Search
Insights > Interns learn valuable lessons in Customer Service Support
Interns learn valuable lessons in Customer Service Support
07/27/2023
College students and fellow Arkansans Brian Gittens and Madison Mobley have been working to help customers with their accounts since starting their summer internships with Entergy Arkansas on June 5.
As they wrap up their employment with Entergy Arkansas, they head back to college with some new skills and a new outlook on their futures and the company. Special thanks to their mentors: Pamela Brown, Kendra Jones and Sherita Taylor.
Meet the interns, who answered a few questions from corporate communications. Based on their answers, their futures look bright indeed!
Brian Gittens
What is your hometown and what high school did you graduate from?
I am originally from Arlington, Virginia, but I have been living in Arkansas for the last four years. I graduated from Little Rock Christian Academy High School.
What college do you attend, what is your major and when do you expect to graduate?
I currently attend Hendrix College in Conway, where I am a sophomore Politics major. I intend on graduating with my Bachelor of Social Sciences in May 2026.
Why did you choose to intern with Entergy Arkansas?
I chose to intern with Entergy Arkansas due to the honor of the opportunity provided. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company that powers life for 3 million customers through operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. To be able to intern at a corporation with that magnitude looks great on my resume and provides me with great experience. Also, on a more personal level, I get to be in a professional setting and gain wisdom from a unique opportunity of extended exposure to tenured employees, which helps me gain insight and fill in the gaps that college won’t.
What are some of the duties you have performed during your internship?
During my summer as a Customer Service Support Intern, my two main responsibilities were handling the Net Metering Preliminary Process and the Deceased Person Process. In order to fulfill these responsibilities, I had to get familiar with the main database used in the Customer Service Support (CSS) Department in order to look up customer information, leave notes on a customer account, retrieve billing and usage numbers and close out open notifications. I also helped manage the team’s CIR inbox and mark finished tasks in our teams’ Complaint Tracker. I also got the opportunity to ride along in the field, where I observed Entergy Journeyman Meterman Jeff Daniels perform calls and repairs safely and job shadowed work management.
What are some other things you have learned that you didn’t necessarily expect during your internship?
I was surprised how interested I was in the work I was doing. As a politics major and an aspiring law student, I didn’t really think I would be so intellectually curious about the CSS Department’s work. I had worked internships in the past and used them as work experience but wasn’t very enthralled in the work itself. During this past summer, I have been engrossed in Entergy’s current and future initiatives, community outreaches and the plans to keep the employees, stakeholders and customers happy. On multiple occasions, I’ve found myself probing for deeper information and asking why, along with feeling like my work is really affecting customers in Arkansas.
What do you hope to do upon graduation and how has this internship prepared you?
Upon graduation, I’d like to go into law school and obtain my JD degree. I have talked to lawyers in Arkansas, and they’ve said the biggest difference between the people they’ve hired and the people they’ve declined was communication and office etiquette. Everyone is smart and qualified leaving law school, but those who have experience working in an office environment and working in a professional team get the edge. This applies to not just getting into the door but performing better and being a more valued employee. Through my time in the Customer Service Support Department, I have gotten to practice these skills, be a team member, learn how to navigate in an office setting and pay attention to detail in order to be a solid and dependable asset to the team.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I am a proud recipient of the Oscar Washington Jr. Scholarship, which is given in honor of the late Entergy Arkansas vice president. I appreciate the CSS team for being so accommodating and making this a positive experience. They were patient, wise and willing to help throughout my entire summer.
Madison Mobley
What is your hometown and what high school did you graduate from?
I am a proud native of Little Rock, Arkansas, and a 2022 graduate of Joe T. Robinson High School.
What college do you attend, what is your major and when do you expect to graduate?
I now attend Spelman College located in Atlanta, Georgia, where I am a rising sophomore English major, with intentions of graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in May 2026.
Why did you choose to intern with Entergy Arkansas?
I chose to intern with Entergy Arkansas to provide myself with the opportunity to immerse myself in the history and goals of an influential company, such as Entergy, while also taking advantage of an opportunity to spend my summer back at home. I believed that interning with Entergy Arkansas would help me learn how to conduct myself in a professional setting, while also allowing me to network with hard workers from my community. Furthermore, I thought that interning with Entergy Arkansas would help me continue to develop myself individually, as I continue to explore different areas of work that pique my interest, as well as suit my abilities.
What are some of the duties you have performed during your internship?
In my role as a Customer Service Support intern, I have primarily spent my time conducting the Net Energy Metering and Deceased Persons processes. Through my introductions to these processes, I have successfully learned how to navigate the CCS platform to complete several tasks, including looking up customer billing histories, closing tickets, changing customer information based on customer feedback and issuing move outs. I have also helped ensure that the notifications in specialized email inboxes remain minimal. Most importantly, my main duty during my internship was to accomplish the goal I made for myself, in which I would be helpful and teachable in order to help the CSS group in any way that was needed.
What are some other things you have learned that you didn’t necessarily expect during your internship?
During my internship, I did not expect to develop a passion for the ever-evolving climate of the utility industry, nor did I expect to develop such strong relationships with the individuals in the Customer Service Support group here at Entergy Arkansas. I was also surprised to learn how much of an importance our corporation places on volunteering in the community; it truly warmed my heart to learn that the company I was working for not only wanted to help me be my best, but also finds it equally as important to help those in the community be their best as well. As I sadly reach the conclusion of my internship, one of the most intriguing lessons I am left with about Entergy Arkansas is their relentless passion to continue to elevate themselves, a passion that consumes all the departments at this company, which helps them to continue to play a prominent role in the community
What do you hope to do upon graduation and how has this internship prepared you?
Upon graduation, I hope to enroll in law school, to make my childhood dream of becoming a lawyer a reality. Because of my exposure to a new realm during my internship, I now believe that I would like to explore my options as a Corporate or Regulatory (Utility) attorney, in order to continue my work with my Entergy family. I was able to spend time with Sr. Legal Counsel Jana Law this summer to learn more about her role and how it ties into my interests. I also received an opportunity to job shadow work management and Customer Service Manager Katrina Brown. Through my time in the Customer Service department, I have acquired more confidence in myself as a speaker, writer and team player, as this summer pushed me to pay more attention to details in order to perform efficiently and contribute positively to my team.
Anything else you’d like to add?
My summer with Entergy Arkansas has influenced my life, both professionally and personally, as my new experiences have helped me grow as an individual. I look forward to seeing where my future takes me and hopefully Entergy is included in that future!
