There is a person on staff here at Tooty Inc. who is possibly the most industrious person I know. Many of us talk about goals and dreams. Teresa actually achieves them! She sets high standards for herself which she demonstrates in the quality of the work she does for our customers. She has high expectations when it comes to service. It could be the training she has received here at Tooty Inc. that has made her more aware! Or, maybe it is that her high expectations are a part of her Mexican heritage where loyalty, respect and appreciation are the fundamentals of good business.
Teresa is directly responsible for making and evaluating any Spanish secret shopper calls we complete for our customers. She has had to learn the nuances of the Spanish language as spoken by Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexican Americans, etc. She has learned that a construction dumpster may be called one thing in Puerto Rico, something else in Miami and yet another in Texas! But, the biggest source of frustration for her is what she experiences as a Spanish speaking customer. She has been transferred back and forth as a receptionist frantically tries to find someone who speaks Spanish. CSRs shout at her as if a request for assistance in Spanish means she is hard of hearing, too. If she is lucky enough to be connected to someone who does speak Spanish, he or she often knows little, if anything, about the subject she needs help with.
So, Teresa being Teresa, decided to do some research to see what was really happening in the marketplace when it came to winning and losing the Hispanic customer. She called 50 Hispanic households and asked if they preferred to speak with a customer service representative in English or Spanish. 70% of the individuals she spoke with said that they preferred to speak with someone in Spanish. Additionally, she determined they were more likely to ask friends and family for recommendations when looking for a service provider instead of researching on-line or using the yellow pages. With an
