Meet our Nighttime Customer Service team

Starling customers can speak to us on the phone or in-app any time of day or night. No matter where you are or what time it is with you, our 24/7 Customer Service team is on hand to listen and do whatever they can to answer your question and find a solution.

“If you receive a notification at 10pm that you don’t recognise, you want to talk to someone then and there - it’s your money and it’s a really big deal. That’s why we’re here to chat 24/7, not just 9am-5pm,” says Customer Service team member Rowan.

Here, we find out more about Starling’s Nighttime Customer Service team. Lots of people in the team also happen to be parents and choose to work our Twilight shift, from 6pm to 11pm. The team is full of people from all walks of life, all working together to solve problems and do the right thing.

Vijay, Team Leader

Vijay first became interested in technology while working in a library. As part of his role, he grew familiar with the library’s software, something that then led him to pursue a career in tech.

He joined Starling’s Southampton office as a daytime Customer Service member in 2019 and moved to the nighttime team in 2020, after becoming a dad. “When my wife went back to work, I made the transition to night shift so that I could pick my little one up from nursery,” he says. “The quietness of the night shift is also good for me as someone that’s autistic. I find it’s easier to focus when I’m not being overloaded by everything being busy outside. It’s more peaceful at night.”

Vijay was promoted to Team Leader in 2022, meaning that he now looks after eight Customer Service team members. “If anyone has questions about their shifts or if someone is ill, they can reach out and we log that. We do welfare checks and on the rare occasion that a customer asks to speak to a manager, we step in.”

His favourite thing about Starling? “It’s ever-changing. Not being static or staying in the same place is what’s kept me here.” He also loves that we offer a 24/7 service to our customers. “It means people can contact us in the way that best suits them, be that an email on their lunch break or a call at midnight.”

Joanne, Customer Service Team Member

Before Starling, Joanne ran her own business as a childminder. “Post-Covid and after moving home, the childminding business wasn’t going as well as it had been before so I started looking at other options,” she says.

“Starling seemed so different to anywhere I had worked before,” says Joanne, who also has experience working for a high street bank. “The website puts across this innovative, inviting feeling which intrigued me and the best part is, since working here I have found this is very much the case.”

Joanne joined Starling’s Cardiff office as a nighttime Customer Service member in May 2022. “There’s a real community in the nightteam - everyone is there to support each other and make it fun.”

She chose to do night shifts so that she could spend more time with her two children during the day. All nighttime Customer Service members work five consecutive nights and then have three nights off.

“I feel a lot more trusted to do my job at Starling than I did at the high street bank, where I was very micro-managed. Starling is people driven, not numbers driven.”

Unlike other companies, Starling doesn’t set targets for the number of calls or messages Customer Service members need to answer in an hour. Instead, the aim is for queries to be answered and problems solved completely by one person, in one contact.

“I really love my job, which is not something I’ve had before. Night shift workers, who might have to wake during their sleeping hours to call a legacy bank, can call us on their break. Or people that are abroad can call us at a time that fits around their time zone.”

Rowan, Team Leader

“I love working at Starling,” says Rowan, who works as a part-time Team Leader in Customer Service. “I thought it was just a honeymoon period but the people are just that good. It’s one of the first places I’ve been where I feel comfortable being me.” Rowan joined Starling’s Cardiff office in January 2022 as a Customer Service team member. She was promoted to Team Leader in February 2023.

“After the training, I felt completely prepared to answer calls and messages from customers,” she says. “I’m now helping to run the training Academy for new nighttime team members.”

Rowan works Twilight shifts four days a week. “The Twilight shifts mean that I can get my son from school, do some reading with him, have dinner with him and my two-year-old and then let my partner take over while I work in a role that I love,” she says.

“In contrast to how I felt at my previous company, I don’t feel like I’m being left behind in terms of my career, just because I work part-time with different hours to most people. I want to keep learning, I’m not happy treading water. And at Starling, my growth and development have been as focused as I want them to be. We need people round the clock, which means we need a variety of skills around the clock.”

Starling is here for customers 24/7. “It’s convenient for the customer, and it’s the right thing to do.”