What Happened to Customer Service?

What happened to customer service? When was the last time you called a business for help with your account and an actual person answered the telephone. If you’re like most people, it’s probably been a while since you called a business for customer service or help, and a human being answered the phone. What is more likely, is that when you call a business, you’re met with what seems to be an unending list of automated prompts. It’s very difficult to even get through sometimes to get to a human. I don’t care how many times you say “operator” or hit the button 0. It can still be challenging to end up getting a hold of an actual human being and to be able to talk with them. You know, here are some statistics to consider from some other consumers out there. 71% of consumers find customer service interactions as stressful or more stressful than the original problem. 67% of people hesitate to contact customer service due to the expected long hold times. Three in four consumers say, a bad interaction with a business can ruin their day. When you call into our office, you are going to be able to speak to an actual person. We live and work here in Northern Michigan. All of our Advisors we list our direct phone extensions in our email signature. Our corporate office is located here in Northern Michigan along with all five of our offices. You know, that is something unique Fortunately it used to not be that way. But when you interact with businesses today, whether it’s insurance, investments, or any other retail consumer interaction you may have, the reality is, some of that have lost, many of them, have lost the human touch. And I am here to talk about that today because it’s frustrating for me as a consumer, as a customer of many businesses. And I am sure it’s frustrating for you as well. Here at Centennial Wealth Advisory, we understand this. And we are serious about providing that human touch that human feel with our company. We make sure that we do answer the phone, that we do give you someone that you can talk to, that you can talk to us. We think that’s important. And again, most companies unfortunately aren’t doing that anymore. It’s turned to a world of automation. Another thing I think it’s important is, with that world of automation, is you get away from knowing your customers, you get away from knowing your clients. Who they are, what’s important to them. And that’s something else that’s unique, for us here at Centennial Wealth Advisory, is, not only do we answer the phone, not only do you get to meet with us face to face and interact with us, as clients of ours, but also, we get to know you and build that rapport and build that relationship and understand what’s important to you, why it’s important to you. So that we can help you as you plan for your future. You know, we have a lot of opportunities, being in Northern Michigan, through our TV show, to speak out to you. But we also have other opportunities through our live events. We do workshops at businesses so that we can continue to be out in the community, be in front of our clients, be in front of people who are future potential clients, of our firm. And I think that’s important, that interaction, that relationship, it is something that has gone by the wayside if you will. With a lot of other companies out there. I mentioned earlier that the automation service and frustrating that can be and again, I am sure you’ve experienced it, I was talking with a couple of people before walking into our studio today about this in our office here. And they all had stories of recent interactions with customer service that was beyond frustrating with them. So, I would encourage you, if you haven’t attended a live event and you want to just see how we might be different and participate by attending a live event, please consider doing that. If you are interested in meeting and setting up a time to meet, we would love to sit down with us. You don’t have to take my word for it, being unique and different. I would really it a great opportunity and honor to be able to sit down with you as would any of our Advisors and to just share more of who we are, about what we do as a firm and why we are different. I would also cherish the opportunity to get to know you more. What is it that’s important to you? What are your concerns? Is that human interaction important? Is it important for you to be able meet with someone, to talk to them as your Advisor? I know some people who have tried the out-of-state model for Advisors. And it may work a little bit or for a while but it doesn’t seem to have a long life. There’s many reasons why that is the case. So, if you would like to sit down with one of us so the we can help you plan to retire well, please follow the prompts on the screen. And I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you. Thank you!