By Donna Hoffmeyer
(original post on Medium)
Customer service was critical every job I have ever had. Most of my career was assisting people when they were at their most vulnerable. That may be to first-time parents giving birth, victims of mass casualty, sexual assault cases, or family members of the wounded/ill/injured. Being an ass didn’t get anything accomplished. (Although I saw it more times than I care to admit.)
Needless to say, my expectations of customer service are what I consider common sense; others in this malnourished social skills society may say my expectations are way too high. Meh, I come from old school…we talked to people; we helped people.
If I could manage to provide customer service while amid some very stressful moments, I cannot for the life of me determine how people in regulated environments (aka office jobs) cannot do the same. Yes, I’ve seen the “Everyone is on a journey you cannot see” posts, but it doesn’t exempt them from giving basic customer service. (Maybe they should keep that quote on their desk for a little positive reinforcement.)
Transitioning is scary as hell and even more so when you feel you are not in control. People going through an MEB (medical evaluation board) often feel like they are in a tunnel of chaos. The disjointed experience is so mentally taxing, it often leaves the service member going out the door feeling exhausted and/or worthless.
In my last job in the military, many of my customers ended up going through an MEB. Dealing with their medical condition often wore them out. When they found out they were heading to an MEB, I would see their stress soar to the next level with their lack of control of the situation and uncertainty of the outcome.
The reality is stress is part of the transition package. We can’t avoid it or eliminate it; it is what it is. However, the level of stress transitioning service members have to endure, can and needs to be significantly reduced.
Back to my expectations of customer service. It can make or break a situation and from what I saw and experienced in the military, it is pretty spotty. The people that took the time to explain the situation and what my responsibility was, I am forever grateful for. Unfortunately, they existed fewer and farther between those that treated me as if I was a burden.
It truly confounded me. If customers did not exist, neither would jobs. About 3 months into the pandemic, a former coworker of mine was trying to get help. She could not get a call through the Manpower and Personnel Flight (MPF), nor would anyone answer her emails. When she walked in, she saw people sitting in the office and an airman standing outside needing to ask a question. She had been there for 20 min, and despite this young airman’s attempts, the people in the office had not acknowledged her. My friend knocked on the door and an annoyed airman came to the door telling her they are not seeing people. After a few words with the young man, pointing out there were zero signs up directing people on how to contact them, the waiting airman was able to ask him her question. She was relieved when she got her answer, as it saved her a useless trip to another base 30-40 min away.
This is just one of many examples. I understand there was additional chaos when the pandemic started and it took some time to get organized. However, leaving people hanging does not exemplify our core values. If that same airman saw people, and instead of ignoring them, came out and helped it would have been a win for everyone. The customer had their questions answered, the MPF could correct their oversight, everyone saved time and all would have walked away with a positive experience.
I wish I could “justify” some of the actions as a young airman needing a bit of mentoring. Unfortunately, I have seen this at every level. It just alludes me. I have worked in environments where the network of people was those that would only help those they perceived could affect their world (good or bad). Exactly how does that help? What happened to intent, the greater good, and the right thing for the right reasons? Sorry, my idealism is getting the best of me.
How in the world did we get here? I’m not even referring to all the military customs and courtesies. How about just some damn human courtesy.
There is no hierarchy in humanity. (Another one for the office wall.)
When I worked with our injured airmen, it was easy to hear the stress in their voices. Lots of questions and concerns. What if I don’t get better? What if this is it? Will I need an MEB? How am I going to pay the bills? All legitimate concerns, but also distractors from what needed to be done to help them at that moment.
When I heard this, I tried to reframe their mindset by thanking them. I told them to look at this program as a thank you from the military. They put service before self and somewhere along the way, it cost them their health. The program was developed to give all injured/ill Guard and Reserves the ability to get necessary care on the military’s dime. It was their job to focus on themselves and heal. (A foreign concept to most of us.)
Did it answer the big questions? Nope, not at all. What it did do, was give them value and allowed them to focus on the here and now. It worked…every single time. I’d say that was a huge return for 5 minutes of my time.
Here’s the reality, when people do not feel valued, it is harder for them to invest in themselves. Whether it is recovering from a medical condition, trying to complete a project, or getting organized for an upcoming transition; if they feel they are not valued it will take longer. Why? Simple…they are distracted from the runaround, get tired of wasting their energy and eventually they just give up. I’ll add here, this is the moment when the service member is now blamed for not “doing their part.” (Ownership…that’s another blog story.)
Think it is all fluffy BS. No problem, I’ll keep it simple. Time is money. When we are being jerky, we’re wasting time, energy, and money. Wasting is a term no one, in any business, wants to hear.
So, let’s put a little more “human” into humanity and be nice to each other. Everyone wins.
