Lost in the Phone Zone

You made it to the music. You are almost there. While you are on hold waiting, it seems like a good time to glance over an article about customer service.

Just as an aside, did you know that copyright laws technically forbid playing a radio station's music (or any commercial CD) on your on-hold system? Nobody believes it until ASCAP comes knocking at your door with its handout. Ask your doctor or dentist who used to play music in the waiting room. Since that is considered, entertaining clientele, they now must purchase a music service.

Customer service used to be so simple. Step One: pick up telephone. Step Two: speak with a human being who can actually help or at least understand the issue at hand.

Somewhere along the line, however, someone had this great idea. I can just picture it in my mind's eye?people sitting around a corporate conference table in a tall corporate building saying, "Let's force customers to call a computer. We will make them drift through a maze of pressing numbers on their telephones until they completely forget their reason for calling."

"Great idea, Johnson! Take some more stock options out of petty cash." We've all been in this phone zone. Utilities and government calls are my favorite. I dare you to try to reach a live person within three minutes. Our cable company has actually improved significantly in this area.

The best, most recent example, has to be our local municipality's sweetheart deal with a waste removal service. You still get to select between two levels of service, but they made the most popular one so unattractive that you need to switch to the even more expensive alternative. The great part is that the company only gave each customer a two week window in the middle of summer to call and make the switch. Every time I tried to call, the line was busy. Every time--no matter what time of day. I could just picture them sitting around a table playing bridge with all of the phones off the hook with knowing smirks on their faces.

Of course there was no e-mail or Web site alternative?that would make the process a little too easy on the consumer. I actually had to send a letter asking the waste removal service to confirm my preference of the lesser of two evils. I promised that if they called me, my phone would ring, I would answer it and actually communicate with them. A month later, my sarcasm still hasn't resulted in a confirmation call.

The phone zone can be especially frustrating when your business is affected. Time is money. More than that, you deserve the level of service for which you pay. And another thing, the very last thing I want to hear after stewing forever on hold is that "your call is very important to us." If it were that important, we would be working together right now to solve this issue.

HME software vendors seem to implement various levels of customer service methods. You may be shuffled into the phone zone right from the start or you may actually speak to a pleasant human at the beginning of your call.

Some vendors offer customer service during your business hours. Occasionally, you will find 24-hour service. At the other end of the spectrum is the "your salesman is your programmer is your customer service representative" company. With one or fewer employees, you could be on hold for quite some time, especially while he or she takes a vacation.

Another customer service variation should be termed personal service. Does your HME software vendor outsource its customer service? Are you playing Russian roulette every time you call? Will I get the experienced rep this time? Will I get the one that I like best this time?

Some vendors actually assign your company to a primary and secondary customer service representative. This logic allows you to build a relationship with one or two people who become familiar with you, your company and the way you run your business within the software.

The advantage to working with one person is obvious when you have a problem that takes more than one call. The continuity with one person is preserved, so that you don't need to explain from square one, each time you call. Even a customer database explaining each call to the next rep cannot substitute for the confidence that one-on-one service produces.

Knowledge databases (the same concept as what a 911 operator has available) can be helpful, especially when used in conjunction with a customer database. Combining these two resources on the customer service representative?s screen during your call can save significant time for both you and the rep.

I have mentioned experience a few times. Everyone must start somewhere, but hopefully, it isn't on the front lines when your important call is next. A medical background is helpful on which to build. An HME background is preferred. An HME background using the same software is priceless.

Now let's swing the spotlight back in your direction. How can you help yourself to save time on a customer service call? Of course, you will save the most time by never having to make the call in the first place. Before reaching for the speed dial, ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I attempted to solve the issue on my own? Our business is full of details; have I double-checked my procedure?

2. Have I exhausted all of my reference materials? Some vendors offer help systems in the software and/or online. Some provide detailed, indexed manuals as .pdfs for easy reference. Some even offer computer-based training that explains various procedures available in the software.

3. Have I been properly trained? Even system veterans need additional education now and then. Any HME software worth your investment will constantly change to meet regulatory deadlines and improve methodology. If your boss asks you why you need continuing education every 12 to18 months, explain that you can be much more productive applying new techniques rather than sitting in the phone zone.

Every customer service representative will mention these three reasons as their biggest time wasters. Question #1 is forgivable. Questions #2 & #3 are not. If you are just starting, fresh out of introductory training, people will cut you some slack with #2. Otherwise, you are bringing the productivity of two people at two companies to a grinding halt.

This isn't a case of impatience, lack of compassion or personal disdain. Let's paint the picture this way: How would you feel if you were in the phone zone for 20 minutes while your customer service representative trained another individual on a simple system function? It simply wouldn't be fair to you.

That?s why customer service is customer service and training is training. Although there is a fine line between the two, a responsible customer service representative will quickly recognize these requests and recommend training. You may not appreciate that suggestion at the time, but in the long run, this CSR is truly helping you and your business. Plus, if you are the customer waiting to speak to this rep regarding a legitimate software issue, you may not realize the respect that this CSR has just exhibited for your time and your business.

Another question to ask yourself doesn?t quite belong in the above categories, because not all software vendors provide the hardware to run your HME software. Again, you can save a lot of time by asking this question:

*Have I eliminated my company?s hardware from the equation? If not, you may need to check with your company?s systems engineer to answer this question, unless your software vendor also supplied your hardware.

If you can answer ?yes? to this question as well, you still may not need to race for the speed dial. Consider these points:

  • Do I know exactly where I am in the system?

  • Do I have all of the information I need to explain to my CSR?

  • Do I need to make screen prints to assist in my explanation?

  • Can I e-mail a quick explanation and screen print(s)?

    See? You can still eliminate some calls and be more productive. If your customer service representative offers an individual e-mail account to submit questions, take advantage of that free service. Attach a screen print rather than faxing.

    Personal pet peeve warning: Faxing has outlived most of its usefulness. It?s costly, usually difficult to comprehend and the machine is never available when you need it. Take Murphy?s Law into account regarding paper jams, busy signals and paper out messages. Productivity is almost guaranteed to suffer whenever faxing is involved.

    If you can still respond "yes" to all of these questions (except the last one about e-mailing), then you can speed dial your customer service representative. He or she will be appreciative that you have taken the above steps and are prepared to explain your situation. If you need to leave a voicemail message, be sure to include your name, company, how to reach you and why you are calling.

    Whenever you're stuck during your workday, you may feel as if you have lost control of a situation. We have just illustrated why picking up the phone really isn?t the best initial reaction.

    And remember that every moment that a customer service representative spends on the job is out of his or her control. These CSRs are usually well-educated, friendly, well-organized, dedicated people who take pleasure and great pride in problem-solving and helping customers. These small steps that you can take to meet them half way will never go unnoticed.

    Now, if you will excuse me, I need to call the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. I am confident that my call will be important to them.

    • This article originally appeared in the September 2003 issue of HME Business.

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