Since she started as Customer Services Manager, Liz has seen an increase of 60 per cent in the support calls and general enquiries received by her team.

Although Internode's customer numbers have increased much more than the demand for support, Liz says that customer service remains a challenging role for any fast-growing company. "Fortunately, dealing with Internode's customers is simple with the right team structures and the right staff in place", she says.

"Since my first day here at Internode, my role has always been focused on training staff to have a clear vision about where we're heading and setting up a strong team. We have implemented simple customer support services based on feedback we receive from our customers and based on business growth. Some of those systems include an integrated phone system with direct access to departments and a more focused team structure."

Liz says the key to coping successfully with customer demand is preparation. Before the release of new service offerings and products, Internode's sales and customer support teams equip themselves for an increased level of calls and queries.

For example, the month after Internode announced the launch of Australia's first super-fast Extreme® Broadband ADSL2+ services running up to 24 Megabits per second, the company experienced a 50 per cent surge in call volumes.

Liz said Internode was ready for this wave of demand and website hits. "You can never quite know just how many queries you'll receive", she said. "But based on the fact that Internode's new services are picked up very quickly by new customers as well as old, we get our teams prepared. When this type of surge takes place, the benefit of Internode's customer support structure is really proven."

"Our experience with the launch of Extreme® Broadband was really a benchmark for a string of new business and we've got more new product launches on the way."

Internode operates three main customer support areas which comprise:

• Level One Help Desk: Support for Internode's ADSL, dialup, other products and services.
• Corporate Support: Technical support for government, corporate, and business as well as an escalation support desk offering higher level support.
• Corporate Projects: Implementation of advanced business solutions such as Internode Business Connect.

Internode itself has grown substantially since Liz joined the company in 2003, from about 50 employees to today's headcount of more than 250. Liz said Internode had maintained its enthusiastic spirit despite this growth. "There's a great camaraderie here", she observes. "I've always felt there's a sense of united thinking in terms of meeting the needs of customers. We're always interested in hearing customer feedback and working to meet those customer expectations"

Internode gauges customer feedback through its feedback channel as well as industry feedback forums such as Whirlpool.

Adelaide born, Liz joined Internode when she returned to South Australia after spending 13 years in Sydney working for customer service companies including news providers Reuters and AAP.

To balance her life with work, Liz spends most of her free time socialising with friends and keeping off the phone. "I have two young sons, we enjoy spending time hanging out together and visiting friends."