Being Receptive

Here’s a post I wrote when I first started cafe30. I had it on a separate page because it didn’t quite fit with the other posts, but part of me blogging more often is giving myself permission to write about all things, not just marketing with some parental stories mixed in for variety.

So, when I say this blog is a marketer’s take on business and life, I really mean it!

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Every relationship takes at least two – very few will argue this point when it comes to family, friends and work.  But, applying that principle to our relationship with God is not always top of mind. 

The great thing is that God holds up his part of the relationship perfectly. If we allow him, he will guide us, speak to us, and listen to us because he loves us. And his way of communicating with us is tailored to our personality-our tolerance. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa. After all, he is the God of everything and everyone.

But the other part of the relationship is our responsibility. And our responsibility must include being receptive to his voice. Whether it be the gentle voice in our head that tells us when we are doing right or wrong, to the large billboards of life that scream to us, we should always be listening for his guidance. When we are truly receptive to his guidance and follow through with being obedient we can experience all of the greatness a relationship with our Heavenly Father brings.

Of course I am always joyful when God speaks to me of a promise and then it comes to fruition. But I am also joyful when I am about to make what I think is a good decision, and that voice says, “No.” I am learning that being truly receptive and obedient - honestly open and constantly listening – can save me many mistakes. And not only does it save me many mistakes, it keeps me in God’s will – which is by far more important.

God speaks everyday - sometimes its a whisper, sometimes it’s a roar, but he always speaks. My constant prayer is that whenever God speaks, I’m receptive and obedient. 

 

The Real Problem with Calling Customer Service

It’s more than the annoyance of prompts for an account number, zip code, phone number, pin number, birth date, last five digits of a social security number and your bra size (okay maybe not that one but you get the idea).

It’s the false sense of hope once a customer service rep answers. For a minute, customers believe that the rep has power to resolve an issue. They believe that the person will be able to listen to an issue and come up with a human-based answer, not an automated, scripted one.

However, customers soon realize the rep is just a live version of the automated help maze. They see that the person on the line has little to no power, because they are not trained to use their judgment to make a decision. They must rely on scripts and cookie-cutter answers for questions that are not cookie-cutter.

If your company is going to hire people for customer service, empower them to make decisions (Zappos is my favorite example of this). If you don’t feel your reps can handle making decisions, then hire new people with competent judgment skills. Stop giving your customers a false sense of hope when they hear a person. It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to your reps that have to deal with irate customers.

Here are other things you can do to improve the customer service experience:

• Don’t ask customers to repeat the information they just entered into your automated system.
• Use a CRM (customer relationship management) system to record your customer’s history. That way your customers won’t have to rehash previous problems or conversations with other reps.
• Insist that all reps are nice to clients (And no, this is not a given. I’ve had reps hang up on me and I was not irate).
• If you are going to use a survey to evaluate your efficiency, use questions that will offer productive feedback. Instead of “Were you happy with your service today?” try “What part of your experience could have been better?”
• Hire happy people.
• Monitor what people are saying about you online (Twitter, Facebook, etc.).
• Don’t use generic answers (e.g. Our policy states…).
• Find reasons to say yes to customers’ requests.