Providing Customer Service as a Blood Services Volunteer

“I bring to my job, whatever I do, the customer service I learned at Wegmans,” says Red Cross volunteer, Sue Kirkland. “Treat customers the way I would hope they would treat me.”

Sue Kirkland and her canine companion Susie

After retiring from Wegmans in 2018, Kirkland immediately restarted an old habit that dated back to her high school days: donating blood every two months. While donating on February 6, she mentioned to one of the Red Cross team members that she’d be interested in becoming a volunteer as well.

“I came on board just in time for COVID!”, Kirkland said. She was scheduled to work in her initial role as a Blood Donor Ambassador at Kenmore West High School in Western New York the first day the Red Cross began requiring health screenings for staff and donors prior to entering a blood drive to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. She stepped in as Blood Drive Screener that day, asking health questions, taking temperatures and providing hand sanitizer for everyone as they entered the drive.

“Baptism by fire,” Kirkland says. “I just did it, then it became the norm.” Of course, there is very little normal about these uncertain times, and additional precautions have since been added to ensure the safety of everyone entering any Red Cross facility or community blood drive, including wearing face masks. Kirkland says everyone has been grateful for the safety measures the Red Cross has implemented, including herself.

“At one of the first drives, someone pointed out that I’m in a higher risk group being over 60, and asked if I felt comfortable,” she says. “I feel confident in what I’ve been doing to keep myself safe so that I can keep others safe.”

Kirkland also says she’s comfortable in knowing that the Red Cross staff, especially her supervisor, Aaron Wilson, will be there to support her if she ever does have a question or concern. She says the staff and her fellow volunteers have been phenomenal during this outbreak, and on the rare times during her 1-2 volunteer shifts a week when a team member or donor is having a bad day, her customer service background kicks in.

“We’re all feeling a little lost, isolated,” Kirkland says. “I keep in mind that people are coming out trying to help, so I’ll bend over backwards and try to meet them where they are.”

If you’re looking for a way to help, and get out of the house during this coronavirus outbreak, consider joining Sue Kirkland as a Blood Drive or Facilities Screener, asking health questions and taking temperatures with an infrared thermometer as people enter Red Cross facilities or blood drives. There are shifts available across the Western New York region, click this link for more information. And thanks to the efforts of volunteers like Sue, you can also safely make a donation appointment for the weeks ahead to ensure a stable blood supply throughout this pandemic at redcrossblood.org

Story by: Jay Bonafede, Chief Communications Officer

American Red Cross, Western New York Region