Tomorrow at 5pm Central Time (U.S.), I'm recording and broadcasting a pilot for a new show that I'm hoping can be brought to 5by5 in 2014. If you listen tomorrow and your company is interested in sponsoring the show, please get in touch. It could start as soon as next week.
What Is It?
Thank You For Calling is a call-in talk show where we discuss both sides of the customer service experience. Whether divided by a retail counter, phone call, or chat window, we look at how we can improve the human experience for everyone involved. From ruining Christmas to above and beyond service, we talk to real people whose stories range from all-out horror to a consumer love that will last a lifetime.
Have you had a customer from hell? Talked to a rep who just didn't care? Have you been called names or been threatened on either side of the conversation? Have you salvaged what seems like a lost cause? Even if you still work in a job under NDA, we respect your privacy, your company's privacy, and especially your customer's privacy. We can anonymize anyone's story, situation, or experience.
I want to hear from you. Leave a voicemail with your name and contact info here: (240) 285-9623. You can also send email to thankyouforcallingshow@gmail.com. Make sure to specify whether (and how) anything needs to remain anonymous.
Names can be changed to protect the innocent, but we're only interested in first-hand stories. Please do not submit stories told to you "by a friend" or someone you know second- or third-hand.
Please Call and Email
We will probably take live calls tomorrow, the number for which will be provided live on the show.
For the sake of the pilot not rolling off the rails, we might stick to pre-submitted stories and callers we have ready. If I have a New Year's wish, I hope that someone with a great deal of experience working specifically in call center escalations will call tomorrow.
I'm also tempted for some people to call and email in some "how would you (I) fix Problem X?" stories. Take real dilemmas you've encountered (customer or rep) like ruined holiday plans (gift delivery, travel, home emergencies) and tell me how they went off the rails. I'll do my best to offer some ideas that could have led to happier endings and inform your future tactics.
The Future
If the show goes forward, I'll be digging into a variety of topics, including my work in various forms of the customer service and PR "fixing" worlds. Two years ago almost to today, I got involved in a customer service disaster of epic proportions that ended up on the front page of Reddit and was extensively referenced in a book. That whole thing will come up tomorrow in some capacity, thanks to Justine Sacco.
Examples of topics the show will address include:
Who and what are people really responding to when they yell at a server/technician/phone rep?
Is the customer always right? Is "right/wrong" even the standard we should be using in customer service?
Burning out: what causes it, and what can employer and employee do to reduce the toll on call center reps, IT techs, and those in all forms of service industries?
Canned language, scripts, flow charts, and the automation of customer service: why are we doing this to ourselves?
How do and should companies (regardless of size) engage their audience and deal with public relations issues?
What separates good customer service form great customer service, and is it possible to try too hard?