tenacious with purpose

tonight i feel like a hero amid mediocrity. fighting on behalf of a perfect stranger, in the name of customer service, i have won an uphill battle.

my customer was scheduled for installation, and installed she was. the problem is that the tech couldn't resist the urge to grumble about this woman when reporting the work done to his dispatch team. signals were crossed and they misunderstood the tech to mean that the work was not completed, so they canceled the order and thus canceled the entire account before it existed.

it was an easy venture to restore 2 of the 3 products installed, and quickly it became a distinct possibility that this poor woman would lose her phone number because of this miscommunication. additionally, disarming her anger and diffusing the volatile situation hinged on my sincerity and control of the situation. things looked bleak for her keeping her phone number. we could lose this customer, and how many others thanks to word of mouth, if this didn't happen.

checking with our phone techs, i was told no can do. both she and i checking with her "big old expensive" phone company, they can't help. finally asking the right questions to the right people to our phone techs, i was able to surprise my customer with a ringing home phone ... with HER home number ... four full days after the trouble began.

by no means could i have done any of this alone, but without my persistence, i can't see her ending up where she is now. i'm not trying to brag, rather i am trying to help define the overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction i feel for the work i've done for this customer. every once in awhile i get a customer that i can help out like this, and each time it is worth my effort. i've solved a problem, enlightened someone on product knowledge, or simply brightened the mood of an irritated individual. on the other hand, there are those that just will not accept help ... but it doesn't stop me from trying.