Just Getting Someone on the Phone

It is getting harder and harder to get someone on the phone anymore. It has become a world filled with chats and service request many handled by people dealing with multiple things at once. You can tell that you do not have their full attention and quite often they give incorrect information to you. We have seen this in our business for sure and I can tell you we have made a huge shift in how we do business and who we do it with. The companies that are easier to do business with and make it easier to talk to a live person are getting more of our business. But it is so many other places. We all hear it each time we call somewhere "we are experience heavy call volume than normal" NO, no you aren't I hear it every time I call. You are experiencing a normal call volume you are just understaffed to handle the normal call volume. And the next thing is "you can visit our website at" Guess what chances are I have already tried that and it doesn't work. It is quite frustrating getting to anyone anymore.

Many larger businesses are shifting to call centers to handle service work and scheduling appointments. This is concerning to me on several levels. It kills a entry level position where someone can gain customer service skills and work their way up. And also you lose that local touch and understanding. We have a trend in our industry where several larger companies are doing this and want people to focus on sales and not service. They don't even want you to service anything they want control of that. I hate that idea and that is not going to happen with our office. Some people love it because it lets them cut their staff back. I think it is sad and it is killing good local jobs.

There are two sides of this and one is that employers are frustrated too. I know of several places that are constantly looking for help. They don't have time to continue to look for help and try to train them. I saw one employer talking about how much time and effort he had put in to setting up interviews and the hiring process just to have countless people not show up or even after getting the job no show. It is getting hard to understand.

I am going to share a quick story about a frustrating experience I had over something that ended positively. And it was because I finally got the right person on the phone. I have shared the story with a few people. I had something that I had ordered and it wasn't something that is available locally. I had a local contractor install it. Either way there was a problem with it and I was quite frustrated and each time I called. I would either have to leave a message or get someone on the phone that really seemed like I was bothering them when I called. I mean it was almost as bad as can you unplug your box and leave it unplugged for blah, blah. Look I have done that! LOL

Trust me, I didn't want to be calling them. Well I looked up videos on how I might possibly be able to attempt fixing this on my own when I learned a name of someone who works at the company. So I called back and asked to speak to him regarding the issue I was having. I explained to my new best friend what was going on and he was really concerned and wanted to help. We discussed what I had done so far to try to resolve the issue that I was having. He explained that this unit had been discontinued and there wasn't a replacement available. This was a problem since this was a built in item. He assured me that we would get it working and apologized again that I was having issues.

So we started from the beginning trying to trouble shoot what could be the issue. I did what he recommended trying and things seemed fine for a couple weeks. Then another issue. I called back we go for another attempt and replaced another part. This wasn't like screwing in a light bulb either. There were 32 screws that held the cabinet on that had to be removed. I had done this now 3 times. And I was getting really frustrated. Once again we had it working again. Or did we.

Nope sure enough it broke again. Now I was mad and I lost my cool. It was on a Sunday and I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere calling or emailing but I did anyway. I took a video of it emailed it and called and left a message I was done trying to fix it. Either they could find another one to send me, send someone to fix it, ship it back to them so they could fix it, or send me all of my money back. I was fuming over this the whole rest of the day and Monday morning I didn't waste any time at all. I picked the phone up and called as soon as they opened. I think they were waiting for my call. As soon as I got my new best friend on the phone he told me he already had a full refund approved and would be sent out to me. Now this didn't solve my issue however it did show me they were willing to do the right thing. We talked for a bit about it and I said I really appreciated all of his help. He told me that he was so sorry for the issues that I had had with it and that hopefully I could get someone locally to figure out what was going on.

Now if I was still talking to the first couple of people I spoke to which I can almost guarantee were at a call center not the actual company this would have never happened. When people get frustrated they are quick to let everyone know. I admit I was close to posting the photos videos and emails to their business page and a couple of other places that would get attention. But that really isn't my way of doing things. But the more I think about companies outsourcing their service centers I just can't understand why they would want to frustrate their customers like this?

On a positive note I was able to get a local technician out to repair this. And it was the only thing that we had not pulled apart to check that only required (2) screws to be pulled out. Absolutely unbelievable right!

David

Shop Local Delmarva

Shop Local Delmarva Barn B Q

Save the Date June 3rd 2023 for the first ever Shop Local Delmarva Barn B Q! There will be live music, competitions, food, fun and so...so many of our local businesses and vendors out for you to see. Learn more by visiting our website www.shoplocaldelmarvabarnbq.com

We still have a lot more to tell everyone about this awesome event so stay tuned on our group Shop Local Delmarva! 

And don't forget our Supporters, Partners, and Sponsors.

In addition to helping us put on our Shop Local Delmarva Barn B Q you may notice certain businesses are highlighted and standout not only in the directory but we highlight them on our Facebook Page as well as our group. This ever growing list of businesses help us promote  a lot of great things in our community. Many of our blogs which you can find right here are focused on our community and our local businesses. And they are always helping with our community givebacks just like our Shop Local Delmarva Scholarship.

Many of these businesses are helping us promote other local businesses. Which really is what Delmarva is all about. I am asked quite often how a business can be part of Shop Local Delmarva. If you are part of our group you are part of Shop Local Delmarva. If you like the group and like the concept of a digital type of media that we share blogs, videos, highlights and features and want to be part of it we would love to have your support. You can find out more information here. All of our supporters, partners, and sponsors are on the rotating banners on most of our blogs just like this one.

If any of our supporters, partners, or sponsors have upcoming events we encourage them to let us know so we can help them promote them as well.

The whole idea of Shop Local Delmarva is all about our local community supporting local businesses, and our local businesses supporting our local community. It goes round and round.

A&B Powerwashing
Above & Beyond HVAC - www.abovenbeyondservices.com
Abbi Custis

Artisan's Aromas
Barefoot Baby Boutique
Bathing Bee
David Clayton Barone - Barone Built
Baywater Farms
Jccp Vinyl & Graphics 2019
Coastal Comfort Heating and Air Conditioning
Cawood Construction Company
Copier/Printer RejuvenatorS
Delmarva Auto Glass & Accessories - Joe Stonnell (Mod)
Delmarva Quality Pressure Washing

DoCo Axe Co
East Park Integrative Chiropractic
Catering By Chef Stewart of Flannery's
FLC Energy
Gary K. Marshall Insurance Agency - David Galeone (Admin)
Hebron Savings Bank www.hebronsavingsbank.com
Hopper's tap house
Mister Softee Eastern Shore MD
MoJo's
Kellyn's Kafe
Kuhn's Jewelers
Kylan Barn
SouthBound Alley
Tyler Accounting & Tax Services, LLC
Market Street Inn Restaurant & Pub
Muddy Paws, LLC
Mike Alford - Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Salisbury Pizza

Shore Smoke Seasonings
Simpson's Towing Svc Inc
The Corner Grill
The Village Lactation, LLC
The Hair Show
The Tiki Hut Shaved Ice
Two Scoops Ice Cream & Waffles
Williams Market