What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26On the 19 Aug 2024 check-in, Kerensa Trelease said she is leaving Pentreath Cold Chain within weeks, with no named successor. Active users have fallen to about eight regulars, and the contract runs to the end of the year.
What happened: Kerensa Trelease, Head of Customer Operations, told Daniel Okafor she is leaving in her last few weeks. She said her team knows but it is not yet public across the company.
Customer view: She says the value was real when people used it, but nobody owns the brain after her and her manager does not use it. Usage has fallen and one recent ticket was a how-to, not a fault.
Commercial: Daniel raised that the contract runs to the end of the year. Kerensa declined to discuss price and left it to the next person and her manager.
Watch: The evidence does not show who will take over. Daniel agreed to write a handover note, run a session for the successor and tell Tom Ashdown about the leadership change.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Daniel Okafor drafts the handover note for Kerensa's review and copies her manager once ready.
- Daniel holds a session for the successor once Kerensa names them, with client name matching first.
- Daniel tells Tom Ashdown about the leadership change so the commercial side is ready for the year-end renewal.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- No named owner after Kerensa leaves, and her manager does not use the brain.
- Active users have fallen to about eight regulars, so value may not be carried into the renewal.
- Client name mismatches from the depots were never resolved.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A handover note and a session for the successor could re-establish a champion before the contract ends.
Transcript
- Daniel Okafor NoneAfternoon, Kerensa. Thank you for your time. I think it's just the two of us today?
- Kerensa Trelease NoneJust us. Hello, Daniel. Sorry, I'm in the car park, it's the only quiet place. Give me a second to get the door shut.
- Daniel Okafor NoneOf course. No rush at all.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneRight. Done. Latest excursion first, because I can't help it: a small one on Friday, a pallet of dairy at the Avonmouth site, a door left ajar by a loader. Client told within the hour. No harm. But it's the third like it this summer and nobody's reviewing the pattern now. That's the bit that bothers me.
- Daniel Okafor NoneMm. That's exactly the sort of thing the repeat-excursion question was meant to catch. Has the team been asking it?
- Kerensa Trelease NoneThat's the problem, Daniel. Not much. I've been looking at the usage and it's gone down. I'm seeing fewer faces in there than in the spring.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'm seeing the same, and I'd rather say it plainly. The number of people active in a typical month has fallen by a fair amount compared with the previous quarter, and it's about eight regulars now.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneYeah. I'll be straight with you. It's partly me. I'm leaving Pentreath, it's my last few weeks here. It's not public across the whole company yet, but my team knows.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThank you for telling me, I appreciate that. And I'm sorry to hear it, though I hope it's a good move for you. You've been the person who made this work from the very first month.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneIt's a good move. But I've been thinking about this account more than my own handover, if I'm honest. I bought it for the account managers. I don't want it to turn into a thing nobody opens.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's a fair worry, and I'd share it. So let's use the time we've got. Can I ask who you think will own it once you've gone?
- Kerensa Trelease NoneNobody yet. That's the honest answer. My manager will pick up the team for now, but she doesn't use it. I've said to her that someone needs to be named before I go. Facts before feelings: right now there's no champion after me.
- Daniel Okafor NoneRight. Then the most useful thing I can do is help you leave something behind. A short note on what the team does with it, the questions that work, and who the strongest users are. And a session for whoever takes it on.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneI'd like that. I did half hour sessions with the new starters in the spring and they stuck. If somebody does that with the successor, it might hold.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI can do that. Would you introduce me to whoever it is, before you go, so it's not a cold start for them?
- Kerensa Trelease NoneYes. I'll ask her to name someone this week. I'll tell you as soon as I know.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThank you. Can I also ask about the support side? I can see one ticket from the team this last month. I wanted to hear from you what it was about, so I'm not guessing from the title.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneThat was a how-to. One of the account managers couldn't get the contract review page to filter by client. It was answered, fine, nothing wrong with the service. But he wouldn't have asked me, because I'm not about.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's useful, thank you. So it's a sign of people getting stuck, not a fault. I'll make sure that filter goes in the note.
- Kerensa Trelease NonePlease. And the naming thing from the depots, we never quite sorted it. The client names still come in different ways.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI remember. Just to close the loop on that, I did send you the list of the most mismatched names, and I should have followed it up with you earlier than this. That's on me. Shall I put the matching on the agenda for the handover session so the successor starts with a cleaner picture?
- Kerensa Trelease NoneYes. Put it first. If they see the repeat excursions properly, they'll care.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAgreed. May I mention one more thing, gently? Your contract runs to the end of the year, and I'd rather we speak about it properly than let it creep up. I don't want to put you in a spot, you've said price isn't yours.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneIt isn't, and I'm not going to wade into it on my way out. What I'll say is that the value was real when people used it. The question is whether they carry on. That's for the next person, and my manager.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's fair, and I think that's the right way to put it. I'll make sure Tom hears it exactly like that, and that the commercial side knows there's a change coming on your side.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneGood. Don't make it sound worse than it is. The account managers like the thing. They just need somebody to lean on.
- Daniel Okafor NoneUnderstood. So I'll draft the handover note and send it to you for a look before it goes anywhere. I'll hold a time for the session once you've got a name, and I'll tell Tom about the leadership change. Is there anything you'd like me to leave out?
- Kerensa Trelease NoneNothing. Just keep it factual. Oh, and copy my manager when it's ready, once I've warned her.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI will. Thank you, Kerensa, truly. It's been a real pleasure working with you, and I'd like to keep in touch after you've moved on.
- Kerensa Trelease NoneLikewise. Right, I'd better go and tell a loader about that door. Cheers, Daniel.
- Daniel Okafor NoneBest wishes. Speak soon.