Client Relations - Let's Find A Way to Say YES!

A few days ago I was standing in line far too long, to get a simple prescription filled for a family member. Then I heard the bad news- "Your carrier said your benefits expired on April 4." "That''s not true," I replied. "If you look at the card you''ll see that''s the date when my benefits started!" "Well, they said no. Maybe you can call them," she sighed with no apparent motivation to pick-up the phone, herself. I flagged down a supervisor who then ordered the reluctant clerk to make the call.

A few days ago I was standing in line far too long, to get a simple prescription filled for a family member. Then I heard the bad news: ?Your carrier said your benefits expired on April 4.? ?That?s not true,? I replied. ?If you look at the card you?ll see that?s the date when my benefits started!? ?Well, they said no. Maybe you can call them,? she sighed with no apparent motivation to pick-up the phone, herself. I flagged down a supervisor who then ordered the reluctant clerk to make the call.

?But the system says he?s not covered,? she insisted to her superior, clearly siding with the presumed infallibility of a computer instead of her client.

To cover myself, simultaneously, I phoned the member benefits line printed on my health card. After a five-minute wait a person came on and said, ?You?re covered; I don?t know what their problem is.?

?Neither do I?Could you please tell the folks here what you just told me??

She agreed and I shuttled my phone to the clerk who was on the line with my health carrier.

?Sorry, they say you?re not covered,? she stated with vindication.

?Here, this person says I am, so please talk to her.?

?But this other person says you?re not!?

?Please take my phone and talk to someone who will say YES, not no!? I shot back, certainly loud enough to get everyone?s attention.

She looked at the pharmacist for approval, and he nodded.

Within 60 seconds, the prescription was approved.

The insistent clerk isn?t to blame for everything that transpired, but she acted as most CSR?s do when they make a decision.

Once she felt the answer was no she shut out all contradictory information, and she became an obstruction to my getting what I was there for, a prescription.

In other words, she became ego-involved in making her original ?No? stick, instead of trying to find a way to say yes, to get me the approval I needed to get the medicine, and the green light she actually needed as well, to sell it.

The prime objective in almost every service situation is to say yes, even if it takes a special effort to do so.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, (See: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=417455932#) he is quoted often in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week. President of Clientrelations.com and Customersatisfaction.com, his seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities. Dynamic and fun, Gary brings over two decades of management and consulting experience to the table, with the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. Holder of a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies and successful family owned and operated firms. More than a ?talking head,? Gary is a top mind that you''ll enjoy working with. He can be reached at [e-mail]