Customer Service - If You Don't Ask, You Don't Get!

By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I contacted a credit card issuer because I had paid off a balance yet the following month my statement showed a finance charge.

After wading through the voice prompts a CSR came on the line.

“Why am I seeing a finance charge?” I asked with uncharacteristic gentleness. I suspected I might owe the fee, after all, but I wasn’t at all sure of it.

She explained there are “carry-over charges” that aren’t completely retired by a prior payment.

If that’s so, I thought, these mystery charges could go on without end. How can we know we’ve totally and completely paid off a card’s balance?

I shared that concern with her and she agreed it seemed a little strange.

Then, in an utter state of calm I asked: “Can I ask you to waive that charge?”

A brief silence ensued and in a near whisper she replied, “You can ask, yes.”

Now sensing I was in the middle of a protocol game, something her employer had established as a rule or guideline for waiving a fee I went ahead and asked:

“Can you waive that fee, please?”

“Yes, I’ll waive it, but it may take an extra monthly cycle to see the credit, so for now, pay the entire balance.”

“Okay, will do!”

I asked her name and for a transaction number so if the credit isn’t forthcoming, the next CSR will apply it.

The moral to the story is if you don’t ask, you won’t get. In this case, I “Asked if I could ask,” which I suppose was an especially agreeable way of putting in a request.

You might want to try this tactic, especially in situations where you might be in the right, yet you’re not sure, and you don’t want to make a needless extra payment.

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, he is quoted 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, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of management and consulting experience to the table, with the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. 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.

He can be seen on CNBC at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=417455932# and reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

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