wisdom

Why customer service is good

Judging by the reaction I received to yesterday's blog, a lot of you have had your own Verizon customer service horror stories. Here's a quick example of how not every company is clueless when it comes to taking care of their customers. While on my just completed vacation, I took a two of kids over to Manatee County (Fl) Golf Course to hit a couple of buckets of balls. The kids were using my clubs and as fate would have it, Sam, the 21-year-old, somehow snapped off the head of my 3 wood. The clubs were a Christmas present, and while it is more than possible the 3 wood was defective, my first thought (which I didn't share with Sam) is that he had probably hit the club against the ground and snapped it off. (Sam has only recently started playing golf.) More…

Gaining Wisdom

In the middle of a very troubling customer experience yesterday, I came to a very pleasant conclusion: I am glad I am not young any more. I was trying to cancel a service I receive from a utility. (I won't name them because Verizon gets enough bad press as it is. Just Goggle "Verizon" and "customer service." You'll see.) Canceling the service took four separate calls and a total of 1 hour and 13 minutes on hold--my phone has a built in timer, and I kept a running tab. Somewhere around the third call, when I finally got through, I mentioned all the time I was spending on hold. The person on the other end said, "oh. You called on Monday. That's our busiest day." Right then I realized no baby boomer designed Verizon's customer service program. More…

What Are You Going to do Next Time?

The current crisis will end, of course. But you can be equally certain that we will see another some point in the future. Everything has a lifecycle. So, the next boom time will end in a bust as well. The question is what have you have learned this time around that you can apply next. That is what wisdom--something we are supposed to gain as we age--is all about. More…