Something makes me think I've used that title before...
So far this week has been pretty amazing, although with each passing day my eagerness to do my job drops significantly. We spent four and a quarter hours on the phone today, and I only handled fifteen or so calls in that time. A good rep handles 48-52 calls in a single eight hour shift. I know I'm only in training, but sometimes it's really tempting to sit in call work until the time runs out so I don't have to speak to more customers than necessary. So many of the problems are identical, even if the people who call in about them aren't, and it gets monotonous. Today I spent an hour and a half on the phone walking a woman through registering for My Verizon and upgrading her phones so that she wouldn't have to call in later to ask what mistakes she made and why the second phone costs $69.99 when it originally said it was free. A different woman hung up on me. I really have no sympathy for her, though, because she's at the lowest possible price plan with the lowest possible minutes. The last time she called in she was offered save and loyalty plans and could have accepted it then. Prices were given, and she CHOSE the 300 minute Nationwide Basic and yet she felt the need to call in and complain that it was only a $5 difference for a 150 minute difference and we don't offer rollover minutes! She threatened with leaving for a different company, but in looking at her remarks I know all she wanted was the loyalty plans that suddenly sound much better now that she got her bill. There was so much I wanted to say to that woman... She's paying just over $40 a month for a phone. There are people who pay hundreds more than that who have legit reasons to call in whom we could be helping while this woman complains about a $5 difference. Basically people call customer service so we can take the blame for their mistakes.
And the point of my rant is to say that people are the reason I love and hate my job. The only reason I'm putting up with customer service is so I can pay for rent and eventually get my masters and move up to Human Resources where I only deal with employees. Much more my style than listening to the greater percentage of 80 million customers complain.
On a different note, my weekend is jam packed. Early Saturday morning Neal and I leave for New York City for the day and we will return that evening in time for dinner with friends from church! Apparently homemade egg rolls, games and a movie are also involved and I'm just a little excited. Then on Sunday I intend to clean my apartment, finally. I just haven't been home enough to do it lately and it desperately needs it. Living on your own definitely has its perks, but when it comes to fixing the toilet I really wish my dad were here.
Besides my job I'm enormously happy. Life is good, and God is greater.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I Am A Promoter!!
I was dreading work this week after that call on Friday, but thank goodness all of my calls have been relatively good, especially today.
Today I had the privilege of speaking with two different customers, one of whom was on the phone with me and I was about to change her price plan when we had a power surge and all the computers turned off! She was more than happy to chat with me while the computers rebooted. At the end of the call she asked to speak with my manager so she could tell him/her how great I was. Another call later was the same way, minus the power surge. I just wanted to brag a little and am going to write word for word what was said about me, information that is sent via email to everyone on the floor.
Due to confidentiality I will call them Customer #1 and Customer #2.
"I had the pleasure of speaking with Customer #1 who had the following to say about Emily...
'I wanted to speak with Emily's manager and give kudos to her. She was amazing and I was so impressed at the level of service she provided as she is still in training. I have been in multiple customer service jobs and know how demanding they can be. She was so thorough, polite and efficient and I was completely blown away by her pleasant disposition and with the rapport she built. I cannot think of a single complaint I would have about the conversation we had, or the way she handled what came her way. Emily is a keeper and I see her being one of your best customer service representatives.'
"This is such a wonderful achievement Emily and an excellent way to start out your time in transition... Well done, keep up the good work!!!!"
"I had the pleasure of speaking with Customer #2 regarding his conversation with Emily. He wanted to let me know that Emily was completely professional and pleasant to speak with. She did a wonderful job and he just wanted us all to know about it! Great job Emily, keep up the good work!"
Needless to say, after a day like today I'm on cloud nine. Both of these customers have had a background in customer service, which is part of the reason why they requested to speak with a manager. I'm sure that if I called their customer service and was helped in a similar way that I help them I would do the exact same thing.
Anyway, I just wanted to brag a little. :)
Oh, and btw, to all who read this... you can follow this blog and have it sent to your email address. I'm not sure how, but I know it can be done, so please feel free!
Today I had the privilege of speaking with two different customers, one of whom was on the phone with me and I was about to change her price plan when we had a power surge and all the computers turned off! She was more than happy to chat with me while the computers rebooted. At the end of the call she asked to speak with my manager so she could tell him/her how great I was. Another call later was the same way, minus the power surge. I just wanted to brag a little and am going to write word for word what was said about me, information that is sent via email to everyone on the floor.
Due to confidentiality I will call them Customer #1 and Customer #2.
"I had the pleasure of speaking with Customer #1 who had the following to say about Emily...
'I wanted to speak with Emily's manager and give kudos to her. She was amazing and I was so impressed at the level of service she provided as she is still in training. I have been in multiple customer service jobs and know how demanding they can be. She was so thorough, polite and efficient and I was completely blown away by her pleasant disposition and with the rapport she built. I cannot think of a single complaint I would have about the conversation we had, or the way she handled what came her way. Emily is a keeper and I see her being one of your best customer service representatives.'
"This is such a wonderful achievement Emily and an excellent way to start out your time in transition... Well done, keep up the good work!!!!"
"I had the pleasure of speaking with Customer #2 regarding his conversation with Emily. He wanted to let me know that Emily was completely professional and pleasant to speak with. She did a wonderful job and he just wanted us all to know about it! Great job Emily, keep up the good work!"
Needless to say, after a day like today I'm on cloud nine. Both of these customers have had a background in customer service, which is part of the reason why they requested to speak with a manager. I'm sure that if I called their customer service and was helped in a similar way that I help them I would do the exact same thing.
Anyway, I just wanted to brag a little. :)
Oh, and btw, to all who read this... you can follow this blog and have it sent to your email address. I'm not sure how, but I know it can be done, so please feel free!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Some Advice...
On Friday I experienced my very first 8hr shift on the phones at work. I both loved and hated it, and unfortunately it has been haunting me ever since. Literally. All night long I had dreams about answering people's billing, equipment, and price plan questions, it was like I never left work! Due to this I did not sleep well at all and therefore Neal and I postponed our trip to New York City due to my fatigue as well as a raging headache and a sudden urge to throw up (which I didn't succumb to). From now on I will be either reading a book or doing some serious prayer before I sleep because I refuse to take my work home with me anymore.
One particular call haunts me, even now. The conversation repeats itself in my head over and over... that woman's voice has been forever engraved on my mind. I spent an hour on the phone with this woman, explaining to her that I will be fired if I give her the phone number of another Verizon customer due to FCC regulations and confidentiality law and that I have no control over what the last representative she talked to did or did not do. She screamed profanity at me, demanded a supervisor, and even cried on the phone as I explained that I can change her plan to the lowest possible plan but that it wouldn't go into effect until the next bill cycle. By the time the call was over she loved me, telling me that I had an A+ in her book and asked for my name and saying that she would refer everyone to me and that even if I hadn't helped with her bill she felt better having spoken with me. It made me feel good at the time, but as the night progressed I began to wonder if she would call in again and tell a different representative a different story and try to get me fired like she's hoping to do to the other guy she spoke to the previous week. Even though I know that she can't touch me due to the fact that my remarks are in the account and every phone call is recorded and I will not be forgetting the date and time of this call anytime soon, it still worries me. I know that by the end of next week I won't be worried anymore, but until then I will pray, hard, for God to watch over that woman and help her in her financial situation and with her temper, that she might treat other people the way she would like to be treated, and if you're the praying type I request that you do the same.
In the meantime, I have advice for all of you who will call customer service of any kind in the future: be nice. The problems with your bill or the equipment or with your plan are not the fault of the representative that happens to take your call and therefore should not be taken out on him/her. If they tell you something that disagrees with what you think is true, don't argue because they know far more about the company than you do and it is their job to do so. We deal with more crap in a given day than just about any other job on the planet, in my opinion, so be nice.
On a lighter note, I'm adding a couple of pictures.
First we have some of the training assistants. TAs only help with transition in two week increments, so this particular set is leaving us and we will be introduced to a new set on Monday. Due to it being their last night with us, we had food and by 10:30 these costumes appeared. Let's just say we have lots of fun at Verizon Wireless.
Finally we have the very first photo taken of Neal and me. We play Scrabble quite a bit, and at the moment I have won three games, Neal only two. I might have rubbed it in his face just a little...
And scene.
One particular call haunts me, even now. The conversation repeats itself in my head over and over... that woman's voice has been forever engraved on my mind. I spent an hour on the phone with this woman, explaining to her that I will be fired if I give her the phone number of another Verizon customer due to FCC regulations and confidentiality law and that I have no control over what the last representative she talked to did or did not do. She screamed profanity at me, demanded a supervisor, and even cried on the phone as I explained that I can change her plan to the lowest possible plan but that it wouldn't go into effect until the next bill cycle. By the time the call was over she loved me, telling me that I had an A+ in her book and asked for my name and saying that she would refer everyone to me and that even if I hadn't helped with her bill she felt better having spoken with me. It made me feel good at the time, but as the night progressed I began to wonder if she would call in again and tell a different representative a different story and try to get me fired like she's hoping to do to the other guy she spoke to the previous week. Even though I know that she can't touch me due to the fact that my remarks are in the account and every phone call is recorded and I will not be forgetting the date and time of this call anytime soon, it still worries me. I know that by the end of next week I won't be worried anymore, but until then I will pray, hard, for God to watch over that woman and help her in her financial situation and with her temper, that she might treat other people the way she would like to be treated, and if you're the praying type I request that you do the same.
In the meantime, I have advice for all of you who will call customer service of any kind in the future: be nice. The problems with your bill or the equipment or with your plan are not the fault of the representative that happens to take your call and therefore should not be taken out on him/her. If they tell you something that disagrees with what you think is true, don't argue because they know far more about the company than you do and it is their job to do so. We deal with more crap in a given day than just about any other job on the planet, in my opinion, so be nice.
On a lighter note, I'm adding a couple of pictures.
First we have some of the training assistants. TAs only help with transition in two week increments, so this particular set is leaving us and we will be introduced to a new set on Monday. Due to it being their last night with us, we had food and by 10:30 these costumes appeared. Let's just say we have lots of fun at Verizon Wireless.
Finally we have the very first photo taken of Neal and me. We play Scrabble quite a bit, and at the moment I have won three games, Neal only two. I might have rubbed it in his face just a little...
And scene.
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