Over the next little while, as I continue to move in to my beautiful new home online, I’m going to bring some of my past content over to share. Originally published on Starshyne Productions.
My sister Suzie recently wrote about how she was able to honour her value of justice by dealing pro-actively with a variety of customer service situations. Go Suzie!
In the same context, I was able to take action on my values too. My deepest value is Life and by that I mean honouring life, loving life, celebrating life. And to me, honouring each other as beings is a part of that. It’s deeply impactful to me because I believe that violence and acts of cruelty are only possible when we disconnect, when we turn off our empathy and don’t see each other as living, breathing beings.
What does this have to do with customer service? I’ve been having intense technical difficulties. I have not been able to receive emails to any account associated with my openthedoor.ca domain since last Wednesday. As I run a business, this is particularly distressing. One of the first steps I took to resolve the situation was contacting my ISP (internet service provider). I was stressed, worried and trying to communicate about something I don’t particularly understand. The CSR (customer service rep) helping me was aloof, cold and clipped. He was unable to resolve the situation but was able to determine that the problem was not at their end.
At the end of the call, he asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“It would have really made a difference if you had been friendly.”
But ma’am I went through all the steps with you. I ensured your situation was taken care of.”
“Yes, you did, and I truly appreciate your help. But this is a stressful and difficult situation, and it would have been so nice if I could feel a smile on the other end of the line.”
And amazingly, he softened and laughed and for a brief moment we had a human-to-human connection and the world was a better place, at least my world was. I hope his was too.
I’m not saying that every interaction has to be deeply personal. I live in an incredibly busy and crowded city. Sometimes we need to disconnect just to have some semblance of privacy. And I think sometimes people get zoned out and cold because their jobs weigh them down and they don’t want to give away one more drop of energy. But when you connect, you get a chance to receive too. We can exchange our energy instead of just our information. On those occasions when our paths do cross I hope that we can be human with each other. That’s the change I want to be in the world.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
That is wonderful. I so agree. That is part of the reason I moved to the area I live in now. It is like the old world of waving high as you drive by. A friendly hello and know the name of your neighbors. In St. Louis it was cold. And not many gave each other the time of day.
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I love coming here. Love it.
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This is rather amusing to me as I work for an ISP and am usually the voice on the other end. A friendly one, though, most definitely.
Recently I had a very hard time with my pharmacy. While trying to get a big mistake cleared up, I was waiting for a manager, and the tech who had been helping me asked the person behind me for their last name so he could look up their prescription. He did this all without looking up from his computer. The whole exchange was painful to witness. At the end, the customer said to the young man, “It really would have been nice if you had looked at me while you waited on me.” The guy was just dumbfounded. It just makes me appreciate all the more those people I come into contact with who are really THERE with you when they’re helping you out. Politeness and friendliness go a looooong way!
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