I called a doctor’s office the other day to make an appointment. Something was wrong with their phone system, and it looped me through to their billing department not once but twice. After the second time, the billing representative on the other end of the line apologized profusely and stepped in to solve the problem. She took down my name, number and reason for calling, and said she would personally walk over to the appointment desk and make sure someone called me right back. Sure enough, within 10 minutes my phone rang, and a scheduler from that office also apologized and set up my appointment.
Was I frustrated when I initially couldn’t get through? Yes.
Was I even more frustrated when it looped to the billing dept. the second time? Of course.
But then someone stepped in, took responsibility (for something not in her job description) and ultimately, solved the problem. And I left the experience with a good feeling about this practice.
Are your employees empowered and motivated to do the same?