What happened at work today?

[Hollylane]

Today, my co-workers and I were tortured by one cranky customer. He called back multiple times, and was explosively verbally abusive when asked to verify his information.

He was calling from a computer based phone with a bad connection, and when I got him, about half way through his transfer of service, I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me anymore.

That's when I heard him say:

"Why won't you answer me??? What are you doing, painting your nails???"

My co-workers were pretty riled up about his behavior, but I helped a few of them to process his behavior with empathetic thoughts. I just think that anyone who is that cranky and mean, must be feeling pretty miserable about something.

[Hollylane]

I convinced 23 people today to set up 100% clean energy...That bonus at the end of the year keeps getting bigger and bigger, and even more importantly, each of those customers is making a difference in the air we all share in the Portland area! YAY ME!!

Yesterday, my call center manager said:

"Hollylane, I've been listening to you talk to our customers all day today (my cubicle is next to her office), and you just sound so happy to talk to every single person, and your voice is just lovely!"

Today, my old supervisor said:

"Hollylane, you must be feeling pretty good lately, I can hear the smile in your voice every time I walk by your desk, and hear you talking with a customer."


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The Job Satisfaction Call

Generally, I zoom through my calls, doing my best to expediently handle every customer, while making sure to answer all of their questions, and get that super quick, first call resolution, while trying to make my customer feel like they received great customer service. I take pride in the service I provide to my customers, and the volume of calls that I handle for our team, and our company.

Sometimes, there are those days, when every call is like trudging through mud, and it seems like every customer that is having a bad day, called specifically to attempt to take it out on the person answering the phone. On those days, I admit I am not perfect, and I do a lot of muttering with the mute button on.

But...

Approximately once a month, I encounter one of my special customers, usually an elderly person, who really only called to chat. I don't rush them, I chat with them for probably 20 - 40 minutes, and enjoy every moment with them. Because my stats are good, management never antagonizes me about these calls, even if they occur during the busiest part of the day/week/month.

Today was one of those lucky days. I spoke to Mrs.Anderson (an 86 year old great grandmother of 5) for 45 minutes, and took pleasure in every second of it. We talked at great length about a wide range of topics, which even included our shared interests in animals and upcyling/repurposing. At the end of the call she said,

"You know Hollylane, I think that you're the kind of person that I could be great friends with. I really wish I could just have you over for a nice long visit once a week, but I know you'd get into trouble with your boss over that. So, all I can do is pray that I get to talk to you again some time. I really enjoyed talking with you, and I only wish I'd met you at the market instead. You really made my day!"

It is the people like Mrs.Anderson, that make all the memories of the hard calls I've taken during the month fade away for awhile. It is people like her, that give me the most job satisfaction, and simply warm my sometimes calloused heart.