The value of a great CSR

Last week I had a problem with my bank statement. Yes, I still get my statement the old fashioned way: in the mail, printed on paper. Feel free to make fun of me because of that. My last statement was missing some vital information that made balancing the checkbook a giant pain. While I was trying to get it all figured out Sherry asked me, "what should we do about it", and I said, "I'm going to call Ann Rainey and she'll fix it!". Ann Rainey is the CSR at our bank. CSR stands for Customer Service Representative, and Ann is the best CSR alive.

Here are a few reasons why Ann is so good at what she does:

- She is always ready to help.
Now I know you might be thinking, "she should be that's her job", but I've had plenty of experience with people who work in service industries who seem anything but eager to help. In fact, many of them act like you are bothering them when you ask for help. For Ann the most important person she needs to talk to is the person she is helping at the moment. It doesn't matter if the customer has $100 in the bank or $100,000 in the bank. Everyone gets the same careful treatment.

- She knows what she's doing.
Over the almost 15 years I've had my little bit of money at her bank, Ann has helped me with all kinds of issues. I have yet to hear her say, "I don't know how to do that." Whatever the issue is, she can get to the bottom of it and then fix it, normally in about 20 minutes.

- She smiles.
I had a parent tell me the other day that their child got an award at school for smiling the most, and I thought that was great. A simple smile has enormous power, especially when you greet someone with one. Ann greets all her customers with a smile. This immediately puts the customer who is frustrated and fed-up at ease.

As I thought through all these things I was reminded of the fact that each week at Freedom we are in the CSR business. We need to always be ready to help, know what's going on, and greet people with a smile. It will make a difference in whether or not people choose to come back and worship with us again. It might even make difference in whether or not someone decides to accept the freedom Christ gives from sin. Customer service is important in any business, but I think people should experience the best customer service at church.

Recently, I had an opportunity to change banks. The new bank (which is a fine institution) promised several perks that I don't currently have at my current bank. I didn't change banks, because if I have a problem now I can go to Ann and she'll fix it. I wonder how many other customers my bank has retained because of Ann? How many people are still worshipping at Freedom each week because of our great CSR's? I think the answer to both questions is a whole bunch.
Remember this week when you come to GHS at 10:30 that you are a CSR!