People of BNE: Landside Services Customer Service Officer - Mark Sheehan

Mark Sheehan knows the best person he can be is simply himself.

Whether it’s spending time with his five grandchildren, hitting the bowling alley or coming to work at Brisbane Airport in his role as a Secure Parking Landside Services Customer Service Officer, Mark is always just himself – positive, happy and kind.

“I just want people to feel good about themselves… I just be myself,” the happy-go-lucky 63-year-old says.

“I have five wonderful grandchildren, and I want to show them that not everything in life has to be disastrous. At the office, I walk in and if they’re down, I start mucking around. I want everybody to feel good. You do what you do to make the world go around.”

Mark has been working with Secure Parking for three years, first as a driver and now kerbside, helping out at taxi ranks and pick-up and drop-off zones.

Over the past 12 months in his new role, Mark’s attitude and hospitality has not gone unnoticed, with customers sending in regular feedback to praise him for his “sincerity”, “care”, “warmth”, “positive energy” and “professionalism”, to name a few. One review even said it was the “light in my day” to be greeted by Mark each morning.

Humbled by the attention, Mark says his optimism and authenticity was developed when he was younger, through one of his great passions – tenpin bowling.

“I worked in tenpin bowling for many years and was a head mechanic,” he says.

“I would sit back and watch everybody… that’s how I learnt customer service. I believe in it, I understand it. No one wants to feel like they’re just another number. If I can make one person or 100,000 people feel like they’re wanted and a part of something, I’ve done my job.

“No one should go not being felt wanted, cared (for) and needed, in one way or another. That’s how I do it.”

In a typical day for Mark, he’ll arrive at Brisbane Airport, get himself set up, and then head out to wherever he is needed.

“I greet (passengers) with a, ‘good morning’, ‘welcome to Brisbane’ or ‘welcome home’,” he says.

“I listen to what they say, I ask questions. I joke around with them, get them to start laughing... As soon as you start interacting with the kids and the kids start laughing, you see mum and dad relax. Our job is to make people happy. I ask things nicely, I use a calm voice. I’ve only had one person get grumpy. I just smiled at him and 10 minutes later, he was laughing with me.

“I’m not just doing it because it’s a job. I’m doing it because I enjoy doing it. It makes me feel good and I want my workplace to feel good.”