Two Out of Three Isn't Bad

I'm pretty good at juggling tasks, but yesterday pulled me to the limit. It wasn't a busy day - it turned into a beautiful day so a lot of people passed right by the store heading for the State Fair. Additionally, it was the first day of school for most kids across the Metro area - happy parents finally looking at freedom from kids underfoot for a while. So it wasn't a busy day, at least not at the shop, but everything seemed to fall together within a fifteen minute period of customer service hell.

I can handle a lot, but two different phone calls and two in-store
customers at the same time stretched me a bit thin. 

I had two customers in-store working with me on color choices for several projects. I had their items pulled and was in the beginning stages of checking them out when my cell phone rang.

Oh! It was John from my tree removal firm. I needed to take that call.

But, at the same time, the store phone rang, so a quick "One minute," to John and I answered the store phone. Here was a customer who had never been in the store asking me about the store, but not giving me any chance to actually answer the questions. HINT: If you're going to ask questions, you have to at least give gaps for the person to respond. After asking again over my answers, then complaining about my talking over her, I agreed.

When asking a question over the phone, you do have
to allow an opportunity for me to respond. It's called
a "conversation". It only happens when two people can
interchange verbally. 

I asked John to phone me back in five minutes, so that took care of the cell phone. I told the lady on the other phone call, who was complaining that I was rude because I kept talking over her that I probably was, but that she needed to give me a chance to answer, and since she didn't, she could phone back at another time. I actually hung up on her! NOT good customer service, I admit.

If any one of the three things had happened fifteen minutes later, I
could have provided sterling customer service. Unfortunately, it was
the Perfect Storm of customer service hell. Damn! I really wasn't
happy with my response, but she wouldn't let me get a word in
edgewise to ask her to wait for just a minute or so. 

I turned to my in-store customers and continued ringing them up at the register, getting their sales completed and sending them on their way - happy beaders with new projects to look forward to. I had a chance to catch my breath before John called back.

John's phone call was that they could envelope my tree removal into today's schedule as the second job. Huzzah! This was unexpectedly early, and happened to fall on the only day this week that we had the ability to be available when they got it done, so that worked out beautifully.

The person who talked too much to get the answers conveyed to her questions? She never called back. I'll live with that. Two out of three ain't bad.

I wish the one woman had called back, but I can't win them
all. I managed two out of three. 

Here's hoping your Tuesday will be awesome and wonderful. Of course I'm starting my day out at the pool, so it can't possibly be a bad day - LOL.