TOM Talk Episode Four

TOM Talk Episode Four – Employee Interview with Kharis Hagen

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Four! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews our NRH Client Concierge – Kharis Hagen. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Kharis Hagen – NRH Client Concierge)

(00:00-00:05): Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

Michael Kuentz: [00:00:05] What I want every employee to know is what you get to do every day. We should always be looking for an opportunity. To meet somebody where they’re at, you know, what’s happening on the other end of the phone can be stressful. It can be overwhelming, you know, they’re, they don’t understand this process as well as we all understand it. And so to have that calming voice that you bring, but then also to, to be looking for opportunities to just make that experience better. I just love what we’re doing here.

[00:00:38]: Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s Talk With… Kharis Hagen

Michael Kuentz: [00:00:43]Welcome to another edition of a, of TOM talk, where we get to meet some of the folks that are within our organization. And I’m really, really excited today. I have the pleasure of interviewing Kharis Hagan and Kharis is relatively new to the organization and someone that I haven’t had the pleasure of getting to know well enough. So. As you’re getting to know her out there in, in in the field. I’m going to get to know her a little bit today too. So Kharis, welcome to TOM Talk.

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:15] Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Michael Kuentz: [00:01:18] Of course. We’re glad to have you, so you got to, got to tell me a little bit about yourself. So let’s start with, you’ve been with us for how long now?

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:26] Five months.

Michael Kuentz: [00:01:28] Okay

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:28] Yeah, since September.

Michael Kuentz: [00:01:30] And you were out of the North Richland Hills location, is that correct? Yes.  It’s crazy. Todd just keeps hiring all these great people. So I love seeing Matt tell us about what you do for us here at Trinity Oak.

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:45] So my title is Client Concierge. And so really I think the heart of the position is to be that middleman, I think for the clients, at least when it comes to like little questions that they may have or if they don’t know exactly who to get in touch with, or, you know I just. Really reach out to them and see how they’re doing, how their experience has been how we can improve on things. If something didn’t go well or, you know so that’s been kind of a, a fun and interesting position. So yeah, I mean, we’re kind of just building on it as we go and figuring out what works and what doesn’t and it’s been fun.

Michael Kuentz: [00:02:25] I love it. No, I think it’s whenever I talked to Todd about this role, cause as soon as he shared just kind of the framework of it, I went, this is brilliant. This is a great idea. Because it just makes us better. It makes us better through the process. And I love concierge because to me, when I think of concierge, I think of a great experience at a great hotel walk in and it’s like, what can I do for you? And so it’s just so encouraging, and I will tell you you know, you were the first of our client concierge roles, and then we’ve taken that and expanded it even to our corporate location and other branches. We’ve got, we’ve got one of our folks out in Frisco now doing it. And I will tell you, I’m hearing nothing but positive from this. And I think we’re just going to continue to build on it. I’m a big white glove, you know, red carpet, customer service type person.

Kharis Hagen: [00:03:23] Totally.

Michael Kuentz: [00:03:24] And I think, you know, in this day and age, customer service is more of a cliché than a practice. And so I love, love, love to see and hear this from you.

Kharis Hagen: [00:03:35] Mhmm.

Michael Kuentz: [00:03:35] So that’s awesome. So have you, so have you Are there any stories that you’d come away with just experiences and customers you’ve dealt with? Good news, bad news, a little bit of everything.

Kharis Hagen: [00:03:45] Yeah. I thankfully have not had really any negative experiences so far. But I will say, and this was actually when I was out of town a few weeks ago. Amber had reached out and asked me to send a client something. I think his wife was having surgery and we try to find, and little things like that to just, you know, get in touch with the client it’s and stuff. And so I just ordered Tiff’s treats and had it delivered to their place. And I gave him a call ahead of time when I was like, Hey, just letting you know, expect something at your door. And I got a text maybe an hour later and he was like, How did you know that this was her favorite thing? It made her day all the better, like, Oh my gosh, thank you so much. And so sometimes it’s hard. Like when you’re reaching out to a customer you’ve never talked to you before. Like you never really know how it’s going to go and getting interactions. Like that was just, Oh my gosh. Like

Michael Kuentz: [00:04:41] It’s pretty rewarding. Yeah, no, I, I just, yeah. This is. Yeah, I think back about my time here at Trinity Oaks and you know, what I want every employee to know is what you get to do every day. We should always be looking for an opportunity. To meet somebody where they’re at, you know, what’s happening on the other end of the phone can be stressful.

Kharis Hagen: [00:05:07] Mhmm.

Michael Kuentz: [00:05:07] It can be overwhelming, you know, they’re, they don’t understand this process as well as we all understand it. And so to have that calming voice that you bring, but then also to, to be looking for opportunities to just make that experience better I just love what we’re doing here. So that’s great to hear. So Tell me about something that you do better than most people?

Kharis Hagen: [00:05:36] You know, I, I don’t know if I necessarily do it better than most people, but over the last few years in the different jobs that I’ve had, like. When things get really, really stressful, which, you know, it happens. I just feel like that is kind of my time to shine. I don’t know what it is, but it just, like, I put my nose to the grindstone and I like hunker down and I try to stay as level-headed, as I can. And I feel like that really works in my favor. You know, it’s inevitable and but yeah, I feel like I’m more motivated to work harder when things aren’t maybe going as great.

Michael Kuentz: [00:06:16] Wow. That’s, that’s a great attribute. And in the role you’re in, obviously you haven’t, you haven’t seen the other side of the coin yet. You’ve seen a lot of positive things, but as we always know, there’s. There’s going to you can’t please, everybody, even though our goal is to try to do that. So when those times come, you’re going to be very well equipped to to handle them. So that’s, that’s great to hear. I think it takes that kind of mentality to be in the service world. So that’s, that’s terrific. As, as my mentor said, when everybody else goes high, you go low with your voice. Calming, you go more under control. That’s great. So. What is the last goal that you achieved?

Kharis Hagen: [00:06:57] So over like the last few years, especially after college I just, you know, when you’re left on your own to kind of fend for yourself and figure things out I just kind of got on this path of really trying to improve on myself and take care of myself. And so over the last year, really, like I have. Falling in love with fitness. And so that has been a really fun journey. I’ve seen a lot of improvement, not just like physically, but mentally, like I’m just, yeah, it makes all the difference. So obviously it’s still a journey forever a goal really, but yeah, that’s kinda my bigger thing.

Michael Kuentz: [00:07:39] That’s great. Well you know, they say it’s 30 days, I think to break a habit, good, bad or indifferent, but that is really something I think we can all take stock and inventory, especially in a year where, you know, a virus that’s come through, like it has, and you start to think about the people it impacts the most. So health and wellness is so critical and I encourage just myself, our team, everybody to take inventory of that because. Yeah. Are we, are we going out to try to look like, you know, Adonis? No, but what we are trying to do is have a better internal feeling and a better, better mental experience because you’re right it sharpens your saw. And I think that is one of the greatest attributes of, of staying in shape. I did my Peloton this morning as a matter of fact.

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:25] Oh, very nice!

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:26] Very proud of myself. So, yeah.

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:29] That’s awesome!

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:30] So what was the last thing you were really excited about?

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:34] Well recently as of just a few weeks ago, I actually got to go skiing in Colorado.

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:41] Oh, nice.

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:42] And it’s been about 10 years since I’ve skied and I was not great back then, but I actually was pretty impressed at how well I could remember a few things. But yeah, I mean a blast of a trip. So it was. It was loads of fun.

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:56] Where about Colorado?

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:57] Pagosa Springs.

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:59] Oh yeah. Mr. Reynolds just got back from that general area. So that’s great. I gotta, I gotta take the family out there. I keep hearing good things. So that’s awesome.

Kharis Hagen: [00:09:10] Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:09:10] So kind of moving back into the everyday realm of, of the client concierge role. What are some common misconceptions about your job?

Kharis Hagen: [00:09:22] I think, and I, it’s probably due to the fact that it is so new, so people really don’t know. I mean, you hear the name and you could probably think of a few things, but I think a lot of people kind of see me as more of a personal assistant.

Michael Kuentz: [00:09:38] Ok.

Kharis Hagen: [00:09:39] And that, you know, like I said, I think just comes with a lot of newness and not really knowing, but the, I mean, as we’ve talked about, the goal is really to like, love and reach out to clients and make sure that they’re doing well. And that’s really what it’s focused around, you know, just the client experience. And I may do a few things on the side. That’s not.

Michael Kuentz: [00:10:00] Yeah for sure.

Kharis Hagen: [00:10:01] That’s not, you know, The whole job.

Michael Kuentz: [00:10:04] That’s not the entirety. Yeah. Well, Hey, and, and that’s, you know, as I think about the service world, and I think about the business that we’re in, we compete against other independent mortgage bankers. We compete against big banks. We compete against big lenders. Is that our goal to try to. To, to beat or or, you know, win against them. Not necessarily our goal is to provide a great customer experience

Kharis Hagen: [00:10:31] Yep.

Michael Kuentz: [00:10:31] And something that differentiates us from everybody else. And whether it’s how we brand a product in the marketplace or it’s how we just hold their hand throughout the process and love on them because that’s it. We want from the first phone call, whether they come to us or we go to them or it’s through KLTY or, it’s through other lead sources that we’re able to pick that opportunity up and that customer relationship up. We want it to be a good one. And so what I believe you provide. Is you provide certainly the white glove service, but you provide where we can improve too, because you’re able to hear the things that maybe the customers are experiencing, identify that, bring it to Todd, bring it to me and go, Hey, this is a trend that we’re seeing. Let’s do better here or let’s expand on this because it’s really. Doing great things for the customer. So I, I think that that’s right. You were, you were more than a personal assistant. I can certainly speak to that. So that’s great.

Kharis Hagen: [00:11:32] And I, I have a friend who recently bought a house and I was telling her a little bit about what I was doing. And she’s like, man, I just wish so badly that we had somebody like you going through the process. Cause they have tons of questions and they, you know, so. Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:11:49] And if I, if I, my assumption’s, correct. You’re not a mortgage banker, right. You didn’t come from the mortgage industry.

Kharis Hagen: [00:11:56] Right. Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:11:58] And I think there’s some good in that too. And my mentor always talks about there’s no learning in knowing. And so sometimes because you don’t necessarily have 25 years of mortgage banking experience, but you have just a good heart and a willingness to help people being able to take that information in and say, I’ll go find an answer for you.

Kharis Hagen: [00:12:18] Mhmm.

Michael Kuentz: [00:12:20] That means the world to people in a lot of cases. So that’s great to hear.

Kharis Hagen: [00:12:23] Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:12:24] So what’s something you’re looking forward to?

Kharis Hagen: [00:12:28] Something I’m looking forward to spring weather, certainly, which I think we’ve had a little bit of a taste of the last few days, Snowmageddon. So yeah, that’s been, that’s been awesome. And the same time I’ve, I’ve got a couple of weekend getaways. I’m planning with some college friends later on in the year, which is really exciting. And I’m excited about this year, so.

Michael Kuentz: [00:12:52] Good. Well, we’re we’re sure, excited about you and what you’re bringing to the team, what you’re bringing in North Richland Hills and. You know, we, we want to help you continue to grow and develop in your career here and and look forward to that growth and development too. So Kharis, thank you for being a part of TOM Talk today and we’ll we’ll talk soon.

Kharis Hagen: [00:13:11] Sounds good. Thanks for having me.

Michael Kuentz: [00:13:22] You bet. Take care.

[00:14:10]: Words on screen; TOM TALK – Thanks for watching!

[00:14:15] Words on screen; TOM TALK – Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

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