Welcome to the latest of our chats with the folks who work behind the scenes to help crate the Loot for you! Debbie Hernandez has been with us almost since the beginning, and recently transitioned from the support side to our brand team; we spoke to her about her new job and her geeky passions!
Hi Debbie! Tell us your exact title, and what it is you do at Loot Crate?
I am a project manager for [some of our] bimonthly crates. Specifically, I handle the Wizarding World Crate, WWE Slam Crate, and Marvel Gear & Goods along with some special surprises coming up in the future.
How long have you been with Loot Crate, and what were you doing before you joined the team?
I have been with Loot Crate since August 2014 and clocked in among the first of 40-some full time employees! I’m pretty sure I’ve been here longer than our HR director, too!
You started with us as part of the support team; what are the challenges of support, and the best thing about assisting Looters?
One of the biggest challenges in support is when there is a lack of details provided by the customer. The more information supplied in that first email, the faster we can retrieve answers. The faster we can answer, the happier both parties will be!
Some of my favorite memories in support included going above and beyond for customers. If there is a problem with an item and our hands are tied, we always try to think of the best ways around the situation to ensure customer satisfaction.
Can you think of one particular interaction you had with one of our Looters that was special?
One time, a young girl wrote into support hoping to answer some questions posed by her dad. He was insisting that Loot Crate catered to boys since we offer geek and gamer goods. I reassured her that females could be bigger geeks and better gamers than any boy and gave her examples from my personal life. She was so thankful and actually convinced her dad to purchase her a subscription!
(Yep, that’s Debbie modelling for the current Marvel Gear & Goods!)
You recently transitioned from support over to the brand side, assisting with crates including Marvel Gear & Goods and WWE. What brought about the change?
I’m extraordinarily organized and helped provide a lot of structure in support. That became apparent to upper management who then sought out my skills with the brand team and I happily obliged!
There are all new challenges to your work now; how are you enjoying it so far?
So far it’s been great. Not only do I get to work with some of the biggest fandoms in my life (as I am a fellow Slytherin and huge Hardy Boyz fan), but I learn so much about the Marvel Universe now. It’s one thing watching the films, but our amazing product designer, Scott Wilger, exposes me to so many of the characters in the Marvel Universe that don’t get as much exposure as they should!
What is the most rewarding part of your job, and what is the most enjoyable?
The most rewarding part I would say is seeing the fan photos on social media. We have our amazing community team scouting out the arrival of crates as soon as they appear in the wild. I often times go through message boards and Instagram photos to read the opinions of subscribers. We also take this into account when curating future crates as well, so know that we definitely hear out our subscribers!
Day to day, how to you bring the experience you had for so long interacting with our customers regularly to the work you do now?
Communication! Support is the front line of customer praises and complaints all of which should be directly communicated with the brand teams. In meetings, I question concerns such as “Is this item fragile?” “How is the size chart?” “Will it make it in time for the holidays?” because I know Looters will ask. It was definitely good customer based training, and it helps with each and every one of the projects.
Loot Wear
What are your particular favorite themes or crates that have gone out in the past couple of years, in any of our crate lines?
I’ve been here for so long and have seen so many crate but honestly, I love our Loot Wear line the most. I’ve been a supporter since Day 1, since I love to show off my fandom love daily. Since I’ve seen a sneak peak, I have to say my favorite crate thus far is our up coming Animation Loot for Her item. Again, without saying much, I’m planning my Halloween costume around it and I literally squealed when I saw the product concept sheets!
Outside of Loot Crate, what do you personally geek out on? Any hobbies/interests in particular?
Outside of Loot Crate, I am a huge space geek. I’m still pursuing a graduate degree at this time and hope to go into study planetary science as it’s my passion. I’ve also previously worked on Mars missions so I geek out on anything and everything Mars.
What is the last great movie you saw, TV show you watched or book/comic you read?
I recently saw The Imitation Game and Benedict Cumberbatch was amazing, yet again. And of course Wonder Woman! Watching it in 4D was a religious experience. I highly recommend it to anyone with access to a 4D theater!!
And if you could create your own crate theme (anything at all!) what would it be?
I’d like to bring it back and do a science theme. Whether it’s bringing in Rick from Rick and Morty, or Bruce Banner in his lab we need to bring the nerds in as much as the geeks.
We’d be into it, for sure. Thanks for chatting Debbie!
