Calling to Say Nothing

Customer Servces

Calling to Say Nothing
by Peter de Jager



You've ordered something over the phone and they've told you it'll be delivered at 10:00am on Saturday. At 3:00pm it's still not arrived and your blood pressure has gone up 30 points. You've wasted a day. If they'd only called...

Waiting for a call from someone you depend on is a most frustrating and annoying activity. It's also the worst form of customer service.

We all know how frustrating it is to wait for a call. We all know how it makes us feel towards the person who should be making that call, and yet... when we have a similar call to make, we tend to procrastinate. The question is 'Why?'

We are judged by our ability to deliver the perfect candidate in a timely, consistent and reliable fashion. When things are working as they should, we're pretty good at delivery. We even like to track our delivery performance and use those results to gain additional business.

When we actually have something to report, there is no-one who can beat the dedicated placement professional. Unfortunately things don't always work the way they should. Sometimes Murphy happens, and everything that could go wrong... does.

The candidate is out of town, can't be reached, is in meetings, missed the appointment because the subway stopped etc. etc. It happens.

When it happens, the client wants a simple answer to the question 'When will you deliver?' Quite often the only answer is 'I don't know. We're doing our best, but we're stumped at the moment...'

Information in the form of 'I don't know' doesn't fit neatly into our thoughts as an example of good service. In fact 'We're doing our best, but we're stumped at the moment...' sounds like non-service.

We've all been in situations where things did not go as planned. We've played both roles. The one waiting for the call and the one avoiding it.

The most important call we can make, is the one telling them nothing. It's the call we all dread. Already late in delivering the high expectations we raised when we got the contract, we hold off calling to tell them we're going to miss the deadline. We hold off calling to tell them, not only have we not found the candidate, but we've no idea when we'll deliver. We hold off telling them we've failed.

No one likes to admit failure. This is the reason we avoid the call. The solution, like all solutions, is a simple one. Pick up the phone, or better yet, go see your client. Talk face to face, be up front with the difficulties you are having. After all, if finding the right person was easy... they'd do it themselves.

Avoiding the issue will not make the problem go away... although sometimes it will make your client go away. They'll call someone else. You lose a client. And most times you'll never know why.

That's not 'fair' you -were- working on the contract... don't they appreciate your efforts? No... they don't. They only appreciate results. They need to know the status of the contract on a regular basis.

In spite of our reluctance, the call of 'no information' is the single most important call you can make to a customer. It's the call that allows the person waiting on Saturday morning to take their family to the ball game. It allows your client the opportunity to make alternative plans. It provides your customer with information necessary to make decisions.

So... pick up the phone and make that call you've been avoiding.


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Mr. de Jager is a Keynote Speaker/consultant. He can be reached at (905) 792-8706.