Not everythings smooth sailing..

Hey everyone :)

For my final blog I thought I would talk about the most common fundamental practice in public relations, dealing with people.

At Manikinn I would work with a small group of people, these being my fellow intern, the director Shereen or sometimes just the publisct Kat, however we would still be involved with outside people. These may have been customers coming into the showroom, customers over the phone, magazine editors for product call outs or following up with an organisation to help plan an event. I could never predict whom I would be dealing with on a daily basis and this what made my experience at Manikinn so enjoyable.

It taught me a very important skill in public relations and this being, always be respectful. I learnt that I was not just representing my own personal values but I was also representing the Manikinn brand to outside personnel.

One day this was put to the test when an angry customer called about a product they had ordered being too short. The product was bought through the Scoopon offer running at the time and it clearly stated Manikinn would offer no refunds or exchanges. I repeated this to the customer but this was met with a whole lot of abuse however, I remained calm and kept the same professional tone. She eventually ran out of steam and hung up but it was rewarding when I got off the phone for Kat the head publisct to say I handled that incident in a very professional manner and did everything correctly. One day my fellow intern was met with the same incident but with a magazine editor. This just taught me that you could never predict responses from anyone but it’s always important to keep calm and always act professionally because at the end of the day you are only doing your job.

I am very grateful to Manikinn for teaching me this skill and helping me understand that in the workplace not everything will run smoothly all the time. I hope you enjoyed your internships as much as I did :)

Good luck for all your future studies!!

Alana – Bentley Campus