Bowale joined Eden Life over a year ago and she successfully transitioned from being a Steward to a Gardener in the space of seven months. She has grown to be a valued member of her team and her dedication to excellent work is inspiring.
What’s your name?
Olabowale Adetoye
What do you do at Eden Life?
I am a Gardener (Customer Success Associate) at Eden Life. We ensure that every customer is happy with our service by constantly solving every issue they face whilst using our product.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
My day starts and ends with doing everything possible to ensure the customers I am assigned to are happy with their Eden Life.
I begin by reaching out to customers, starting with the ones that have a service scheduled for that day. I remind them that they have a service lined up and check their availability to receive it. When the service provider gets to their destination, I also nudge them to receive their service and make sure they are satisfied with the quality.
Every customer gets assigned a service manager immediately they sign up to Eden Life. This manager is your personal butler and assistant. They make sure you get the best experience from the product. We call them Gardeners and I am one of them. My job is to make every customer happy and provide them with the support they need to make their lives easier. If any customer is unhappy with their service, it doesn’t sit right with me.
How would you explain your job to a 5-year-old?
I make it easy for people to live their best life.
You joined Eden as a Steward. So how did you become a Gardener?
I joined Eden in 2020, in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic, just before the second wave. We had been asked to resume school and finish up our final year project. I was in school but I was bored and I had a lot of time on my hands. A friend’s brother saw an Eden Life vacancy ad on Twitter and sent the link to me. The vacancy said they were looking for Stewards. Stewards were responsible for plating, packaging and sorting meal orders for customers.
I applied and I was shocked when I got a call and was invited to an online interview almost immediately. I was a bit suspicious because I’ve had jobs before and this was very different from what I had experienced. I expected them to take two weeks to get back to me or even a month. It was then that I realized that the company was different.
Even though I was nervous, I did the interview, aced it and got the offer. I had experience with food because I had interned at a coffee shop while I was in school so the job was easy for me to figure out. I was one of the first people to be hired for the role so I was involved in a lot of process creation and structure building. I had to work across multiple teams from customer success to food production. Then NYSC happened.
What changed with NYSC?
Before I got my call-up letter, I was considering switching departments because the work I was doing wasn’t aligned with my long-term career goals. I studied Mass Communications so I was eager to apply that knowledge somewhere. NYSC opened that window for me. I had a conversation with Nad, the CEO, and we talked about career alignment, my abilities and my long-term goals.
He told me that we had vacancies in the Gardener Team and my timing was perfect. I was scheduled for an interview with the team and that’s how it all started. I had an in-house interview and after I passed, I became a Gardener.
What do you find most interesting about your job?
I love meeting people and my job allows me to talk to a lot of people. Even though I don’t see the customers physically, I love the fact that we can interact, bond, and build trust over time. I like being the go-to person for all their issues and I enjoy helping them.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
I love fashion. So in my other life, I would love to be a fashion presenter or influencer. I’d like to help people pair outfits and dress their best.
What do you do outside work?
Mostly TikTok. I spend a lot of time there, just watching videos and enjoying the vibe. I’m not Simi but I sing sometimes. I also like reading books. I’m a fan of great stories.
What do you find most interesting about Eden Life?
A lot of things. The disruption, the processes, the people. The company empowers you to do your best work and they also take care of you. What we are doing is one-of-a-kind on the continent so you get to learn new things every day. I can’t put a price on the number of things I’ve learnt from working here.
What would you say to people that want to work at Eden?
Eden is a great place to work. You’ll love the work culture and the people. I have never seen a more accommodating work environment. There’s mutual respect and genuine love. It’s a place where you can grow and upskill as a person and as a professional.