Customer Service and beyond…

Since 2005 I have been a Customer with Earthlink as my Internet provider. I never had any major disappointments with their Customer Service nor with their Tech Department. But last weekend I almost became a Ex-Customer of theirs, because of the amount of frustration and disbelief that I experienced with them. If it would not have been for 2 people that knew what it means to keep a Customer happy, and resolve my problem, I would have canceled my account with them, and swallowed the cost of an early cancellation of my subscription.
So here a few pointers, that I came up with, that would keep a Customer like me from seeing red and being frustrated and becoming irrate with the Person on the other end of the Conversation.

1. If you are having a bad day, or don’t feel like doing your job or feel annoyed by me calling you, so that you transfer me to another Tech after 5 minutes unannounced, tell your Supervisor you do not want to answer any customer problems and wish to do something else. Your bad attitude in answering the phone or helping a Customer reflects badly on the rest of the Department. I called you, greeted you by your name, and asked you if your day was going good. I always try to be friendly with the other person especially in Customer relations, since I also have to deal with Customers in my line of work on daily basis, and it makes a lot of difference in which way you deal with the person at the other end. I should point out though, that at any other point that I had to call in years past, the Person at the other end is always courteous and friendly. That I must give to them. This was a isolated incident, but nontheless it sets a bad tone for the rest.

2. NEVER tell a Customer that they are incompetent or wrong in typing their Username and Password. Granted there are a few people out there that may do something wrong, but when I repeat the same letters back to you for the 20th time that I am entering and they match up with yours, I do NOT want to hear from you ” You are typing it in wrong”. That will bring my already high Blood pressure close to the boiling point.

3. LISTEN to your Customer. When I explain to you, that the previous tech and I have reset the Modem already 10 times and have taken the next 5 steps and none worked, don’t feel compelled in saying ” Let’s try this, reset the modem”. Makes me believe, that you have turned off your headset and I feel compelled to hit you with the modem and tell you to reset it yourself.

4. Get your Information straightened out. When you have a Customer that has been with you for several years, the screen that you look at should contain the correct and same Information at all times, and not something different from Service tech to Service tech.

5. Information in regards of prices, services should be the same at all times and not change again from person to person. I was told of the cost of a new modem to me was free and only shipping and handling would be my expense, and another person 10 minutes later told me I had to pay almost $80 for a new modem and shipping and handling. Needless to say my Blood pressure went through the roof at that point.

6. Why not train all Service techs to be Level 3 or your highest Level. Why have levels? Shouldn’t or wouldn’t it make more sense to have the best Service techs with ALL of the information and resolutions answering the phone at all times? I rather speak to a Service tech that can resolve my Issue right away because he has had ALL of the training, then being transfered from a Level 1 Tech to a Level 2 Tech and so on, till I finally get a Person that apparently knows what she is doing. Is it so hard to go beyond that? It certainly would save time for both the Customer and the Tech, and the Customer would not scream at your Level 1 or 2 Tech like I did, because they cannot go beyond their script and need to tranfer me to a Level 3 tech. It is not fair to them because they are not given the chance to think outside of the box, and I felt upset for allowing myself to get so angry about it that I screamed at them.

Out of 6 people, 2 made it right by me. One was a Customer Service Person that went beyond his script the next day and made sure I received the new modem for free and even gave me a discount on the shipping and handling after he saw what I went through. And the second Person that helped me to get the new modem to work after I recieved it, was a LEVEL 3 tech, which right away knew what different step needed to be taken to get the modem to work and also helped me to make sure it was working with my router properly. These are the kind of people that I want to talk to at all times, to me that is what valuable and award winning Customer Service is all about. Yes every issue may be different, from minor to hard, that take different approaches, but it would not hurt to be fully trained in all aspects of the job, so escalations like mine are avoided, because if I ever have to go through this again, I will take my Business somewhere else. Thank you.

Vacation time

Yes I am on vacation. A vacation that I actually look forward too, even though it is spent with 130 kids for 5 days and other Band Parents that chose to do the same. So you might say, that I am crazy. Vacation means no work, relaxation, good times.
Well we don’t look at it that way. Yes we do work, yes we have 130 kids to watch over, but we get to see these kids come to together as a Band, we get to know them better and we enjoy them. Yes, sometimes we get to a point were we say kids are icky, but if I personally look at the Seniors this year, I can go back and remember them when they started as Freshmen. And it brings up a lot of memories and it makes you proud and sad in the same time. For me this year it is bittersweet. Alex is a Junior, and next year she will be a Senior, a point I thought in years past she would not be, she tried to quit band several times, but the Directors and I would not let her. If we would have let her, she would surely regret it next year.

Anyway, we also have fun. The group of Chaperones that goes, has a great sense of humor. If you don’t have that, then you are at the wrong camp. Kids look at us and think we are weird. Directors have denied knowing us, and also threatened to sent us home if we were not to ship shape up ( of course they would not do that) or even joined in. And we also get yelled at from the Podium to keep quiet, kids love that when they Chaperones get told to knock it off.

It is always amazing, to see the kids take a piece of music and charts and get it all together. The talent they possess is absolutely astonishing. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer for some to realize what it means to be in the Big Red Marching Band and the Tradition that comes with it and the responsibility until they walk out the doors, march down the road to the football field and see the crowd that they have to perform for. Then it hits them..WOW…this is what all that hard work was all about. And it is even sweeter when they walk away with Trophies from a Competition.
The hardest part is when we loose some kids, because they choose not to continue with Band and quit. Lot’s of kids in this program don’t have the support system or structure at home, and every year we hear it over and over at the Senior Bon Fire, that this Band is their family, that this is were they made best friends, and helped them through their problems they have to face in their Lives. That this made them strive for better grades, to make them a better person, and when you hear this coming from someone that came in with a defensive attitute, thinking they know it all better, you know that something was done right and you hope they stay on the right path.
So yes my vacation time is spent at Band camp and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Go Big Reds!

This urkes me..

I need to get something of my chest. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the Bed this morning to be honest. So here is what is urking me: I have a big problem with people that are fake. I experience this everyday in my Life and in all aspects of my Life.

I hate it when people make themselves look good or needy or any other way to get what they want from other people. I just have a big problem with that.

I am who I am. How come others can’t do the same? How come you cannot be yourself ? Why do I have to experience your fake smile and fake insincerity and fake helplessness?  I know, this attitute gets me into trouble.  But I just cannot play that game. I have tried that and it made me physically sick. I had to stop and  I felt 100 percent better once I was done with that charade.

People that pretend to be something they are not, need to look at themselves and either stop their behaviour or they will wind up being the loneliest people in the world, because no one will want to be around them, at least this gal doesn’t.  Okay I’m getting of my Soap Box now.