritius.
After graduating, I entered the workforce right away and learned the ropes on the job.
I started working at a French tax optimization call center. After that job, I joined Orange Business Services as a back-office analyst. Then I decided to leave my island and settle in France 14 years ago. My first and only job in France was at Grands Moulins de Paris.
I joined GMP in December 2011, so I’ve been working here for 12 years now and have been putting my skills to work for our Banette clients.
What led you to join Grands Moulins de Paris?
To be honest, I knew nothing about this industry… I was looking for a job and stumbled upon Grands Moulins de Paris by chance. I stayed because I’m passionate about it—the company’s values align with my own—but above all, I love my job!
I learned everything about the baking industry at GMP, because in Mauritius we hardly ever eat bread, except for the occasional slice at breakfast. In fact, the only types of bread we know there are baguettes and round loaves!*laughs*
What does your job entail, and what are your daily responsibilities?
At our facilities, we handle the artisanal bakery market for Grands Moulins de Paris and Grands Moulins Storione. In fact, our mills in Marseille and Reims produce flour and miller’s mixes for these two companies, and part of the sales force, which reports to Storione, markets flour exclusively under the Banette brand. I work exclusively with Storione clients.
My job involvestaking customer orders over the phone and through systems called SAP and Fiori, and then forwarding them tothe logistics department, which handles their processing.
We are also available toanswer their questionsandoffer advice.
To me, telemarketing is the "face of the company," because if we don't connect with the customer right from the start, we risk losing them to the competition. So we have to be flawless.
What are the challenges of your job?
In telemarketing, we’re subject to the logistics department’s schedule constraints. Our mornings are very busy because we have to adhere to what are called “TOP Times.” These are the latest times by which we must have taken orders in order to forward them to the logistics department. They’re set between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. This means getting up early, but you get used to it!
Managing public holidays can also be complicated at times, since we have to make up for them by working double shifts.
What do you like about your job?
Interpersonal skills! I love talking and chatting—whether it’s with our customers, the sales team, or my colleagues, with whom good humor and mutual support are always part of the mix! In fact, to work in telemarketing, you need to be very empathetic, attentive, proactive, patient, and responsive. But above all, you always have to smile, because it shows and can be heard, and it instantly creates a pleasant atmosphere!
Which other departments do you interact with most often?
We interact most frequently with the logistics department (10 emails a day and numerous phone calls), as well as with the sales team, since we report any unusual activity involving our customers—such as a drop in the number of bags of flour ordered.
What do you think about the role of women at GMP?
In telemarketing, the majority of us are women. In the field sales team, there are more men, but women are well-represented overall and have a rightful place at GMP. In fact, in my entire career at GMP, I have never witnessed any discrimination against women.
Do you have any advice to share with us?
My former manager once told me,“Turn every challenge into an opportunity,” and that helps me move forward in my daily life, both professionally and personally.
So I’m sharing it with you in turn, hoping it might be helpful!
To wrap up: In three words, how would you describe GMP?
To me, GMP is exactly what its initials stand for:Gigantic
, butalso
, and Close
Even though we’re a large company where we’re sometimes geographically spread out, we all stay close because every department works hand in hand and supports one another, and I think that’s truly wonderful!
Thank you to Krislène for sharing her story and for her insightful contribution to our series of profiles on women in the milling industry.
Stay tuned for our next#CollectivelyCommittedprofile! 🚀🫶
