A Day In My Life

The last few days at work have been really crazy. Last Thursday and Friday were the worst. It started on Thursday morning when my customer called to report a claim. She was confused on how the process worked, but still felt the need to tell me that I wasn't filing the claim right. I tried to explain the company's procedure, but me who has worked for the company for 7 years was incapable of doing it correctly. Ok, no problem. I tried to get past that issue and move on with the process of filing the claim. It was like pulling teeth trying to get her to give me the little bit of information I needed to file her claim with the claims office.

After finally getting the info from her and knowing I wasn't lucky enough to be done with the claim, she calls back and wants a copy of everything I wrote in the claim report. Sure, fine, whatever. I file the claim based on the info she gives me and the claims office handles it from there. If I entered incorrect info then she has the chance to clear it up with the claims office. Simple concept, but for some reason it wasn't simple in this case.

Overnight she leaves a message saying she is canceling her apt. to get her car fixed and will be in later to talk to me. I knew there was nothing I could do for her because my hands are tied after the claim is reported to the claims office. To try to prevent any further problems and to make things easier for her, I call the adjuster to let them know that she doesn't seem to understand the things I explained to her the day before. Sometimes people respond better to someone they think has some "authority" like an "official claims adjuster". The claims adjuster tried to help like I did, but my customer refused to speak to her when she called. My customer then proceeds to come into my office and speak to me like I am the biggest moron on this planet. She doesn't believe me that I ask the adjuster (the person she refused to speak to) to cancel her apt with the body shop. She demands to hear me tell the claims office the apt needs to be canceled. Lovely...

I call the claims office and get a receptionist (lucky for the adjuster who was at lunch) and explain that I have already asked the adjuster to cancel the apt., but the customer doesn't believe me. I explain the customer is being very ugly to me and insists that she hears for herself the apt has been canceled. I then tell the receptionist that I am going to put the customer on the phone. For some unknown reason the receptionist puts us on hold while I hand the phone to the customer. My customer then proceeds to accuse me of hanging up on her. She doesn't buy the idea the receptionist may have had to put her on hold to answer another phone. She keeps on accusing me of hanging up on the lady until I finally tell her that if she really feels that I have hung up on her then she is welcome to dial the number again herself and speak to the receptionist. Hey, if I am too stupid to figure out how to use the phone on the first call, then how in the hell can I be smart enough to get the women back on the phone so the customer can speak to her? About that time the receptionist comes back on the line. Yeah!!

As I listen to my customer talk to the receptionist for the next few minutes I calmly try to tell myself that I am where I am supposed to be in my life right now. I have no idea why I am stuck in this job that I hate instead of being able to devote my full attention to my business, but for some reason I am here. I have to tell myself this several times because by this point I am really PISSED. As I listen to my customer ramble on for a few more minutes I can tell that she isn't really making any sense nor is she making a very good case for herself as to why she felt she was getting bad service from me. She then hangs up the phone, but only before asking for proof in writing that her apt. has been canceled. That still makes me laugh since it was only apt. with the body shop. They don't charge you for not fixing your car. Plus, she could have called the shop herself to let them know she decided not to get her vehicle fixed. LOL!

When she finally leaves I truly feel sorry for her. She is older and confused. I know I was professional and did everything I could try to help her with her claim. She was unable to understand many of the things I tried to explain to her and she refused help when an adjuster tried to assist her. With that said it still made for a crappy day. I spent the whole weekend trying unwind and get myself in a better place mentally. Needless to say I was not looking forward to going back to work today. However, with each day I am one order and one day closer to turning my dreams for my business into a reality.