I had to deal with the Social Security people on the phone a couple of days ago and decided that I wanted to get things done and done right so I did NOT want to deal with a government automaton in flesh tone paint, thermostatically heated to 98.6.
The FIRST thing you do is ask them how they are and listen not only to the answer, but the tone and inflection. Even though the wait time was 15-20 minutes I simply hung up on the first two. When I asked the third person how they were doing he responded, "Not bad, considering it's a Monday." That told me he was my man. It was worth the extra time and effort.
I explained I was currently on my wife's insurance and she was retiring and I wanted to go on Part B. 70 is the magic age for SS. to let him know I was over 70 I said to him, "I am over 70. In fact, I am 144 years old."
"How did you make it to 144 year of age," he asked.
"I don't drink no cheap booze," I replied, "Just the good stuff off the top shelf."
After he stopped laughing we put the bullshit aside. I knew I had made his day a little nicer and in turn he walked me through everything, taking his time with me. He made sure I got his email and got the proper forms (which I could have done on my own) and walked me through them. THEN HE TOLD ME WHAT TO PUT IN THE REMARKS BOX TO INSURE IT WENT THROUGH THE FIRST TIME!
He also told me "Don't file electronically because about a quarter of them get screwed up. If you can, go to your nearest office and PERSONALLY hand them your forms."
He didn't have to do that and I'm sure that if I had acted just like another angry taxpayer he would not have. He'd have just sent me the forms and scratched me off the list as another piece of meat processed. The difference between me and Joe Pissedofftaxpayer is that I had made a HUMAN connection with him. That man realized I was a human being and as a result he WANTED to HELP me instead of simply process me.
We now live in a world of "I need a new saucepan. Amazon. Click, click" and the saucepan arrives the next day out of magic. As a result we are losing our humanity. We don't have to deal with the clerk at the store very much anymore. Many of us have turned into zombies, slaves to our phones. It's sad.
You hit the nail right on the head! Treating CSRs like humans goes a long way to getting what you want. Some folks just don't understand that the person who is on the phone is just another person trying to make thru the day.
ReplyDelete