On 21 June 1999, Jenny Shipley was Prime Minister, Ricky Martin’s Living La Vida Loca was number one in the music chart, Australia had just won the men’s Cricket World Cup, and Chrissy Taylor began her career at Contact Energy. 

Based at Contact Energy’s contact centre in Levin, Chrissy has been supporting Kiwi households with their electricity needs for 25 years across a number of roles from credit collection, sales to customer support, and she is one of Contact’s longest serving customer support staff. 

Chrissy says you see a lot of changes when you have worked for an organisation for a quarter of a century. This includes new technology, different ways of working, interesting fashion styles, and even the turn of a new millennium – she started at Contact during the Y2K scare, when no one knew if their computer would work in the year 2000. 

But what has been a constant for Customer Service Representative Chrissy is her desire to help people. Chrissy’s passion is people – they have been at the heart of all of her roles at Contact. She was even a Union delegate for 15 years, championing the needs of her colleagues. 

“Customers make my day. I love the repertoire I have with them. I love being able to get them the best deal, and I love being able to help with their queries,” says Chrissy.

On average, Chrissy answers around 40 customer calls a day. She acknowledges that it can sometimes be tough on the frontline, particularly when customers are having difficulties, or when emotions are running high. However, she says the best way to deal with these situations is by listening and having patience and tenacity – and Chrissy has these in spades.  

As a customer support veteran, Chrissy says a personalised approach is the best approach to customer service. “At Contact, we see each customer as an individual. By knowing their particular circumstances, we have a better understanding of how we can help them, so we can tailor the support we provide them accordingly,” says Chrissy. 

Prior to working at Contact, Chrissy specialised in insurance. Working for Farmers Mutual, she had a vested interest in the sector as her husband was a farm manager. They were based at a number of farms across the Horowhenua and Manawatu regions over the years. 

When Chrissy isn’t helping customers, she’s either spending time with her 22 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, or she’s teaching line dancing classes. She began line dancing through a social club at Contact 23 years ago, and it took off from there. She taught her first class in Levin 14 years ago, before moving to Feilding two years ago and taking over a class there.

“Line dancing is a great way to exercise, it’s good for the mind, body and soul. Line dancing brings people together too. I teach people aged from 18 to 80. It’s a fun way to help people across the community to connect,” says Chrissy.   

While her classes dance to anything from Miley Cyrus to Bryan Adams, The Kind of Love We Make by Luke Combs and Pepeha by Six60 are Chrissy’s favourite songs to line dance to.  

Chrissy celebrates her 25-year anniversary at Contact on 21 June. 

Contact is one of New Zealand’s largest energy generators and retailers. The power company is committed to supporting New Zealand’s economy, with all its operations being based within the country including two dedicated contact centres in Levin and Dunedin, which employ around 300 people in total.   

ENDS

Media enquiries

Lotty Hird, Senior Communications Advisor
M: 027 207 8684
E: lotty.hird@contactenergy.co.nz

About Contact

Contact Energy is one of New Zealand’s largest energy generators and retailers. We have more than 600,000 customer connections with electricity, gas, broadband and mobile plans. We are committed to leading the decarbonisation of New Zealand, and it is our vision to create and contribute to a better place to live; from the homes and communities we live in, to the land and resources that future generations can enjoy.

We are a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Asia-Pacific(DJSI Asia-Pacific), which is a global benchmark for corporate sustainability, and winners of Sustainability Leadership Award at the 2023 Deloitte Top 200 Awards.

Website: contact.co.nz  More information can be found in Contact’s 2023 Integrated Report