By Shannon Williams
Ok, I just want to know where did customer service go to? and while I am asking questions, what is a Friend. So, let’s start with customer service … as I write this, I am on hold with the company who provides my satellite for our TV, a very important thing in any household, including ours. As some of you know, we lost CBS for more than a few weeks in December. So, I reached out to them and inquired about not only when it would return, but what would they like to do for me as I paid for a service that I did not get. It was early December and I spent at least an hour on the phone going from person and department trying to get someone who might think that having been with this company for well over 20 years that my account was worth keeping. After it was all said and done, I was given no answers as to when I would be able to watch “Young Sheldon” again, but was given a discount on my service for the next 12 months.

Fast forward to today and I am working to enter everything into Quick Books and I notice that my draft had not changed. After a few very colorful words, I decided to call and find out what had happened. First, they tell me they are going to do everything in their ability to make sure I am a satisfied customer, and then I wait and wait some more. They try to tell me that I am already getting the discount, but somehow my bank account does not agree with them. They had the nerve to tell me I had an overdue amount, how could I have an overdue amount, when they draft from my account. So, I am now on my third person to try and explain this all and we are getting nowhere. I really don’t want to change providers as we bundle (another way to say they are saving me money and it cost me more in the long run). I know they have a script they have to go by, but just once if they could not blame this on the customer and just admit that they do everything they can to charge you as much as they care, all the while saying “bear with me”. Oh, I would like to turn a bear loose on them; and a few more minutes on this call and I will go full “Bear” on them.

So now the next question, what is a friend? I ask this for several reasons, one of them being the “friends “on social media. What type of friend is this? Do they call me before they go to the grocery store on a very cold day to see if I need anything, or bring me a meal for no reason, or send me a Christmas card? When they say they are praying for me does that mean they have a conversation with a higher being about me, and on my behalf seek God’s intersession ? It is very easy to be a social media friend, it really does not require much action, but being a friend is an verb and it takes more than hitting the like button. It means making a phone call, sending a card, listening when you don’t want, and most of all to loving them when they are unlovable. It means having a conversation with God and asking him to surround the friend with his Grace to help them with a certain issue or problem.

I hope we are not going to forget how to be a friend, as we have forgotten how to give good customer service, but I fear we are heading that way. Oh by the way, I just hung up on Direct TV, really got no answer and no refund, just a lot of how they want to resolve this and in fact they really wanted nothing like that, they just wanted to get me off the phone. I am glad I have a friend to call tonight and gripe about my day !!

[Jan-11-2021]