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FROM: MAR-APR 2009 ISSUE | BY MERGE GUPTA-SUNDERJI
Once upon a time, there was a manager called Giovanni who worked in a credit card customer call centre. Gio was in a bad mood. Staff with questions they should have known the answers to, customers with petty complaints, all topped off by a nagging headache.
As he stared at the latest call reports, massaging the sides of his forehead, the phone beeped. He saw that it was Vicki, one of the new young and enthusiastic service reps he’d hired just six weeks ago.
“What’s up Vicki?” he answered. “I have this customer on the line who wants to speak to a supervisor,” she replied. “Put it through to a team lead,” replied Gio crossly. “If I start answering customer calls I’ll never get anything else done.”
“Oh,” came the hesitant reply. “I can’t find any of them, and it’s just that’s she’s one of our premium customers.”
“Fine, I’ll deal with it,” answered Gio irritably. “What’s the background?”
“She’s had our airline points card for 14 years; her credit limit is $23,000. She pays her bill in full each month so there’s never a balance, but her annual spend is between $120,000 and $150,000. She wants to know why new customers get sign-up bonuses of 15,000 points, yet her continued loyalty when she renews annually isn’t rewarded with points.”
“Why didn’t you just offer her the 2,000 bonus points you have discretion for?” said Gio in exasperation. “I did, but …”
“Hang on,” exploded Gio as he read his screen. “It says here she got a bonus last year for the same issue. Why did you offer her the bonus again? Weren’t you paying attention during your training?”
“Yes, but …”
“Never mind!” barked Gio. “Put her on, I’ll deal with her!”
As he waited for Vicki to transfer the call, he shook his head in disgust. “Not only do we have incompetent staff, but we also have customers who expect special treatment,” he muttered angrily.
He heard a pleasant voice, “I’m calling because I’ve been a faithful customer for 14 years, and every year I pay my $120 renewal fee. Last year I called to ask why your company rewards new customers, but doesn’t reward my continued loyalty.”
Gio’s head was beginning to throb. “Well we do reward your loyalty,” he cut in brusquely. “We give you airline points for every transaction you make.”
Surprised, the customer tried again. “I’d like the same bonus …” “What you got last year was a one-time exception. In fact, I’m withdrawing the offer Vicki made.”
“You aren’t even going to give me the 2,000 points that your rep offered?” asked the astonished customer. “That’s exactly what I am saying,” snapped Gio. “I’m not giving you anything. I’m tired of people like you trying to abuse the system. If you want the card, then these are the rules. Or cancel.” As the words came out of his mouth, Gio had a sinking feeling he had gone too far.
After a moment of stunned silence, the customer gave the only answer she could. “Cancel the card now. Not only will I never do business with you again, I will tell everyone I know about your disrespectful behaviour.”
As Gio hung up the phone, he realized he had allowed his everyday irritations to blur his view of the big picture. If he had kept his cool, retaining this customer’s loyalty would have cost nothing more than good manners and 2000–3000 bonus points (roughly $30).
Yet because he allowed his bad mood to cloud his judgment, he cost his company revenue of thousands of dollars.
The bottom line? Management is what you do; leadership is how you do it. Giovanni may be a manager, but unfortunately, he is not yet a leader.
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