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The Price Of Customer Service
May 30, 2008

The last 2 weeks have been a nightmare for me.  I've been overwhelmed with furniture problems including delayed delivery, initial quality problems, and long-term quality issues.  While hardly through it all, I am over what seems to be the "hump" in this saga.  The price has been enormous, though.

I've been having dreams about furniture and shipping issues.  My day to day work has been filled with nothing but fielding calls from both customers and manufacturers.  The root of the problem is, of course, overseas production.  There's not much I can do about that, though.  It has come down to the point now where my body has succumbed to the stresses.  I'm sick.  

It's as if God reached down from heaven and smacked me with a cold and a migraine to keep me from pouring more of myself into my work.  I have to admit, these last couple of weeks I've been consumed by my job.  My daughter, Kailey, has suffered for it, too.  I've been irritable beyond belief and have not even been able to enjoy the fact that Kailey is out of school for the summer.  This year's vacation will not come a moment too soon and will be deserved.

How does someone in customer service learn to separate work from home?  I feel like it would be a much easier division if I didn't work with my family and love the business so much.  It would be great if I just didn't care.  It's so hard for me, as a mom, not to sympathize deeply with my customers, though.  I feel that my understanding for my customers is a blessing for the store but a curse for me and my family.  The problem is that the store IS me and my family.  There does not seem to be a clear solution to this dilemma.  One thing is clear, though, I cannot remain in customer service forever because it will be the death of me!

Posted by Kelly Nelson on May 30, 2008 | Comments (0)