As a customer service representative, and a manager of a team of customer representatives, I have extremely high standards. My belief is that our clients pay our salaries and keep us in business, and we have to give them a reason to want to continue doing this year after year. Therefore, doing more than our competitors is not only crucial, but standard.
I have a hopeless flaw of holding others to the same standard that I erect for myself. From my company's standpoint, they have told me that this is one of my strengths and a big reason for my supervisory position. Those that have to provide service to me, as a customer, may not agree with my superiors. Sometimes I even "lose my cool" with those computers that answer the phone, at which point my co-workers respond "it can't understand the tone in your voice, Rach; save your energy!"
Fortunately, I have learned the meaning of that old adage "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar". Two recent victories show that this is a very true statement.
My grocery store is wonderful. Polite teenagers (crazy, huh?), beautiful meats and produce, reasonable prices are all great reasons to bypass the grocery store that is, literally, right in my backyard and drive into the next city. It always frustrated me, however, that their hot pepper selection was always a bit jumbled together, and picking up the wrong hot pepper could be a big problem. I sent this grocery store an email, and I told them how great their store is, including praise for their employees. Within the email, I offered one piece of "constructive criticism", and asked them to post pictures of the hot peppers. I sent the email on a Monday. They responded to me within a day or two thanking me for taking the time to give them feedback, and that they would take my comment into consideration. The next time I went to the store, less than a week after my email was sent, the pepper pictures were posted! I know that this is such a small feat, however, as my husband pointed out, our world was altered for the better.
Last Friday, I was preparing to celebrate my father's milestone birthday. I called the caterer and, giving them slightly more than 24 hours notice, attempted to order their pork and sauerkraut for a crowd. Their menu said "24 hours notice required". The worker that answered the phone told me that they meant 24 "open" hours, and that there was probably no way that I was going to get my pork and sauerkraut. She had to make a phone call, but told me not to get my hopes up. Although I would have much preferred to go with my first instinct and snottily remind them that to a non-restaurant lay person, 24 hours means 24 hours, and 3 days would mean 24 open hours, I pulled out the honey dipper, apologized for giving them short notice, and asked her to see what she could do. I also sent the manager a nicely worded email, stating how much my family enjoyed their food, how unfortunate it was that I misinterpreted their wording, and could he please work with his staff to try to accommodate my request. Within 10 minutes, I received a call back, and the next day's pork and sauerkraut was delicious!
Unfortunately, sometimes the receiver of the honey does not do what I want them to do. At that point it becomes a personal satisfaction thing for me. I know that I treated that person with dignity and respect, and kept control of my emotions. This little victory should not be under estimated, either.
