It Feels Good to Hold Hands

A couple weeks ago, I experienced a pleasantly surprising transaction with a very large company.  I had called AT&T to cancel an old phone line and have my DSL internet moved to my new business line.  I was wary, as I’ve had bad experiences in the past with long waits and frustrating attempts to navigate the dreaded automated phone system. I try to press the prompt that will get me a live person but somehow I always seem to end up with another long set of prompts taking me everywhere except where I want to go. 

This time, there was no long wait. Within minutes, I was talking to a live person. When he heard what I needed, however, he said, “I’m going to have to connect you to another department.”  

“Here we go,” I thought. “Now I’ll have to explain the whole thing all over again to someone else.”  This time, I was wrong.  The first representative stayed on the line and explained what I needed to the woman in the new department. I was impressed and relieved.  Once she understood the details, the pleasant man thanked me and hung up. Everything went well and an AT&T worker was scheduled to come to my home the following Tuesday. 

When he arrived, he politely explained what he was about to do outside.  When he was done, he offered to come inside to make sure my internet was up and running. He worked with my modem to make sure it was functioning properly.  Then, he told me what I would have to do with my username to ensure that I wouldn’t have a lapse in service.  As we discussed the department at AT&T that would handle this aspect of the connection, he decided to manage it for me.  He got them on the phone, gave them his employee number and explained what I needed. Once he put me on the call and was sure that everything was going smoothly, he said goodbye and let himself out. The next AT&T representative walked me through the final steps and I was all set.   

It took those employees extra time to patch me through and make sure the next department knew what needed to be done and it gave me a sense of security.  I was so happy that they made the effort to ensure I transitioned seamlessly from department to department. Two separate times, their people patched me through to the next person I needed and made sure I was taken care of before leaving me. Their “hand holding” was extraordinary and you can be sure I’ll be recommending AT&T to others.

Reflections:  What can you do to make your customer’s life a little less stressful?  Are there any areas of transition during which your customers could use a bit of extra help?  

written by Marilyn Suttle on www.lovethemup.com