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Customer Service
After college, I worked for an upstart home electronics retail company. I was the 112th employee hired. The best part about that company is that I met Christi there. The company was the largest retailer in Canada and they were attempting to take over the US market. I had recently decided that law school was not in my immediate future so working for a company that was willing to teach me about business seemed like a good direction. They taught me sales, marketing, advertising, budgeting, forecasting, supplier relations, cash handling, human resources and management; and, most importantly, customer service. The management line was this: we don’t sell electronics, we build people. The focus was on recruiting and training (building) people to help customers find what they need. We followed the retail wisdom of Sam Walton and sales experience from Zig Ziglar. I still quote them from time to time.
The company taught us to repeat the following phrase:
Rule #1 – the customer is right. Rule #2, if the customer is not right, refer to rule #1.
In all reality, this meant the customer can be wrong, misinformed, obnoxious and manipulative; but, the customer is right. If the customer thinks the remote is broken, then it is broken. It’s not our job to convince them otherwise, it is our job to make them happy. We were taught to start our sentences with the Ziglar phrase, “I hear what you are saying. Here’s something I found that works, let’s see if it works for you…”
Of the one hundred remotes that I was told didn’t work, I actually had one that did not. The other 99, well, here’s something that I found works, let’s see if it works for you.
The company I worked for is now BestBuy. As far as I can tell, they no longer build people. But, they have a good selection of products at reasonable prices.
From the early 1990s to now, I can tell you that both Sam Walton and Zig Ziglar would be unhappy with the state of customer service in most major business sectors – health insurance, car insurance, phone companies, internet providers, banks, and, yes, of course vacuum sales and big box retailers. The other day, Christi called a company that, not surprisingly, required her to go through their jungle of an automated phone system (which ironically always announces itself with, “to serve you better”). After a frustratingly long system, she was rewarded her with a computer voice that said, “We will connect you to a customer service representative,” only to be followed by another recorded voice that said, “because of high call volumes, our call center is currently not taking new calls. Please try again later.” Click. Oddly enough, I too had just been hung up on from an insurance company when they were transferring me to a real person.
When we call upon God, we do not have to prove who we are – no date of birth, policy number, card number, or any other identification required. God already knows who we are. We don’t have to tell God where we are – no address or zip code required. There is no two-step verification from God where we get a text message confirming who we are. To God, all hearts are open, all desires known, and no secrets are hid. Most theologians would assert that God even knows what it is we are calling about.
When we talk to God, like rule #1, we are right. We might be wrong, misinformed, obnoxious and manipulative; but, God listens as if we are right. And, through discernment, prayer, and Scripture, God tells us, “I hear what you are saying. In my experience, here is something I found that works. Why don’t you try it.”
- Rev. Dave
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