Herman: John L. Herman Jr., Author

Basic Business Bahavior...

Let’s take a day and evaluate something that should be second nature to every successful business…and seems to be missing in today’s business world.

If you decide to try a service or make a purchase from a company it usually begins with a telephone call. You dial up the number and get…the confusing gobbledygook answering matrix which offers you language choices and asks you to punch in the persons’ extension…when you have no idea who you need to talk to. My blood pressure elevates a bit at about this time and I start punching the zero button to get an operator. They have that covered. Another message comes on telling you the operator is not available and if you want a company directory you can hit another number. UGGGGHHH. Sometimes I hang up here in frustration…but I want or need what they have so I dial them up again. Hit 1 for English…did that…hit 4 for sales…did that…sales is busy, leave a number and they will call you back. So close…but still no human contact. I leave a message even though I still don’t know if they have what I want or what the price may be. Frustrated, I go outside to simmer down. And to make sure I don’t miss them I left both my home number and my cell phone, which is in my pocket.

While I am cutting the grass or puttering in the barn they call back. On the home phone, not the cell phone in my pocket. But the message tells me nothing. Except that they are calling me back. Despite the fact that when I left my message I specifically told them what I wanted. Their message offers no information about my question. Round one is over. Nothing has been accomplished.

I call again. Hit 4 for sales…sales is busy again…how can this be, because when I am actually standing at the sales counter at the store the salesperson is always on the telephone with a customer calling them? This time I hit zero and get the operator. She takes my message and says someone will call me back quickly. Finally someone calls me back…but has no idea what I want; what was the purpose of leaving those detailed messages? They do the service I want but are so busy with other customers they can’t do my job for at least ten days. Perhaps they should increase their staff as I now have to start calling their competitor because I really want the service now… when I am calling for it. If I knew the pipe would burst, or the electric would stop working in the hallway light, or the car was going to break down, I would have called them ten days ago so I could get this fixed now, not in ten days.

• Posted: 3 June 2008
• Comments: 0
• Category: Running a business

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