Boston has reportedly received 96 inches of snow this year and I have decided to measure any problems I have to the nightmare they have right now. It was 7 below zero this morning here in Chicago and I am smiling because I am not in Boston. They had severe cold and 96 inches of snow. Viruses may have been plaguing your office and you are finding yourself short staffed. Smile because you could be short-staffed, have 96 inches of snow and freezing temperatures. No matter what comes your way in customer service, you need to prepare and keep a positive attitude.
I recently spoke with a customer service manager in Eastern Kentucky. Her office was closed for days due to snow and ice. This office did a great job of using local radio and television channels to let customers know service was suspended until conditions improved. The manager also updated the automated message to let customers know there would be no service until road conditions were safe for both drivers and customers. Here are 5 additional suggestions to help you handle weather related service delays.
1) Use your automated message system to communicate with those customers who call your office. Have 2 people trained and empowered to change the voice mail message so that you won’t be in
a bind if someone is unavailable. Include in the message the reason for the service delay, how the customer will know it is resumed and even some tips for cart placement to help the
driver.
2) Operations and customer service need to work together as services resume. Clear communication on what is happening for each route will allow customer service to give quick answers and
reassure the customer.
3) Utilize e-mail and phone blasts to get the message out. Include the same information you have on your automated message for consistency.
4) If your customers e-mail you directly, have an out-of-office message that has the same detail as your other forms of communication.
5) Use social media channels to provide updates on service. Facebook is a great avenue to provide timely communication to your customers. Expand your followers by promoting your
company Facebook page (or creating one for your local office) on your automated message and e-mail communication.

What if your customer asks for a credit because of a weather related miss? Recently a manager shared that she was on the receiving end of escalated customer complaints for missed service due to treacherous conditions. Some of the customers were not satisfied with an explanation that service will resume as soon as it is safe for both drivers and customers. If you are empowering customer service to offer credits as a peace offering, be sure you have clarified the credit allowed. The mistake some make is in taking the total bill and dividing it by the number of pick-ups during that time-frame to give a credit for one pick-up. Since you will be picking up all the customer’s trash, only a portion of the fee for one pick-up should be returned. That number needs to be clarified for CSRs before the customer calls start coming in.

Is your customer service team depressed or unmotivated because of winter? Remind them that “They aren’t in Boston” and review some recent accomplishments such as handling a crazy amount of calls. Next, get some friendly competition going. You can use a baseball theme, for example, to re-engage your CSRs as you measure personal and team performance. I am happy to help you create a fun competition for your team!

Remember, you may be having a challenging day today, but you aren’t Boston!