Sober Days, Customer Service Quandaries, a Good Year, and the Courage to Continue

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." 

— Winston S. Churchill

I have a deal with some of my friends that we don’t drink certain days, we pick the days, but throughout the year, we’re trying to hit a total number of 100 days sans booze. The last two days have been non-drinking days for me, and I must say the dreams one has when you eliminate all alcohol are vivid as hell.   

I just woke up from a pretty crazy scene, but unlike when my nights are tainted with a little booze, I can remember everything. Add to that the clarity I feel, and I’ll again thank my crew for the challenge, I’m ahead of schedule in my quest for 100 booze-free days.

5;42 a.m., wide awake, almost back on my 5:00 a.m. program, tomorrow I should return to my target wake time, from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. is my time. I work while most the world sleeps. I love my mornings, my coffee, my fireplace, my writing chair, and the peace that comes with my morning accomplishments.

We had a little bit of frustration yesterday in our firm. One of our clients has an old school health insurance policy he purchased a few years ago. Most of these policies have sunset, but he has kept his and is happy with the product and service. 

He called last week, he was having trouble with customer service and asked if we could help.  At times like these, I find it best to get a company rep on the phone, outline the issues, and get a resolution. After we made the initial call, we were told, they would only talk to the client due to some HIPPA rules, and so we scheduled a time to do a 3-way call between our client and our firm.

But unlike most insurance carriers, this “old school” carrier has opted to use an outbound call center only. Meaning that we can call in, they can’t call out. So our solution was to have one of our staff call and sit on hold until they got a representative on the phone, then bring on our client. 

At 4:43 p.m. yesterday, after sitting on hold for one hour, we had all the parties on the line, and as we merged the calls, the insurance carrier side dropped.  That hour of hold time was a waste; we had to start over.

I told my staff member before you transfer again, explain our situation, that we need to talk to a human and get an issue resolved. About an hour later my staff member calls, again have them on the line and I get my client on the line. As we again attempted to merge the calls, the insurance carrier side dropped. 

I want to point out we do three-way calls multiple times a day, this is not our first rodeo, it could be on our end, but regardless or as we say in Beautiful Parker City, IN “irregardless” it’s frustrating as hell.

We will find a solution this morning and get this issue resolved, but it goes to show the value of a human being and easy access to customer service.  I tend to view life as a story problem, and this one will soon offer a solution, but I was reminded the value of how we do business vs. how most others now handle their client service, and I think we are a step ahead of most in our industry.

I got our year-end numbers yesterday; I reviewed our income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement last night. We had a pretty good year. We are poised for another good year, but with the momentum, we might turn a good year into a great year. 

All the indicators I look to as positive trends are there, comparing data from 18 to 17, we outperformed in most areas, we still have some work to do, but I know that it’s the journey rather than the destination that brings joy. At 49 years old, I’m having the time of my life co-running our little firm.

Our model of 24/7/365 accessibility seems to have caught traction. Our ability to pick our clients and not rely on clients picking our firm has allowed for greater profitability, and our culture continues to allow for the personal and professional growth of our team members.  

It is fun being a co-captain of a winning team and constantly tweaking our people, process, and products to improve our firm on a daily basis. We are not perfect, but we strive to improve, and that dedication is not going unnoticed.

So today, choose to enjoy the journey. Do your planning so you can compare your plan to your actual results and then make small changes to get closer and closer to the goals you set. You are the captain of your ship and you, yes you, will mean the difference between success and failure. 

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." 

— Winston S. Churchill