Indignent Whispers

Today I lost my voice. A minor issue associated with a cold. I have been allowed to rest it and thanks to my blackberry I can blog between putting out non-verbal fires in the work place.

About a month ago, I went to the doctor and had a sinus infection. Because of greatly enflamed tonsils, the doctor ran a strep test on me, just to rule out strep throat. The test was negative and we move on.

I got paperwork in the mail a week ago describing why my claim with insurance was denied. The test was deemed unnecessary because of a coding error in my diagnosis by the insurance department in my doctor's office. So, I called insurance, found out what I needed to do, and called the doctor's office who advised me to just drop off the paperwork and it would be handled. I dropped the paperwork off same day. I was told the claim would be resubmitted in 48 hours.

Today I got a call back. The same woman who put in an incorrect code that resulted in my claim being denied was calling to complain that she didn't understand what she was supposed to be doing. As I tried to calmly explain to her that she needed to refile the claim with the correct code, she continually interrupted me and in her thick drawl said, "Hun, I'm gonna have to ask ya to speak up, umkay?" Did I mention I have lost my voice?

So, in as an indignant a whisper as I could muster, I told her I lost my voice so she would need to listen hard and close and turn off her radio that was blaring in the background (she understood this well enough to do that). I told her that I was promised a week ago that in 48 hours my claim would be refiled with the correct codes and this was written in plain English on the paperwork she was given and I needed this done immediatly, not in another 48 hours but today and that I would be by this afternoon to collect the information plus the confirmation of the fax being sent out. And I hoped her recorded line was picking this up.

She hurridly assured me she would do this immediately and have the paperwork ready. I am not normally like this, I usually treat people so much better than I expect to be treated but this woman's incompetence was bewildering. Here are some general rules I have learned pertaining to calling customers:
1) Never, ever, have a loud radio or television in the background. Your customer's deserve your full attention and you can't attend to them if you can't hear them.
2) If co-workers are chatting noisily close by, ask them to leave. They aren't doing their work and are keeping you from yours.
3) Don't chew gum or eat. That is disgusting and rude. Do it before or after you call not during.
4) Don't interrupt someone when they are speaking. If you need clarification or the customer to repeat something, wait until they are finished before asking.

These are rules we shouldn't just apply in the workplace but with every phone call. I often refuse to answer my phone in a store because I don't want the whole store to hear a private conversation and I know most people don't want to hear me! And it really gets my goat when someone is talking on the phone in the bathroom...have a little respect people please, not just for the person you are talking to, but the others using the facilities.

I hope these indignent whispers do more than just make people laugh. I hope they can learn from them!