Honesty with Customer Service

I’m honest when I talk to customer service. I tell them what I am really thinking. Here’s a rundown of a conversation I recently had with the United States Postal Service:

“Thank you for all of your help with this issue. I know this is not your company, and not your personal decision. I also know that you are trying to be helpful. I am just utterly confused right now. You (meaning USPS) damaged my package in transit, and then sent me a note saying that you damaged the package and can’t deliver it. But you didn’t send me the damaged package. You didn’t send it back to the seller. You didn’t tell me what you were doing about it. You didn’t offer to pay for the damage, or replace the item. I actually have no idea what is happening, because you left me a note in my mailbox that says, ‘sorry, sometimes things happen.’ As far as I can tell, you just threw away my damaged package, and that was the end of it for you. Now, I am just asking you personally, as one human to another, does that make any sense? Does it make sense that your company's official policy is to throw away my damaged package, then tell me you did so without any further communication, resolution, or responsibility on your end?”

The representative on the other end was a good sport. After we went back and forth for a few minutes, he did acknowledge that the policy made no sense, and if he were in my shoes he would be very upset. The call ended with us both laughing while agreeing how ridiculous it was.

Was I going to spend hours filling out official complaints and making phone calls so I could get my $15 back? No, I was not going to waste another second on the issue. I just called the company I bought the thing from, and they were incredibly helpful. They sent me a new product - for free. They shipped it overnight. Thankfully, USPS suffered no consequences or hardship from this event.

We have all had these conversations. We have all listened to the elevator music while we wait. And wait. And wait.

So how does anything good come out of life's little inconveniences? By remembering that it is still a person on the other end of the phone. This is their job, their life. They have troubles just like me, albeit a different flavor. Even in all my frustration, I still try my best to stay tethered to that bond of humanity that connects us.

That is why I try to assure them I understand that they are trying to help, and that it is nothing personal. It’s natural to focus your anger on something, or someone. But that person didn’t do anything to me. There is a company that made decisions that are now affecting me, but their representative isn’t in control. They aren’t intentionally trying to ruin my life.

This is actually the key to hope and progress. It’s so easy to let prejudice take over your mind. You start to think that it’s simply, “those people,” the ones that work in “that industry,” or are attached to “that corporation.” When we give in to this mindset, we see people as the problem. We accept the great human myth responsible for so much conflict throughout history: certain people deserve to be labeled as “others.” They are outside your group. They are different.

I fully reject that. No one should be treated with less respect or dignity, even if their job leaves you wanting to pull out what little hair you have left. Just try to find some common ground. And if you can, get them to chuckle from mutual agreement on life's absurdities.

Ironically, I wrote this story while on hold for over two hours with customer service.