Promise To Serve

Being in sales, I pay attention to customer service. (Side note: I tip really well at restaurants-especially when the service is great-I think it's extremely important to do so, especially as a believer.) So, back to the point: I pay attention to how companys handle my calls and service my needs.

I've noticed lately that the all-hated customer service call centers have changed how they answer their phone and how they do immediate grades on their services. For instance: Today I called my bank and just had a quick question for them. The lady on the other end of the 800 line answered something like, "Thanks for calling Wachovia where I PROMISE TO SERVE you as a valued customer, how can I help?" Now I realize 48 jokes could be inserted here...and worst yet, it's really funny to hear a lame customer service rep repeat a line like that when they sound half dead and you can tell in their voice they really HATE being there...but still, I was impressed by the greeting. Quite a statement too, huh? Right off the bat they are trying to set the stage: "Hey, I promise to fix what is broken or guide you in the right direction, etc." Just as important, at the end of the call, she asked something like, "Mr. Sutton, did I fulfill my promise and treat you as a valued customer...?"

I know it's cheesy, but the underlying reason WHY they do biz this way is cause the stats don't lie. Their stats probably tell them they will have 23% less "high risk of leaving" client situations resulting in 11% more client retention resulting in 3.8 billion more dollars of interest revenue per quarter. Or something like that :-) And all of that from a greeting and a philosophy of customer service.

Having been in various ministry positions, I think the church should do this more. Not just promise to serve the church as they are called to do, but to consistently ask, "Are we doing it?" Analyze their efforts. Ask the tough questions of the people they lead and listen to the results. Oak Leaf is one of the few places I've seen do this. They value the feedback and strive to make sure every person is fulfilling their role.

p.s. I think the next time my bank asks me if they fulfilled their promise I'm going to shout, "No, you didn't give me a hundred thousand dollars did you??!!" And then start talkin all kinds of crazy talk...just to see how they react.