It was 2:57 am. I was still on a call. "Don't forget to put yourself on ACW when its one minute to 3" ,said a TL* . My shift began in the evening. It was to end at 3 am. Once you put yourself on ACW, you don't get any calls. I never knew how it worked, nor did I try to figure out. My love for technology being a major reason ;) Usually I coudn't rush any call even if it meant getting late for my cab. With time of course I learnt how to tackle that, how to say more in less words. Also, to put an end to a conversation after a certain time no matter how interesting it was! ( sighs) It'll be wrong to say I never rushed a call but only rarely and for genuine reasons. I would make it a point to help every card member the way I'd expect to be helped or treated if I were to call some company's call center. And this was American Express. I tried my best to live upto its reputation. With God's grace my efforts almost always paid off. There were a few bumps along the road but those are essential, else how would one learn or grow?
I managed to finish the call by 2:59am. Ah! one minute left!! I bent towards the Avia* to put myself on ACW. Oh-oh got a bit late. Another call. "Shoots, how would I catch the cab now?" was my frantic thought. Anyways , it was immediately put behind. I was now concerned with addressing the concern of the cardmember who must have waited patiently while the VR" connected him to a rep."You never know, you may still manage to finish the call in time" my motivational coach aka inner guide said to me. The cabs waited until 15 mins before departure. . There usually were not many people left on the floor by this time. Most of them would have left. I had just two team mates working along with me. They were to leave in an hour or two. I took the call in my usual cheerful tone. "Thank you for choosing American Express. My name is M. How may I make your day better?" ( haha yeah that's the line I chose instead of the mundane how may I help you..it sounds so robotic!- not that mine was utra unique!!) In case you wondered how could I be cheerful in such a situation? I have a simple explanation for that. It wasn't his fault that I was getting late. He deserved all the help he called up for. Besides, there's something such as being sincere to your job.
The card member I noticed had an interesting surname, one I had never heard before . He had a couple of concerns on his business card - confirmation of the due date, locating a few unexpected charges from different months, disputing about four of those charges from two different vendors. And me being me made it a point to make detailed dispute notes (inspite of the fact that I was getting late) just to ensure that the member gets his money back. I of course don't remember the dispute case now. But I think it was related to an amusement park he had visited. There was some problem with the tickets. Also,the member had almost put his life in jeopardy by mistakingly getting close to a crocodile or two. Too bad I dont' remember the complete story. I just hope I haven't mixed up any facts! It's a two year old tale that I'm sharing with you. I remember how I instantly had weird images of a muddy crocodile trying to grab the poor fellow's leg popping up in my mind. I am a visual person lol so I coudn't help it! A major reason why I don't watch horror movies. The nasty images keep flashing in my mind ( chuckles)
Since I was busy working on his account, I tried filling the long pauses with some casual conversation. Build rapport with the member. Never have a long pause. We were taught so during our training but its something that came naturally to me. I have always been a rambler! ;) An hour and a half had already passed. I had taken care of the issues he was facing with his business cards. There were two I suppose. I no longer worried about taking a cab. I knew the call may take a bit more time than usual. My computer for some weird reason got stuck around two times ( something that didn't normally happen). So, the process of restarting it ate a bit of time too. Besides, he seemed like a pleasant person to talk to. So I was glad I could help him. It turned out that he had some problems with his personal card as well. Not sure how many of those cards there were. My process was responsible for handling business cards. If the member asked for help regarding a personal card, we - as a rule - were supposed to transfer him to the Personal Card Department. Exceptions could be made. I think this rule was there for efficiency sake. The average call handlig time as far as I remember was 8 minutes. As you can see I was clearly way past it!! In fact I usually was!But thanks to my performance my TL never seemed to have much qualms about it!
When I explained the rule to him, he seemed hesitant about talking to a differnt representative. I felt like he wanted me to help him though he didn't clearly voice it out. I, having sensed it decided to do so anyway - to hell with time, I had already stretched long enough , doing so for another few minutes won't kill me! Once again I understood his concerns and began to work on his personal card. Meanwhile, he asked where I was located. He seemed quite surprised to hear that I was an Indian , either because of my accent or the fluency. He then enquired a thing or two about the BPO's. In response to one of the questions I told him that I was doing an evening shift. He then wished to know what time it was in India. Oh-oh..the question made me uncomfortable. Of course, there's nothing wrong with asking time, but he already knew my shift timings. What I didn't want him to know was that I had stretched beyond my usual timings to help him. I don't like making it obvious to the other person that I'm helping him/her. For then the entire purpose of helping someone is defeated. Also, I find it somewhat egoistical.
I tried to skip the question. It's funny but I thought he'd not figure it out. The very next moment, much to my surprise , he came up with the exact time. The guy was into computers - technical stuff , what was I thinking! It was past four. Not sure why but I found it amusing. . The next question was pertaining to my stay in the office until dawn.He instantly realized what was happening. I had no option but to explain. He seemed quite thankful. His next question gave me a good laugh. "How do you manage to stay so energetic at this late hour?". Many people have asked me this question and usually I'm at a loss of words. "I take energy tonics", I replied. He took the joke in a good stride. By now I was done with the work on all cards. I gave him a quick recap and explained when he'd get the amex* charges credited back. He had a pretty good account history. So as a courtesy gesture and to express my appreciation as a rep for the same , I waived off a past due and finance charge. We had built a pretty good rapport by now. He asked me for my email address. I wasn't sure what to do. It's a rule to not share your personal email with the members. All you can give is your supervisor's email address. But for some weird reason my instincts told me otherwise. I am the kind of person who'd follow her gut feel even if doing so initially seems bizzare or doesn't make any sense. That's because in the end it always does! Our inner guide never let's us down. It surely takes practice though and faith. A call that long wouldn't be audited, I thought. I hesitated for a while. Not because I doubted him but because I wasn't sure if it'll be the right thing to do. In the end I decided to take a chance.
It was a few minutes past five by now. So my only option was to take the next hours cab ( 6am) I felt glad that I had helped someone, and perhaps made someone's day. I didn't feel tired or sleepy. While in the cab I had a short nap. His parting words were somewhat like " It'll be nice to talk to you sometime" I didn't pay much attention to it because I wasn't sure if that was possible. I have a habit of checking mails once I returned from the office. It relaxed me and gave me something to do before I went off to bed. Much to my surprise I saw a mail in my inbox with the caption "Hey". It was from him. I couldn't help but smile once I read the content. It went something like this.." It was a real pleasure talking talking to you today. You had me comfortable and intrigued right from the start, and I was very impressed with your grasp of a foreign language and a perfect understanding of my issues and concerns. You have a good head on your shoulders and I was even more impressed with your level of energy in the middle of a work week at 4 am local time!" I felt delighted upon reading those words. I replied instantly to the mail. It was 27th September 2007. The chain of mails continues till date. Much to my surprise, I've exchanged more emails with him then any other friend so far. Though I wouldn't mind breaking the record for that'll mean I've forged yet another beautiful bond. On account of this incident, I came to trust my intuition all the more. This experience taught me that the Universe/God pays you back in its own interesting ways if you set out to do something with a clear or pure intent. My intention in this case was to do my job sincerely and to help a person in the best way possible. I didn't expect to find a wonderful friend but am really glad I did! Someone has rightly said, when it comes to life , the unexpected always happens! Thanks for being there Alex, for being my friend!! (smiles)
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TL-Team Leader
Avia - The instrument used in call centers for operating calls.
Amex - short cut used for American Express by its employees.
Rep- Representative.
* Originally written on 11 th Aug.
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