I’m always surprised at the number of people in sales and customer service positions who are in the business of blocking sales. Case in point: I called today to talk to a local air conditioning company about their services. Summer is coming, and I know that my system is not up to the challenge. But since I’m not an expert in air conditioning requirements and equipment, I’m not sure what types of improvements are necessary.

When I called, my first challenge was to get someone to listen to my whole story. Immediately I was presented with two choices: service for my present air conditioning system or specification of a device to add to the system. I had no answer because I wasn’t prepared to specify equipment, and just a service call was not enough. I wasn’t ready to be asked for a decision.

My second challenge was to listen through the litany of what everyone else does in relationship to their air conditioning needs. I may or may not be like everyone else, but I certainly don’t want to be so blatantly categorized by someone I haven’t even met yet.

Just as I was about to hang up and call another company, the call was handed off to another person who was very helpful. What he did was:

• He listened to me describe what was wrong with my air conditioning in my own, non-technical terms, without trying to decide in advance which type of service person to send out.
• He didn’t tell me what other people did. Instead he asked me questions to help me figure out what I needed to do.
• After he fully understood the scope of my request, he arranged for the right person to come out to my home to determine what I need.

D. Young, Tucson, AZ

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