Surviving The Dreaded Customer Service Call With Respect and Humor
At the Post Office about a couple of weeks ago in the Village of Matteson, Illinois, there was a Gentleman being serviced by a Clerk to my left. I purposely did not make eye contact with him out of concern, my expression of empathy for him might motivate him to lose his cool with the Clerk.
He brought in a form stating he needed to pick up a package sent him from Germany. His license showed a different address. The Clerk told him he needed to bring in a letter or identification showing his name associated with the address where the package was mailed to him. He explained to the Clerk it was his Mom's house. She ended of telling him four times she could not release the package to him until he produce any kind of mailer associating him with the same address. Each time he tried to get her to change her position on this matter, he got angrier and angrier, but fortunately he did not lose his cool.
The Gentleman finally asked if he could speak with the Postmaster on this matter, who was not available to speak with him at the moment. The Clerk suggested he call or return first thing in the morning. He left out of there very upset.
The Clerk serving him quietly told the Clerk serving me she didn't care how upset he got, she was not releasing anything to him. Her post comment confirmed what I was thinking as I witness the conversation, its not always what you say, it is how you say it. I wanted to tell her she really needed some customer service training, because her attitude was provoking him to anger. Had she told him with caring kindness, he would have simply mailed a postcard to himself next day mail while he was there, and brought it back in the next day for efficiency of his time.
As I observed this drama I took note this is a valuable customer service reminder to me, people always deserve to know I care about what is most important to them, when I'm serving them.
Don't you just love calling Customer Service ?
I'm sure you've been there. On the phone with Customer Service.... looking for resolution and satisfaction while attempting to remain calm and retain the little sanity you still have after years of similar phone calls.
Two weeks ago my husband, Rick, bought a new inflatable dinghy. It's been in our garage, fully inflated, awaiting boating season. Saturday he realized it was leaking.
My first thought was the inconvenience of having to return it. We had to borrow a truck to get this one.
Rick anticipated a much worse scenerio. Because it's been registered with the state (like a car), he figured the best the company would do is repair it. Who knows how long that could take?
Not to mention... we paid for a brand new one, not one that needs repair before ever entering the water.
The dreaded call to Customer Service was made.
The usual background questions had to be answered.... model number, when and where we bought it, if it's been in the water yet.
Then the best part:
Customer Service: "So you say it's leaking?"
Rick: "Yes, it's leaking"
Customer Service: "So...is it leaking air?"
Rick: "Is it leaking air ? Do they leak anything else?"
I would have loved to have said to the guy:
"Well, we really wanted the one that leaks dollar bills,
but unfortunately we got the one that leaks air."
Sometimes the best thing to do when dealing with frustrating situations is to find some humor. It all turned out fine because both Rick and customer service guy kept their cool and were respectful to each other.
The company is ordering a new dinghy for us and will even credit us for the registration fee we paid the state. Sure it will be inconvenient to make the exchange, but it could have been much worse. Customer Service is not dead!
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