Career Story: Gabi Buzatu

Gabi Buzatu is a First Mile Specialist who started working at ReBound in the Romanian office about 2.5 years ago in November of 2019. Previously, she worked in the banking industry for many years, so she knew very little about reverse logistics and returns. However, she was very familiar with customer service and working with clients, which was the experience she drew upon when beginning to work at ReBound. 

She was initially attracted to ReBound because she wanted a career change and had heard good things about the company through a colleague. She was also excited about working in a very international environment where she could improve her English with colleagues from around the globe. “What made me interested was that I saw an opportunity to start from scratch because it was a completely new job. Also, I saw an opportunity to improve my English. Here, everything is in English–meetings, writing, everything.” 

She was originally hired as part of the customer service team, dealing with clients and requests. Although she knew nothing about the industry, she quickly picked it up and wanted to learn everything she could. “Working at ReBound was a big change for me because I had no idea even what a pallet was–it was a totally new industry for me.” This new environment presented her with an opportunity to learn, and step by step she became confident in her role and knew all of the inner workings of the business. When asked about the difference between banking and returns, she replied, “Everything! I wasn’t even sure about sending an email, and that made me want to learn faster to be more confident in myself”. 

Indeed, her drive to learn and grow paid off as she moved from her role in customer service to be part of the First Mile team, monitoring carriers, improving services and tracking, approving invoices, negotiating costs, and much more. She also works internally with the IT squads to improve ReBound’s products and services since she has an up-close and personal view on how they are working and the impact that they have on clients, carriers, and partners. 

Of course, the job has challenges as well. She has to depend on carriers to solve issues and it isn’t always easy to communicate with so many parties. But although this is difficult at times, it also keeps her job interesting because no two days are alike. “Every day is something new, something else is happening. The good thing is that I am learning new things daily–this is the part that I like most about my job,” she said. She also appreciates the flexibility that ReBound’s culture provides, given that hybrid working is here to stay and an environment of trust is actively fostered by management. “I really like the team that I am part of here in Romania—everyone helps each other a lot!” A self-described dog-lover, she likes to spend her time outside of work baking and is known around the office as the person who always brings the best baked goods. Baking, she says, helps her to get out of work mode and decompress. Plus, it’s a hobby that her friends, family, and colleagues all benefit from!