Beyond Annoying Cuss-tomer Service

I'm on hold right now for with my health insurance company. I understand that it's part of the process to sometimes have a wait to be connected to an operator. Indeed, when my call goes through, I want to have the attendant's full attention and have him or her give me as much time as I need.

But I have a problem with the way I'm on hold with Blue Cross & Shield of Florida. You have the background music playing, which is interesting as the song has no beginning or end. But worse is the fact that every 27 seconds I'm told that all operators are busy assisting other customers and I need to continue to hold. I picked up on that fact the first five times I heard the message. Every time I've since heard this message, I'm reminded that I'm having to waste my time with the call. Maybe after 4 minutes we can just hear that message every 60 seconds?

I've since been connected and at the end of the call, I asked if the employee knew about what it's like to be on hold with her company. I was told she didn't. That's a problem for employees to not understand an internal process that impacts customers. It's good to know what they've had to go through before they reach you.

This concept can apply to just about any process that involves customers. It's important to walk in their shoes so you can understand a grumpy mood by the time they reach you.