If You Ask a Question....

Recently I've spent a lot of time talking to customer service representatives with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida. The challenge has been overcoming a paperwork problem where two large companies are not communicating.

After discussing the issue, hearing about the limitations of a resolution process, and being told to wait three more business days for a possible resolution, I was asked a question.

"Are you satisfied with the service you received on this call?" said a well rehearsed voice.

"Well, no," I responded.

There was silence on the other end. The representative mumbled a few words about hoping my next experience would be a better one and the call ended.

When people call a company they want their problem to be solved or at least be told more about how it can be solved. They don't want to hear, "Gee, you do have a problem." If you're going to ask customers about their service experience, you need to make sure that you actually provided a service to them.