Kim Ficek

Customer Service Specialist and Draw Official, Washington’s Lottery

By Insights Online

Published November 18, 2025

It takes a special kind of person to excel at customer service, especially when interacting with today’s consumers – who may be inquisitive and reasonable, or short-tempered and accusatory. As the public face of any business, a customer service rep must be able to satisfy a myriad of requests, under a myriad of conditions, with the end goal of leaving the customer in a better state. Kim Ficek knows that as much as anyone, and she has been applying her skills in this area at Washington’s Lottery for some 13 years.

"Kim is a customer service representative for the Lottery and is so dedicated to helping our players and customers,” says Director Joshua Johnston. “She does so in a positive, fun, and happy way, and is one of my most favorite people."

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Kim has been with the Lottery for 25 years, starting in an on-call role at the ticket warehouse in 2000 before progressing to a full-time warehouse position after a few months. In 2007, she advanced to a Scratch Inventory Specialist, developing optimal scratch ticket orders for each retailer to help them meet their sales goals.

In 2012, she moved to her current role as a Customer Service Specialist. And in 2015, Kim was added to the rotating team of employees who work as draw officials, monitoring drawings and all the related activities. She was on the job when a $754.6 million Powerball jackpot was won in Washington in February 2023. “That was such an exciting time for Washington’s Lottery!”

As a member of the Lottery’s customer service team, she provides assistance to players, winners and retailers who reach out on any number of topics. Among other things, she helps players understand how to play the games, helps retailers resolve problems, and is responsible for processing mailed-in tickets along with jackpot and other big prize-winning ticket claims. She also helps sell tickets to customers at the Lottery’s headquarters and keeps all game information current in the lobby.

She marvels at the variety of positions she has held. “You might say that I know where lottery begins and ends,” from shipping tickets out, to drawings, to prize payments.

Originally from Cincinnati, Kim served in the military from 1982 to 1985 as a Supply Specialist, holding the rank of Corporal. She was stationed in Germany twice and enjoyed traveling to London and Paris. During this time, she met Eric, and the pair married in 1983. They ultimately settled in Washington in 1992 after his service came to an end; they had loved the area when stationed at Fort Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord). “I like the climate and I like the people.” Eric is from Oregon, so that is another tie to the area. And of course they are joined by Sammie, their “empty-nester” dog.

They are the proud parents of two adult sons (twins), and enjoy their five grandchildren. Everyone lives locally, so Kim and Eric continue to reap the benefits of family. As the sons grew up, there were a lot of sports and camping activities, and more recently the grandchildren are active in sports. “We pretty much show up every weekend to whatever they have going on,” she says.

Kim likes to take walks (often with her Lottery coworkers during breaks) and is a loyal church member. Although she admits they are homebodies, she and Eric have a small group of friends with whom they go to movies and events. She recently threw a murder mystery party for a friend’s birthday. “You have to try new things!” And every year, they make a point of going to a Seattle Mariners game. She also tries to visit her family in Ohio every other year or so.

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What first brought you to Washington’s Lottery?

I was a full-time mom until our boys were in high school, when I started doing part-time jobs here and there. At one point in 2000 I saw an ad in the local newspaper – remember those? – for a job as an on-call warehouse worker at Washington’s Lottery. That meant preparing ticket orders, getting them ready for the trucks that would then deliver those tickets to retailers. After a few months in that part-time role, I was hired for full-time work at the warehouse. It was actually the first full-time job I held since leaving the military.

What are the most important elements of customer service from your perspective?

I really think that this agency does a lot for our players and our retailers. If you take a broad definition of “customer service,” that would include all the games and promotions that our sales and marketing teams keep coming up with to show just how much fun playing the lottery can be. Beyond that, I draw upon my experiences playing lottery, and a little local bingo, before I started working here. I wasn’t an avid player, but I do understand the ups and downs – the feeling that you are going to win only to be followed by the disappointment that you didn’t win. There’s a lot of feelings around a lottery product, and it really helps to understand what players might be thinking.

On the job itself, it’s critically important to be very knowledgeable about the products. We have a lot of games, and on the scratch side there are new and different games every month. I try to make sure that I understand each game before it hits the market in case there are questions. Not just from players, but also from retailers. And we need to solve any problems quickly to keep a positive experience for everyone involved.

Anyone involved in customer service should also be responsive and have compassion. Players may think they have a winner on some of the more complicated games, and it may take some effort to convince them otherwise if they just don’t understand the nuances. Showing compassion through the whole process goes a long way towards making players feel satisfied even if it’s not the outcome they wanted.

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What are the most common reasons for players to talk with a customer service specialist, aside from simply making a prize claim?

The main reasons players reach out is for help understanding specific games, or simply how to play. As I just mentioned, a customer service rep needs to thoroughly understand the games. We will also get calls from people wanting the winning numbers, even though they are posted on our website and on signs at retail. Sometimes they are talkative and we end up in conversations with them. That’s all part of customer service from my perspective – we get to know many of our customers.

I do enjoy interacting with repeat customers in particular. I’ve seen repeat players who come to our office to buy Match 4 tickets, for example. They seem to think buying tickets here gives them “lucky” tickets. I am very curious by nature, and like to engage. One time I asked a gentleman (who was a regular here) how he picks his numbers. He said he asks Siri for numbers as soon as he comes in. Our players are very interesting!

We also help retailers when there are issues or problems with equipment, so that we can quickly address their concerns.

Winner awareness is a challenge for lotteries when winners don’t want any attention or can remain anonymous. Do you have any tips on making winners feel more at ease so they will share their stories?

It is a real challenge. Years ago, we used to have media come in for a big winner, with interviews as part of a big celebration. Now, almost no one agrees to publicity, even when we only use the initial of their last name. I’m not really sure what has changed. Maybe social media plays a role. But I’d just say to keep asking every time there’s a big claim; eventually you may get a “yes.” When we do get a willing winner, it’s pretty cool for them to have their picture taken, even if it’s just with their own phone. Obviously, we have a lot of winners, so what we can do is promote the number of winners on our vending displays and other signage, along with our website and social media. It’s always important to let people know that players ARE winning.

Is there anything you wish Washington’s Lottery, or the industry in general, could do differently?

I know many lotteries are able to accept second-chance entries and even process claims and issue prize payments electronically. These are things that I wish more lotteries, including ours, could be doing. Of course, that’s up to the policies of each state and not generally something a lottery can decide on its own. The ability to enter second-chance drawings electronically, instead of only by mail as required in Washington, would be much more convenient for both the players and for lottery staff. And for prize payments, players continue to mail in their winning tickets (big and small), so we must do our best to process these tickets quickly so players get their winnings by check as soon as possible.

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What do you enjoy most about working at the Lottery? The least?

Washington’s Lottery is a great agency to work for, with a lot of integrity. We’re always looking for ways to make games fun and exciting for our players and to maximize contributions to our state. We are the “Department of Imagination” and our customers are always the focus. We want our players to have a fun experience whether they are winning or not winning. So really, what I like the most is that it’s a fun agency that is always trying ways to enhance our players’ experience.

What I like the least is having to tell people they really didn’t win. As I said earlier, games can be complicated and what may seem like a winning ticket isn’t actually a winning ticket. When you’re in customer service, it’s always kind of a bummer when we have to explain that to a hopeful player.

What is the most fun you have?

I love working Lottery events at fairs and other venues; it’s a lot of fun and another way to serve our customers. I particularly enjoy watching people. At one event we gave away a big plastic flashing “diamond” ring with a $10 lottery purchase – I got the biggest kick out of seeing ladies wearing those rings and how others rushed to the Lottery booth to get their own. I also work the Washington State Fair at Puyallup every year, and we always have repeat customers who want to see what we are giving away each year. They like to collect little lottery treasures when we bring out a new game. And this past summer, we had a particularly fun time celebrating our Jurassic Park ticket.