I was at the post office today -- I know, in this day and age a rather quaint notion. I know that the U.S. Postal Service is in grave trouble, and that it blames the Internet. Well, to be honest, I've always thought that the post office was using the Internet mainly as a scapegoat and that the main reason it is failing is its own grotesque inefficiency. That's another rant, however, the post office's total disregard for customer service would have long ago put any private company out of business. (My favorite example of post office think: A few years back, the Postal Service was inundated with complaints about poor service and long waits. Instead of addressing the core problem they came up with this brilliant solution: Remove the clocks!)
But back to today. A young man, probably around 20, was in line right in front of me purchasing stamps to use to mail a bunch of thank-you notes for wedding gifts.
In a sign that I'm truly over the hill, the young man asked the postal clerk where on the envelope the stamp should be placed! He said he hadn't mailed anything in quite some time and wasn't sure.
Now that I have retired from the Army I have been on "the other side of the counter" and am the one who must provide customer service. It isn't easy! As a manager I often find myself having to repair an experience of failed service by one of the people in the two offices I am the named manager for. When I know i have to meet an angry or upset client I do two things as quickly as possible: (1) gather as much information as possible before the "face off" or picking up the telephone, and (2) always take a deep breath (I dislike confrontations intensely).
There are a host of lessons to consider in terms of delivering or receiving service. Inherent in all service resides a little-known or thought about thing called perception. When something goes haywire, whether it is me or my people, who failed to do something right I recognize that the situation is always one that can be fixed but I need to reassue the client that I am doing everything I can to get it right. Essentially, this is a time to exceed expectations - it is NOT a time to meet minimum standards of routine service and the time for any excuse has not gone away...
Perceptions are always influenced by one's level of understanding or knowledge. When people come to my office for tax service they typically do not know why something that looks incredibly easy can't be made to work for immediate satisfaction. For example, if a person needs an amendment to correct a mistake I am unable to file such things electronically. During tax season all the IRS will do is date stamp the arrival of the amendment and place them in a file for data entry "when time allows" (typically, after tax season ends). That means there is additional time before any more refund will be received. Now, the point of this is that I understand this process but the usual client does not understand this... when explained in terms of trying to make a bureaucracy work and having to work within existing systems in terms a non-tax-trained person will understand is my greatest challenge...
Customer service also depends on the manner in which communication works or doesn't work. An example was that I needed an FEIN (federal employment identification number) from a company who had issued a pension to a client but had not included their FEIN on the document. I called the company and explained what I needed. His immediate response was "I can't provide that information to you..." to which I said "well, an FEIN is public information and it will facilitate getting this individual electronically filed for his tax return..." At that point the guy got really huffy with me and lectured me about not wanting to argue and that he had told me what he could not do and what he would not do... At that point it was obvious I was making to headway so I said "thank you for the help.... have a nice day..." and I hung up (said in a voice conveying my contempt for his stupidity...). Later, when I thought about it, the guy was correct because by giving me the FEIN he would have therefore revealed the specific account for that client and, after all, I was just a voice on the phone (a voice he did not know). All the guy would have had to do was simply tell me why he could not provide me what I thought was simple information. But he didn't. Frankly, I don't think he knew the reason - rather, all he really knew was that he has a 3-ring binder which contains all the company approved scripts. He is duty bound to limit his responses only to the scripts. Customer service, for that company, comes down to scripts... not real communication at any meaningful level.
Customer service sucks, it always has sucked, and always will suck. After a whole generation of time since I retired and worked for that infantry colonel those words come to mind often as I teach my people about customer service in the tax business. Never easy. Often frustrating. Ever-full of potential for major screw ups. Customer service is, after all is said and done, what it ultimately is about anyway. In my industry people expect an accurate tax return - when they get someone who delivers service that is truly exceptional is when we really hit the ball out of the ball park!
everysooften
west Michigan
The same forces are at work to privatize schools and other functions of government and I think many are unaware of the motivations behind this degradation of government-run functions. Since the wealthy 1% already send their kids to private schools, they will soon pay less as the choice of pubic school is removed in favor of charter and other private-run schools. Tuition costs for the wealthy will go down as more kids are shuttled off to private schools, but those schools will still be unaffordable to middle-class families and the remaining public schools will be drastically underfunded as taxes are allotted based on average pupil attendance. So where does that leave the lower and middle class when the funds shift like that to the more "exclusive" (note the root word there is "exclude") schools?
my favorite story: i had 4 packages from 4 seperate mailers coming to me from the ussr. i got a pink slip in the box, listing all four of the mailers and telling me that i had to pick up my packages at the post office because no one was home to sign for them, even though i'd been home all day. next morning, i go to the post office and stand in a seemingly endless line. when i finally get to the counter, the clerk takes my slip, goes in back and returns with 3 packages. where is the 4th? i ask and am told that there is no 4th package. the exchange heats up, me wanting may package and the clerk saying that i only have 3 packages to claim. finally, i demand to see the supervisor, who turns out to be a raving bitch of a woman. she very rudely tells me that i have no other package and that i need to stop harassing her clerk. i again say that i want my 4th package and she calls out the carrier on my route, who tells me that she only had three packages to deliver, so i ask her if she was the one who wrote out the pink slip for pickup. she says she was, so i ask the desk clerk if i can see the slip again. i then proceed to read off each sender and move the package to one side. when i get to the fourth sender, no package. i then ask who in the office is clairvoyant, since obviously SOMEONE is capable of foretelling that i will be receiving a package from the fourth sender, as listed on the slip. they all hem and haw, then the bitch supervisor says, "well, it must be lost. you'll have to come back tomorrow." at that point, i lost it and started raising my voice, pointing out that my package had made a trip all the way from the ussr to ohio, only to get lost in the mile between my house and the post office branch. the supervisor and carrier both turned around and walked into the back and the desk clerk said there was nothing she could do and i'd just have to come back the next day. later that night, i heard a noise on my porch and looked out. my package was sitting in front of my door.
and that's only ONE of my USPO stories.