opportunity

Case Study in Good Customer Service: Trader Joe’s and What Can Be Learned

February 13, 2024 by Laura Schreiber

The Text

Yesterday morning my husband and I woke up to a text from our daughter Emma. Emma is a sophomore in college a small liberal arts school in central Pennsylvania called Elizabthethtown College. She texted us this photo of gluten free donut holes. She said she urgently needed us to go to Trader Joe’s right away to get them for her. She was concerned that they would sell out immediately. Even though Emma has a car, there is no Trader Joes near her school so she was very much hoping we could help her out with this.

Our Mission

Harlan had to travel for work yesterday, so tasked with our highly sensitive and urgent message, as soon as the store opened I went to Trader Joe’s, armed with my iPhone so that if need be I had the photo. First, I did two laps myself, looking in the logical places I thought they would be. No dice, the donut holes were no where to be found.

The Rescue Team

Not wanting to disappoint me super sweet kid, both because she is super sweet and because I am totally Type A and could not leave without the donut holes, I sought assistance. The first guy was working on oranges. He went to where he thought they’d be. They were not there. He pulled in another gal who then pulled in a third woman from the bakery who then pulled in a fourth woman, a manager. So yes, I had FOUR people helping me look for the donut holes. We worked hard and were thorough. Two of them were positive they had been in the store.

Ultimately, the manager took to the computer. She discovered that the highly coveted donut holes needed to be special ordered. They placed an order and told me to call tomorrow morning and that they would set some aside for us. I felt so valued and was so appreciative of the help. Then, as if that was not enough, they let me take a lollipop even though I had not located the stuffed turtle hidden somewhere in the store. I’m not kidding.

Customer Service Takeaways

If Trader Joe’s was being ranked as a business or a super marked or for what kind of human beings they were, basically on every single lever, they deserve an A plus plus. As voice actors, we can all learn a lot from their behavior and over all mentality so let’s take a moment to dissect what happened at Trader Joes:

They were a shining example of team work. One person did not need to steal the show. They worked together to accomplish a common goal. In voice over some of us have the opportunity to work as a team. Whether we are demo producers and have partners, or work on a multi-talent cast, or are at a conference and are on a panel with industry friends, sometimes we are fortunate enough to work with others. This is our moment to take a note and lift everyone up. It goes back to the old falcon saying, “the rising tide lifts all the ships in the harbor.” This has always been my experience in VO, and it was for sure my experience at Trader Joe’s. I am quite sure this is why the store is packed as soon as the doors open on a Monday morning, and if you want your voice over business to be booming, this is a great lesson to learn!
In this incidence, the price tag didn’t matter. I did not go in saying I needed 100 boxes of donut holes. I was not some prized Trader Joe’s client. Yet each member of the team treated me like I was the most important sale of the day. I will confess that this is an area where even I need to do some re-thinking. I do not treat all of my clients the same. I certainly will treat a national spot differently than a $200 one-off gig. Perhaps this needs to be re-thought. It made me feel really good to be helped and values, period.
At Trader Joe’s the employees bent over backwards to help. I do always try to do this. Whether I have a voice over client, a demo client, or a coaching client, I want their experience working with me to leave them feeling exceedingly happy. In a business like VO where clients have an abundance of choice on all fronts, I am extremely appreciative of their trust in me and in return I ben over backwards to work as hard as I can to do a good job.
At Trader Joe’s the entire experience, from beginning to end, with the lolly pop, was extra. I try to do this! I am always reachable. I have helped get students on rosters of clients and agents. I have redone their resumes. I audit their auditions. But being extra is typically not something that is asked of you, it’s just something you bring. So my friends, bring it!!
Most importantly, my recent shopping experience left me, the, client feeling valued. When it comes time to go back… where will I go? That’s right. And that is how we want each and every one of our voice over clients to feel.

We want to do our very best in voice over always. Well often times being and doing our best has nothing to do with our sound and our audio. A lot of the time it has to do with who we are, how we treat others, and the services we provide that go beyond our voice.

Often the voice over is the last piece of the puzzle. Video producers and others who are casting may come to you very close to the deadline and need help to make their project incredible. We have an opportunity to take their time of stress, take them by the hand, and turn it into something wonderful. As someone who also coaches and does demos, it’s the same thing. I can use this as a defining moment in someone career to help make it memorable. My experience in Trader Joe’s can only be described as excellent. I only want to leave my clients feeling this way.

Finding Voice Over Work on CastVoices

August 1, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Clubhouse Round 2

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u39kitauzpzpzig/AADC1By9qOM1pBTJ6eJ-E6gRa?dl=0&fbclid=IwAR3sYhpM9uYnETOPUWcohM3HdIPwVYqMut_Ng8XcN3Z6AXpCOmvqZFXN_08

Put simply, our first Clubhouse with the Liz Atherton and Nick Krause of CastVoices left us wanting more! So many guests in our room “Ask the VO Coaches” had questions, that Diana Birdsall and I did not even get through half of ours. So we were lucky enough to have Liz and Nick back again. If you are not yet in the CastVoices user group, the timing could not have been more perfect. This week some paying members were getting a little antsy about when more bookings would roll out and the tone of the chatter was somewhat impolite, so having Liz available to answer questions meant a lot. The funny thing is that as some were raising questions, I myself booked two roles on a video game that I auditioned on only through the site. It will be an ongoing role with work that will likely last years. So, for these of you who are worried, I urge you to sit back and relax. The work is coming. Now, for my re-cap:

There Are Some Features Unique to Cast Voices

On this platform, if a casting director choses, they can give you feedback on your audition. This is not typical and is extremely valuable! There is a sound-byte feature in your profile. This is meant to give voice actors an opportunity to stand out regardless of your level of experience. This is where you can show the human side of you and reveal a glimpse of your personality. Nick is extremely proud of the code that he has built, he has worked hard to create a platform to highlight voice actor’s talents. I shared that I love the resume feature, and Liz commented that ultimately this will be interactive.

CastVoices has a Social Mission

Liz was thrilled to share that the entire CastVoices team is likeminded in their focus on service to others. When they did an Indiegogo campaign to launch CastVoices, they ended up donating 50% of what they brought in. Of those funds, 50% went to feeding America, and 50% went to Tim Friedlander and Jay Preston’s financial assistance program for all actors in need. This money was given not with the question of “should we” but a “how can we” from a place of “spirit and love.” This team is truly amazing.

A Lot of SEO has been Put into the Site

Nick explained that the goal is that if someone searches for your name, they want your CastVoices profile to pop up. If someone searches for a project you’ve done and it’s on your resume, your CastVoices profile should come up. Through dynamic site maps, you are indexed in google right away.

Differences in Membership Levels on CastVoices

Liz made it clear they are very transparent: the only way they make money on the site is through subscriptions, not through casting. The differences in membership levels include the amount of samples shown, logos posted, and booked work you can show. On all levels of membership, clients can reach you directly.

Getting Buyers to the Platform

Their entire team is working hard to create strategic partnerships every day. They are connecting with creative directors, advertising agencies, gaming companies, and more. They go at it as a project enhancement platform. Every single day they reach out to clients, just as we do as small business owners, and encourage them to use the platform. As of Friday they have 36 creative directors and 61 agents on CastVoices.

Some Questions That Came Up

Bev Standing asked for tips to set up her profile. Liz advised to look at the categories on her demos and to create a custom URL. Liz also offered that if people don’t have a website up yet they can use this custom URL. Liz also pointed out that we should specify the age ranges we can work in. Others asked if the CastVoices team will go over their profile and resume and Liz said she’ll do so as time permits. They also revealed that they have a huge client who needs translations, and already have business in 50 countries, so if you are able to provide translation please list that. Another topic that came up was etiquette. If you are contacted within the platform, it is appropriate to stay within the platform, not to track the casting director down outside of the platform. Another guest asked if they are looking for trends. Nick explained the ultimately they will, but at this juncture while they are doing certain analytics they do not have trends that will help voice actors yet. It was also asked if a profile can go stale. The answer is no. If you update it with new samples of booked work, so should be fine. If you are inactive, you can mark yourself inactive.

Conclusions

CastVoices is good for the voice over community. Their heart is in the right place and they have set us all up for success. How can we, as talent, help them take off? If you have clients who need to cast you can point them toward cast voices.

Why You Should Be on Cast Voices Too

July 6, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

The Access

If you’re a professional voice over actor like me, and like me you’ve been in the business a while, then you know it is not so often that we get to speak directly with the folks who run casting platforms. Or with agents. Typically candid conversations like this only happen at conferences. It just so happens that one of my VO besties, the amazing Liz Atherton, who for many years was the founder and owner of Texas based TAG Talent, is now the brains behind Cast Voices, the newest casting platform that is sure to bring great things to our industry (know wood). Liz has an amazing team, including Nick Krause, an on-camera talent who also does some VO, and Bobby and Elizabeth Alcott. They have all worked really hard to bring us something that us new and different. They are extremely transparent in all of their practices, and they want to create something that raises the bar. In this scenario, we have unique, inside access.

The Clubhouse

If you didn’t know, Diana Birdsall and I run a weekly Clubhouse in our Club “Ask the VO Coaches.” Last week, Liz Atherton and Nick Krause came into our club to chat with us all about the awesome features of Cast Voices. What made the hour special was that many guests got to ask their questions directly to Liz and Nick, and there was a great back and forth exchange. I noticed several things. First, Liz comes from a place of grattitude. She is so profoundly appreciative of the support they have had thus far from the voice over community. She views the process as extremely collaborative and despite her many years as an agent, speaks to every single talent with respect and patience. Next, Liz and Nick care very much about being clear and transparent about all practices. For example, if a project manager on the platform posts a job for $500, the talent sees the job as $500. They are not chipping away at it or altering anything. I also noticed that they are willing to engage in community dialogue. When a bling talent commented about accessibility issues on the site, Nick was extremely responsive and will to hear all suggestions about how to improve the tech. This is a team determined to work hard for the voice over community.

Some Features

Even though I thought I knew so much about Cast Voices before the Clubhouse, I too was reminded of many awesome features. You have the ability to create a unique URL. You can create a sound bite. You can set usage reminders for your bookings, so that clients can opt to renew their usage at the end of the run. During the Clubhouse, Liz and Nick were able to flesh out the differences between the free and the paid plans. I personally have opted for a paid plan, as I wanted a chance to show client logos and video clips. Liz also mentioned that they will soon be starting a referral bonus program. If you have not been on Cast voices yet, the build out is pretty amazing. From client logos and videos to resume posting, the features really make voice actors look good.

You can list or connect with your agents on Cast Voices. Liz advised that if you have multiple agents, it is best to either include all agents or none of your agents. Agents work so hard to support their talents, it would not be polite to connect with some and not all. Adding agents is easy. On the left hand side, agents are listed. When you click on it, you can simply add your agents email address. An invite is sent to connect them. It is really that simple. And Liz explained that the same etiquette that applies off the platform applies on it. If one agent sends you a booking first, that is who you should submit for.

My Thoughts

I’ve been in working in voice over for many years. As a working professional, we all have resumes. I feel that Cast Voices is designed to bring our resume to life. When someone has spent a lifetime casting voiceovers, they know what to look for. They know how to make us look good. The amount of thought put into this set up is phenomenal. I am so proud to have my client logos and my commercial front and center. No one has ever given me an opportunity to show my chops like this. To be frank, it feels really good. Aside from my website, this platform looks better than any other platform I am on.

I also think it is different having an opportunity to work with someone who has been part of our community for so much of her life. If you don’t know Liz Atherton, let me tell you, you would love her if you met her. It’s impossible not to. She is amazing in every way. If you did not know about the huge philanthropic mission of Cast Voices, they have one. She is kind, she is smart, and she is determined. I don’t know when we will start seeing bookings on Cast Voices, but if Liz Atherton is a part of it, I plan to be too.

Political Commercial Demo On the Horizon

October 6, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

Why Now?

If you’re like me, you can’t take your eyes off of the daily news updates. The pundits’ analysis of the state of the state is at once shocking and yet at the same time revealing what we sort of thought was happening. Last night I fell asleep watching Masha Gessen being interviewed by Chris Hayes. She was fascinating, discussing why this whistle blower is so different than past whistle blowers, because he, unlike others in whistle blowing moments, is reveling the details of something we sort of knew about. She had addressed this in her article in the New Yorker: “Most big whistle-blowing stories involve a revelation: fraud where it may not have been so much as suspected; systematic waste unseen by the public and unnoticed by overseers; abuse of power that we couldn’t have even imagined. The story of abuse of power contained in the whistle-blower complaint released by the acting director of National Intelligence, last week, however, was known in general terms. In fact, it had been covered by the media.” So it is in this context that we are in an election year with minor elections upon us.

At this moment, as a professional voice over actor, how could I not have a political demo? We are in an election year. There will be spots for elections, for organizations, for choices we are all facing. And with the news surrounding us constantly, I want to be a part of the moment of change and lend my voice to these campaigns. The demo was necessary to booking the political spots.

My Background

In voice over, we are often asked why we are different than others in our field. As a kid, I always loved American History. This inspired me to major in Political Science in college. Circling back to voiceover, I am VERY different than other talents because I have not one but TWO degrees from Columbia University, and my undergraduate AB degree from Barnard College was in Political Science. In fact, I graduated with departmental distinction and one the senior prize for the best senior essay (senior thesis) in my field. It was on microcredit loans for women in Bangladesh, and this was in the years before Mohammed Yunis won the Nobel Peace Prize, so at the time it was a hot new topic. A man named Richard Pious was my undergraduate advisor, and he is an expert on the American Presidency. When you are in school and you study whether a president is good, average, or excellent, he is on the committee that rates them. Other famous alumnae from Columbia who share my degree and background include President Obama, Madeline Albright, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. I am quite proud to be in such good company.

I stayed at Columbia and pursued a Masters of Arts in History. I was in a terminal MA program at Teachers’ College. My passion for academia served me well and I loved my years at the university.

Why does this matter? I am a gal who understands the issues. All of them. For me, this is not simply an acting job. This is my passion. I will not only be able to develop the script as a professional in the field, I understand the script in the context of the current situation and in the context of the big picture. I get the issues.

Why Adrenaline Studios to Produce my Demo?

I love the team at Adrenaline! As a full time working professional, I have an opportunity to travel a bit for my work. In the past, I have been in Las Vegas and gotten to record work that I booked while staying in Vegas at Adrenaline. I was very impressed with the studios at Adrenaline and I really liked working with Brandon Perry. I have some other industry friends who recently did demos with Adrenaline including Jodi Krangle and Liz de Nesnera. They turned out great! I was so impressed not just with Jodi and Liz’s performance on their respective demos, but also with the production quality! I thought the scripts were great and loved the audio. I also wanted the experience of working with a studio that is known for producing so many political spots, and adrenaline does.

My Goals

My goal is too book a lot of blue spots and be a part of the wave of change that I pray sweeps our nation. My goal is to also work with new clients. I love meeting new people, and this will combine my passion for politics and my work in voiceover. I am excited to meet the needs for political spots in the coming year, whether they are warm and positive, hard sell, negative, and anything in between, I look forward to an opportunity to bring the scripts to life and make a difference!

A Rallying Cry: A Time for Voiceover Actors to Speak for Refugees in Need of a Voice

July 15, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

My Own Family’s Roots

In 1913, my Great Grandpop Sam, his father, his mother, and his brother Yudel came to Philadelphia on a ship from Lithuania. He was a young teenager. When they arrived, his family was sick and quarantined and was going to be sent back to Europe. My Great, Great Grandmother Seina made a hysterical plea for young Sam, who was well, to stay and fulfill their dream. Seina died at sea going back. Yudel never made it back to the states. He fought in both World Wars and died fighting in World War II.

But the story has great relevance today in light of our present refugee crisis for multiple reasons. First, I should explain that all 8 of my grand grandparents were Jewish immigrants from different parts of Europe, I was just particularly close with my Grandpop Sam so I will focus on his story. Next, his story in particular has so much meaning in light of what is happening today.

Grandpop Sam always told us that he “lost” his family. We never could understand how this happened. We know he had gone to Boston in search of his father, and we had heard rumblings that perhaps his father was in Chicago, but Grandpop spoke with a heavy Yiddish accent and he did not like to talk about sad things, so he never described to us that his family was ripped away from him at the port in Philadelphia and we did not understand how they were separated or lost. We had images of the little mouse Fivel from “An American Tail,” but that was it.

Another relevant matter to today’s immigrant crisis is what happened to my grandfather once he came here. He did not have immediate family as they were all sent back. So, he went to live with relatives who were kind enough to take him in. Grandpop was fortunate to have a place to live while he got his feet on the ground. He was a tailor and he worked in a garment factory for his life. A few years after he came he fought in World War I. He earned a Purple Heart and a Silver Star but he would never tell us what they were for. He was in some brutal battles and we imagine it was very difficult for him. He came home and worked again as a tailor. He sewed beautifully actually. He went to night school to learn English and that is where he met my Great-Grandmom Sara. So, even though his life was not easy, he was not living in a prison on a cold cement floor. He came here for opportunity and he became a union member and a home owner and his life flourished.

It actually took us 100 years and the help of ancestry.com to find our family. When families are being torn apart by the current administration, I am not sure if they realize that it will take a century to overcome this, but that is how long it took us and my grandfather was not tortured when he arrived. In 2012, my kids had to do a family tree project for their school. They had some friends who went on ancestry.com and asked if they could too. They showed ancestry.com to my sister, Julie, and she became very eager to work on our family tree. Julie has actually blogged about this as well:

https://www.levingenealogy.com/2019/05/02/discovering-my-great-grandfathers-lost-relatives/

The abridged version is that when we added our tree, my sister Julie spent a lot of time researching and found a Russian professor who was active on Jewish genealogy sites. This woman knew some of our cousins! She asked if she could ask us some questions. To our shock, this woman was able to connect us with Grandpop Sam’s immediate family now living in Moscow, Russia and Karkiv, Ukraine!

It turns out that my Grandpop has a nephew named Lev, my Grandfather Simon’s first cousin, who is still alive and now in his early 90s, and living in Moscow! Lev has a beautiful family. My Grandpop Sam had another brother named Moisey and his family is alive and living in the Ukraine. They survived the World Wars, the Holocaust, and Stalin, and are somehow alive and still Jewish. It was shocking, just shocking.

Perhaps more remarkable is that while we had absolutely no idea that any of them existed, they knew about us. Apparently they had been in contact with Grandpop Sam through the 1940s and were aware of his whereabouts until that point. They knew he had a family. They had a dream of looking for us and my second cousin Yuri had been to Philly several times looking for us with no luck.

I could go on and on and tell you about each member of the family, but instead I will tell that in 2013, one hundred years to the day that my great grandfather came to Philadelphia, we returned to Russia to meet our lost family.

How is this Relevant today?

First, my Grandpop did not have an easy start here in America but compared to the immigrants in the jails across our country, it was a walk in the park.
When families are separated, like mine was, it is not easy to reconnect. Even with modern technology and DNA testing, it can take many years and multiple generations to find each other.
Families can get trapped in other countries never to reunite.
It takes the kindness of strangers for folks to get a clean start in a new place, even when they are not coming from a crisis situation.
Immigrants help build this country. My great-grandfathers barely spoke English when they served for the US army in World War I. For many years, our economy and military have depended on the major contributions of immigrants.
The major majority of immigrants coming to the United States are good people coming here with hope for something better than whatever they are escaping. They are risking everything to start over.

What can we, as voiceover actors, do to help?

We can give the silent masses a voice.
There are organizations trying to get refugees out of detention centers and jails. You can lend your voice for videos, PSAs, phone messages… the list goes on.
Here is a link to and article about First Friends, the group I plan to help:
https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/an-important-first-contact-for-the-undocumented/
This is an interfaith group to help find a better place to get these people situated. I am in touch with Victor Salama, the head of the group, and in addition to visiting refugees, I have offered pro-bono voiceover services to help as much as they need.
If you want to be a part of my voiceover team that I have put together, please email me at laura@lauraschreibervoice.com.