Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Customer Service...Be Nice

Some of you may know that I work in the insurance industry specifically with group insurance. January is always a trying time for us as most groups change their policies Jan. 1st. To add to the mix, we have 3 holidays that hit during our crunch time. We always have stragglers that are not in our system by Jan. 1 and guess what they all come down with the flu and need a prescription on the first. I am getting to a point here...I promise. The last two days I have been bombarded with angry callers demanding me to fix their situations. I work as hard as I can but can't solve the world's problems alone. Most of this is out of my control. I have been screamed at and hung up on. People can be so rude to others. They forget I am a person just doing my job so I can get a paycheck and take care of my family. If anything I sympathize with them and want to help. I finally took a call from a very appreciative customer today who simply said thank you. You better believe he was moved to the top of my stack. He will be the first one called when the problem is corrected :)

I now try to practice this approach with others in the service industry. I watched a lady chew out the Subway clerk last week because their credit card machine was broke. When it was my turn, I just reminded her there would be a special place in Heaven for those of us who have provided customer service.

4 comments:

Beccalynn81 said...

I don't know how ya'll work in your careers! I don't know if I could do it. There are so many angry and mean people out there. They should realize that you are doing your job and there is only so much you can do. While shopping in JCP the other day, I had a horrible experience of being sent between departments to check out due to pricing errors and I just went along and did what they told me to do. The lady at my last stop told me how nice I was and that others had been griping them out all day for things like that. I was proud to at least have made that lady's day a little easier. I just told her that I was a teacher and used to parents that did the same type of thing to me, so I always try to be understanding in situations. I hope the rest of this season is better for you!

Leslie said...

I don't know how yall do it, but I try to keep that in mind when I am on the phone with people that I don't know. I try to think that they are just like me...probably with a family, mortgage, and all of life's struggles. So, keep up the good work!

Philip said...

Amen...I saw an angry guy at the counter of the Wal Mart Pharmacy last night. He was showing himself!

Crim said...

I try to be kinder as well to service people because they are doing a job just like the rest of the world.